Seeing double: Iolanta and The Nutcracker reunited

Vasily Petrenko

Maria Motolygina and Alexey Dolgov

Alexander Tsymbalyuk

Iolanta at the Royal Albert Hall

By Dominic Lowe, 11 November 2023

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“Andrei Kymach delivered an early hit as Robert in his paean to Mathilde, sung with swagger and style”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 8 November 2023

Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, Op.71: Act 2

Tchaikovsky, Iolanta (semi-staged)

Vasily Petrenko, Conductor

Denni Sayers, Director

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Philharmonia Chorus

Maria Motolygina, Iolanta

Alexey Dolgov, Vaudémont

Alexander Tsymbalyuk, King René

Andrii Kymach, Robert

Ashley Riches, Ibn-Hakia

Adrian Dwyer, Alméric

Yuriy Yurchuk, Bertrand

Veena Akama-Makia, Martha

Isabela Díaz, Brigitta

Gabrielė Kupšytė, Laura

A feast of Purcell in Sir David Pountney’s Masque of Might

Richard Wilcocks, 6th October

Sir David Pountney directs a satirical take on dictatorship and the climate crisis inventively set to the music of Purcell.

****1

WNO’s Figaro revival crackles with humour and exudes joie de vivre

Alice Hughes, 16th February

A solid Figaro in Cardiff, in which individual performances are a joy, and humour abounds.

****1

A White House Rigoletto with some impressive voices

Robert Gainer, 6th November

Welsh National Opera brought a cast of strong voices to Birmingham for a production of Rigoletto intriguingly set in the White House of the 1960s.

***11

L'enchantement de Hansel et Gretel au Wiener Staatsoper

Jean-Pierre Rousseau, 29th December

Tout au long de la représentation, on a l'impression de feuilleter l'un de ces beaux livres de contes illustrés par Gustave Doré qui font les souvenirs d'enfance, ou de retrouver l'atmosphère des premiers Walt Disney.

****1

Zerstobene Träume vom Liebesglück: Eugen Onegin in Karlsruhe

Christoph Wurzel, 29th May

Die Inszenierung überzeugt in einer Kombination von klassischer Ausstattung und moderner Focussierung auf die Psychologie der Figuren. Die musikalische Umsetzung ist exzellent. Tschaikowskis Oper wird zu einem packenden Seelendrama von Figuren, die in überkommenen Mustern verstrickt sind.

*****

Klangmärchen

Snapdragon, 26th November

Schön statt schaurig: Christian Thielemann und das Staatsopernorchester liefern die erwartete Sensation, Adrian Noble inszeniert klassich mit Anklängen an Alice im Wunderland.

****1

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.

Seeing double: Iolanta and The Nutcracker reunite under Vasily Petrenko's baton