But I wanted to start a fresh thread now it is reality and John Ross has a new album of pictures up, fresh from the reheasal/photoshoot...

Iohna Loots and Ricardo Cervera with The Snowflakes

Ivan Putrov as The Prince and Roberta Marquez as The Sugar Plum Fairy

Royal Ballet - Nutcracker - December 2005
Ballet.co Gallery Area
all images © John Ross

OK - over to you for thoughts on the run...

Clara - Iohna Loots
Hans-Peter - Riccardo Cervera
Drosselmeyer - Gary Avis
Clara's Partner - Giacomo Ciriaci
Harlequin - Joshua Tuifua
Colmbine - Victoria Hewitt
Soldier - Martin Harvey
Vivandière - Lauren Cuthbertson
The Mouse King - David Pickering
Sugar Plum Fairy - Miyako Yoshida
The Prince - Federico Bonelli
Spanish Dance - Revie/Martin/Murphy/Stepanek/Sykes/Maloney
Arabian Dance - McMeekan/Pickering/Kura/Tuifua
Chinese Dance - Wilkie/Faruque/Ramsey/Uspenski
Russian Dance - Kay/McRae
Mirlitons - Durpot/Hewitt/Keating/Oughtred
Rose Fairy - Mara Galeazzi
Her Escorts - Harvey/Hristov/Sasaki/Soares
Leading Flowers - Chapman/Cuthbertson/Lamb/Morera

A rather stale evening I felt. None of the National Dances in the second act divertissements had the panache and bravura which the music demands - the Russian Trepak looked more like a clog dance and Mara Galeazzi seemed to be dancing her own (probably more appropriate) faster tempo than the orchestra permitted in the Waltz of the Flowers. The music of the Grand Pas de Deux is perhaps some of the most sublime in the balletic repertoire, written at a peak of Tchaikovsky's melancholia (his beloved sister had just died and his platonic "affair" with Madame von Meck had been brought to an end), it speaks to me of the transcience of love, of childhood, of life. Yoshida's dancing, though pretty (she reminds me of a Royal Doulton statuette), seemed to sit on top of the music, rather than arising through it. She had no sense of, what I believe the Russians call, "cantilena" in her dancing. I did much admire Riccardo Cervera as Hans-Peter - very clean, bright dancing with a great elevation, though I think he will need to work on his partnering skills prior to his Fille debut later next year.

One Nutcracker down, heaven knows how many more to go - Merry Christmas everybody...

The Royal Ballet's current production on the other hand, is a joy to these eyes, to me it looks like how it SHOULD be done. It looks sumptuous, it reeks class, it fills me joy - bordering on utter glee. The whole corps were wonderful throughout, especially in one of my favourite parts, the Dance of the Snowflakes, where they seemd wholly in unison. I thought everyone danced rather well myself last night, right down to the kiddies at the party at the start. But of course, the undoubted star was Miyako Yoshida, whose light, quick steps and feet, made it look like HER ballet, as if it were made on her. If anyone can top that, well, superstardom beckons! I only wish I could see her next performance, but sad for me, I'll be away in Wales. There were so many other good performances its hard to know where to start; each dancer seemed to make the most of their own small 5 minute section - they really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Special mentions (from me) to Isabel McMeekan in the Arabian dance - (phew, very sexy!), the 4 Mirlitons were very sweet (sorry, no pun intended), Mara as the rose was fabulous - and the lead flowers (especially Sarah and Lauren) led from the front. And of course Frederico was imperious as the Prince - his stature really does grow in these roles. Good as they all were - again, for me, it was Miyako that made the night a special one.

Sometimes a rest can be a good thing. Sir Peter Wright’s production of the Nutcracker has not been shown at Covent Garden by the Royal since the 2002/2003 season. It returns as popular as ever, with the opening night playing to a really packed and animated house. That little rest from the repertory appears to have resulted in a fresh and lively approach to this much loved production and an agreeable sparkle in the overall presentation of the work.

Most of the first night gremlins which so delight in bedevilling Royal Ballet productions seemed to be absent (just the one crunch as some furniture got knocked over in Act 1) and the cast from the children upwards projected an engaging enthusiasm. Although there were some great performances from the Sugar Plum Fairy and her partner in the closing sections of the work, it was the company as a whole that impressed – a sense of strength in depth and being firmly on their home ground in this richly detailed and grand production.

Iohna Loots was pleasingly girlish as Clara, who receives the Nutcracker doll as a Christmas present from her godfather, Drosselmeyer (Gary Avis). He swirls about the Stahlbaum’s Christmas party in his huge magician’s cloak, performing tricks to delight the guests. Christmas at Clara’s parents is the epitome of what a 19th century Christmas should be in Julia Trevelyan Oman’s richly detailed and evocative designs (the lighting of the tree: a visit from St Nicholas). Clara’s obstreperous young brother Fritz had a decidedly more modern sulky bratishness about him though: you could find him an any sitting room come Christmas Eve this year. The “dolls” introduced by Drosselmeyer for the entertainment of the guests were nicely done by Joshua Tuifua and Victoria Hewitt (Harlequin and Columbine) and Martin Harvey and Lauren Cutherberston (Soldier and Vivandiere). The small children in the cast watched them with real intensity.

The transformation scene, when Clara, returning in search of her doll, is confronted by a mysterious Drosselmeyer and a hugely growing tree and massively expanding furniture still is able to enthral those in the audience who have been fed a diet of endless film special effects. Old fashioned theatrical magic and illusion still remains potent. Clara now meets her Nutcracker (Ricardo Cervera): and one of Wright’s additions to the text derived from Ivanov is a little duet for them. This is trickier than it looks and has been a treacherous section for previous exponents of the roles. Cervera’s strengths are as an individual and in his clarity of line rather than as a partner: he and Loots could have been more together at some moments but there were no mishaps.

The various dances in Act 2 in the land of the sweets were very strongly cast. Paul Kay and Stephen McRae (aided by Cervera) did a particularly lively version of the Russian dance which got a big response. Isabel McMeekan was agreeably sinuous in the Arabian (always a moment for the dads in the audience, I think). Mara Galeazzi was the elegant Rose Fairy, with some fine dancing from her escorts (Harvey, Hristov, Sasaki, Soares) and her flowers included Chapman, Lamb, Cuthbertson and Morera. All this sounds very starry indeed, and it was, but there was much more to come.

Miyako Yoshida’s Sugar Plum Fairy was a pure delight, a performance of dignity and grace with a ballerina’s authority. Every nuance of that gorgeous music seemed to be savoured. She never seemed to be hurried and always seemed to have all the time in the world no matter how fast the music. Nothing was blurred or rushed, each step given its proper value. Bonelli was a thoughtful partner in whom she seemed to have confidence, and his own variations were cleanly executed. They got a passionate response from the audience, and after seeing this I felt a real pang of regret that Yoshida is not cast as Aurora later this season.

Wright’s ending to the work shows Drosselmeyer’s nephew, Hans Peter, freed of his enchantment in the form of the Nutcracker doll returning home for Christmas. It is a warm hearted and probably rather sentimental image, but it feels the right thing for this production. Grand and glittering though the Kingdom of the Sweets is, this returns us to something a little more like the real world, just as we must leave the theatre.

A brief note: the programme includes the text of Petipa’s instructions to Tchaikovsky for the score of the Nutcracker, reprinted from the book by Roland John Wiley. A sample “Arabia…Coffee Mocha. Oriental Dance. From 24 to 32 bars of charming and voluptuous music”. He certainly knew how to carry out his commission.

Having known this production since it was new in 1984 and in its current revision - am amazed for a Peter Wright production how bland and anaemic this version is. His BRB production has a far greater sense of theatre and magic.

Intrigued by Ian's comment on a separate posting in this thread of Yoshida as a Doulton statuette. That for me captures what certainly last season troubled me about Yoshida - her dancing looked incredibly brittle.

This article in the programme booklet is absolutely fascinating, not only in showing the unique collaboration between Tchaikovsky and Petipa, but in showing what has since been removed from Petipa's text. I am not sure whether these revisions were made by Ivanov, Sergeyev or others at a later stage, but it is interesting that Petipa's text includes a series of divertissements in Act 1, acting almost as a parallel with those in Act 2:

Chinese dance - 24 bars;
Spanish dance - 32 bars;
Italian dance (Tarantella) - 32 bars;
English Dance (Giga) - 48 bars;
Russian Trepak (danced by the Jester) - 24 bars;
Coda (cancan, quadrille, galop) - 48 bars.

The Act 2 divertissements represent various beverages - Chocolate, Coffee, Tea and also include a dance for Mother Gigogne, which I remember Derek Deane's old Nutcracker for ENB used to include. It also lists the Grand Pas de Deux as being only 48 bars, exactly the same as the Prince (as he is referred to by Petipa) Coqueluche's variation. Was it Ivanov who sanctioned the lengthening of this music?

Paul mentions the BRB production and I agree entirely with him that that is the absolute finest there is (a gift from Wright to Birmingham I think?). Worth seeing whenever it is on.

Well, as I was at the RB version, and haven't seen the BRB version, I was simply reporting on what I HAD seen. Which I enjoyed enormously. Should I ever get the chance to see the BRB staging (which I hope I will), then I will report on that but in a separate thread.

I am interested in Crisp's review, where he says that "the role should be taken by an immensely grand ballerina offering the full blaze of her temperament" and mentions Danilova, Markova and Ayupova. First of all, I am not quite sure what he means by that, never having seen any of the dancers he mentions.

Secondly, would that be a good intepretation of the role? I've always felt that the music is so uplifting, that a rather cold, haughty demeanour seems quite inappropriate. (If that is what Crisp means)

And thirdly, why should a sugar plum be immensely grand?

"Zhanna Ayupova is a perfect exemplar of the purity of the Kirov style. Her sublime Aurora was widely praised. Every facet of her performance is perfectly proportioned. Her pure dancing has poise and harmony, and radiates an inner calm that feels as soothing as a religious blessing.

In "Chopiniana" Ayupova is ravishing as the Mazurka ballerina. Her Masha in the Vainonen production of "Nutcracker" has the requisite grandeur, and she dances Juliet movingly with a quiet dignity."

In Dominic Delouche's wonderful documentary Markova la Legende which Bruce kindly arranged for a group of us to see at the Royal Ballet School a few weeks ago, Markova is seen coaching the Sugar Plum Fairy's variation (amongst other things) and one of her recurrent themes is that the music tells you exactly how the dance should be performed - "It's all in the music" she is heard to say on a number of occasions. Markova's approach seems to be that the music breathes through the dance and consequently breathe through the dancer.

As I said in my initial posting, Yoshida (to me) appeared to sit on top of the music - like a figurine inside a musical box - she did not radiate her dance through the music.