Tchaikovsky: Iolanta/ The Nutcracker ***
Opéra de Paris, Palais Garnier, 11th March 2016
At the 1892 première of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and The Nutcracker, it was the opera which scored the bigger hit with the critics, even though it’s the ballet which has become a repertory staple and most companies’ Christmas cash cow. The opera is rightly enjoying a mini-resurgence. Its plot may read as saccharine, but it’s truly one of Tchaikovsky’s most moving scores. Trying to find a partner for this lengthy one-acter is tricky. For this new staging at Opéra de Paris, enfant terrible Dmitri Tcherniakov has returned to the original pairing. This time, the opera again triumphs but the ballet flounders.
Sonya Yoncheva (Iolanta), Vito Priante (Ibn-Hakia), Marion Barbeau (Marie) et al
© Agathe Poupeney | Opéra National de Paris
Read the full review on Bachtrack.