Iolanta/The Nutcracker

In this 2017 Paris production, director Dmitri Tcherniakov recreates the double bill—of Tchaikovsky’s final opera and his last ballet—commissioned for Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in 1892. The rarity is Iolanta, a lovely one-act fairy-tale about a princess whose blindness is kept from her by her father, but who is miraculously cured when the king threatens her beloved with execution. Tcherniakov sets the piece in a 19th-century drawing room rather than a medieval kingdom, but the performance is a fine one, with lyrical conducting by Alain Altinoglu and soprano Sonya Yoncheva as a superb Iolanta. Unfortunately, it is literally merged with one of the most ill-conceived re-imaginings of The Nutcracker in memory as the opera’s characters morph into those of the ballet, and the party for young Marie—the counterpart to Iolanta, danced by Marion Barbeau—turns into a literal catastrophe: devastation that is apparently caused by a giant meteor that leaves an apocalyptic wasteland in its wake. That basic concept is astronomically bad, but is made worse by choreography that, aside from a couple of nice duets, is thoroughly mediocre, often consisting of little more than people stomping on the floor or playing musical chairs. This is an utterly depressing Nutcracker that has less to do with Tchaikovsky than Tcherniakov, working in full Eurotrash mode. Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. A case in which half a loaf is simply not enough, this is an optional purchase, at best. (F. Swietek)