The Nutcracker magic starts with the first notes of Tchaikovsky’s music taking us in to the world of the supernatural. This production is about the dance, the costumes and the tunes. Of course there’s the story but it’s almost impossible to follow. And within the world of the Nutcracker, it’s magnificent. But in 1913, just twenty-one years after the first performance of The Nutcracker in 1892, The Rite of Spring erupted in to the world of ballet and nothing would be the same again.
Classic Royal Ballet production this, now the definitive British interpretation. It was the most complete London production when it first appeared in 1984, when it displaced Nureyev’s 1968 version. As expected, this revival was light and beautiful, sprinkled lightly with magic dust with little of the dark undercurrents and menace brought out in contemporary dance productions.
I marvel at the detail of this production as much as the grace and agility of the dancers. The crowd scenes are packed with sub-groups and background action. The stage-craft where the ballroom set pulls apart and reveals the Christmas tree growing to a seemingly nightmarish size, exaggerated by the dancers moving upstage so appearing smaller to the audience... the costumes, the masks... the ensemble dances with the corps de ballet. It’s magnificent seen live and only experienced in diminutive form through the television camera.
And the individual dances in the second act were similarly splendid but from a different aspect. But (in a nod to contemporary sensibilities) the caricatures of the national dancers are considerable diluted, which is a shame.
The lack of dramatic cohesion in the piece isn’t solved by this production; it’s hard to view Act 2 as related to Act 1. The Royal Ballet and principals are justifiable famous but the Matthew Bourne production brought a whole extra level of comprehension to the piece.
Of the principals, Sarah Lamb dancing The Sugar Plum Fairy and Ryoichi Hirano dancing The Prince drew the loudest applause but I was equally impressed by the other couple, Bomin Kim dancing Clara and Taisuke Nakao dancing Hans-Peter. The Nutcracker, Thomas Whitehead dancing Herr Drosselmeyer, gave a solid performance throughout.
The Music Director of The Royal Ballet, Koen Kessels, and the inestimable orchestra gave the dancers an excellent accompaniment. The celesta solo in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy sounded boosted with a bit of sound engineering. As did the off-stage choirs for the Waltz of the Snowflakes. So much the better, so long as it is all live performance.
A typically multicultural London audience with some very dressy individuals. Russians too. Families looking as though their Christmas starts here. The kids lost concentration and became restless during Act 2 though. Nonetheless, a great evening with a fine feel-good factor. Long live the Mouse King!
Credits
Choreography - Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Music - Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
The Sugar Plum Fairy - Sarah Lamb
The Prince - Ryoichi Hirano
Herr Drosselmeyer - Thomas Whitehead
Clara - Bomin Kim
Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker - Taisuke Nakao
Artists of The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
The Schola Cantorum Of The London Oratory School, London Oratory Junior Choir
Conductor - Koen Kessels
Designer - Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lighting designer - Mark Henderson
Senior répétiteur - Samira Saidi