Of the double bill of Tchaikovsky's Iolanta and Stravinsky's Persephone, I've always much preferred Iolanta. That I've always preferred Tchaikovsky's music over Stravinsky's may have something to do with it, but largely it's that Persephone's story is not as compelling as Iolanta's and can feel that there's not enough of it to sustain the opera's length. Peter Sellars' production of this double bill of operas is very good, with Iolanta dramatically being more involving in my opinion. In both productions, the production values are very striking, quite spare and simple sets and dark lighting especially in Persephone but never ugly. The staging is engaging in Iolanta, having a lot of power and intensity. Not much is quite done to make the drama of Persephone more interesting but the general passion of the performers and the lack of distaste(apart from the sighting of businessman garb for an opera set in the 15th century, which traditionalists may find weird) make up for this a lot. I will however mention that the choreography in Persephone is exquisite and beautifully danced. Tchaikovsky's music in Iolanta is pure magic and while Persephone is not one of Stravinsky's best works-I'm still not sure what to make of his style-it is still an interesting listen. The orchestra play both scores magnificently and the stirring chorus and detailed and clearly-intentioned conducting are just as impressive. There is very little to fault about the singing either, Willard White's Ikn-Hakia resonantly sung and nobly acted and Dmitri Ulianov's King Rene is affectingly impassioned. Ekaterina Scherbachenko's Iolanta and Pavel Cernoch's Vaudemont are sung with full rounded tone, total commitment to the music and excellent diction. Paul Groves still has a lovely voice and while the drama is not always compelling for him to embody his role he nonetheless shows that he is involved in what he's singing about. Dominique Blanc's speaking is emotive and crystalline, she also has a commanding stage presence. As said already the dancing is so elegant and will leave you captivated regardless of whether the drama of the story does so or not. All in all, a very good production on the whole though Iolanta comes off marginally better than Persephone does. 8/10 Bethany Cox
