BRB 'Nutcracker' reviews 'Nutcracker' reviews Sakuma in reviews Cao in reviews recent BRB reviews

For the retail trade, the Christmas season seems to start in August; for us balletomanes. Christmas starts with the (almost) compulsory annual outing to the Nutcracker. For Trog, Christmas came early this year with the St Petersburg Theatre Ballet performing the Nutcracker, back in November. That production has been comprehensively reviewed by Kevin Ng, elsewhere on this site. I have seen the Vienna Festival Ballet performing the Nutcracker this year too. No one has reviewed this production; here is part of the entry from my diary about this production; "Avoid at all costs!". Last night and tonight I was sitting in the Grand Old Lady of Hurst Street, to see the BRB back at home. The long awaited refurbishment has done the place proud, looking resplendent in her new silver and purple colour scheme. The seating layout has stayed very much the same, although there are new seats in place, some of which have been sponsored. Last night I was in a seat dedicated to Prince Philip. I was there for the opening gala, and I thought then what a fabulous transformation to the front of house. Tonight I really appreciated what a difference the reconstruction has made to the experience of attending live theatre.

The entire front of the building has been removed, and replaced by the now regulation large glass box. Generally I don't like this style of architecture, as I think it rarely does a place justice. The glass construction always looking like a carbuncle on the (generally) stone work. With the Hippodrome, it actually looks fine, mostly because they haven't added a wad a glass to otherwise fine stone work. The front of the Hippodrome was never the most attractive of buildings; now she is one of the finest buildings in the second city. The glass box works well too. There is now a bar on every level. This is much better than the old days when we all tried to cram into the one corner bar. Each of the bars sell coffee too, where as previously we all had to queue just past the ticket office. There is a sweetie kiosk on every floor too. Big tip here; buy your program from the sweet kiosk rather than from the program counter; the queue is shorter.

Around the edge of the bar area is a lot of well placed ledges (ideal for putting your beverage on). There is also a collection of BRB trophies and awards, which add to the atmosphere. Just by the ticket office there is a costume display cabinet; for this production one of the Snow Flakes being presented. I do hope displaying costumes from the production currently playing becomes a tradition.

The only down side for me is the new safety curtain, which was painted by Balraj Khanna. I do not like the design at all. The artist says it was "inspired by music and dance, the work encapsulates the spirit of theatre and resonates with magic and mystery which becomes all the more tantalising when we realise that the somewhat surrealistic elements populating the painting are all inter-related." Trog can see birds, fish, spirals, handcuffs(!) and star-frisbees. Exactly what this has to do with music and dance is beyond me. Still it is very bright, mostly yellows and reds, and it is better that seeing the safety curtain being used as a bill-board. As an aside, Trog's vote for the nicest looking safety curtain is the one at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.

As to the ballet, well I'm afraid that I cannot give an objective review of this production, as it is one of my favourite ballets, a definite highlight of my year. Even if the cast made a complete hash of it (unlikely) I would still walk away a happy man. While I was there on Friday night, I overheard one of the audience going on about this being the all-star cast of the season. With Nao Sakuma as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Chi Cao as the Prince, Michael O'Hare as Drosselmeyer and Carol-Anne Millar as Clara, it was certainly an excellent cast. For me, it was a real pleasure to see Lei Zhao being given the role of the Snow Fairy and the Rose Fairy on the Friday night. She is an excellent dancer and it is very nice to see that the management is giving her larger roles. She was the Snow Fairy again on Saturday night, but was "demoted" to a Mirliton for the second act, with the Rose Fairy being danced by Nao Sakuma.

Trog spent all of ten seconds coming up which his dream cast for the Nutcracker; Leticia Müller as Sugar Plum. Andrew Murphy as the Prince, Lei Zhao as Clara, David Justin as Drosselmeyer, Dorcas Walters as the Rose Fairy, Monica Zamora as the Snow Fairy and Andrea Tredinnick as the Arab Lady. After that it gets very difficult. It is very possible I have seen this very cast at some stage, as I have seen the Nutcracker every year for the last seven years.

On Friday night there were a few minor errors; a slip here, a stumble there and one of the radio-controlled rats made an early entrance. Oh Well! The Royal Ballet Sinfonia under the very able baton of Paul Murphy, did not seem to be on form either, in spite of Mr Murphy's best effort to extract that bit more from them. I was sitting right behind him and I had an extremely good view of him in action. He is an excellent conductor. Even the usually well educated Friday night audience did not seem to know that you are supposed to applaud when King Rat makes his entrance through the fire-place and you are not supposed to applaud the ornithological nightmare that opens the second act. Perhaps there was something in the air? At least the Saturday crown got it right!

Watching the Friday night casting, I was struck by the wonderful dancing of Carol-Anne Millar; she and Chi Cao looked very right together. Both are good to watch in their own right, and together there was some very nice flowing pdds. The high lifts and carries really showing of Miss Millar's leg extension to the max. Usually we get to see Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao dancing together, and indeed we did in the grand pas de deux. Wonderful as always. They do work well together. As to Michael O'Hare, well what can one say? Excellent as always, bringing real magic to the role of Drosselmeyer; he looks like a magician. He brings just the right amount of menace to the early part of the role and kindness as he takes Clara into dreamland. I have always felt that the BRB is blessed with the best male dancers in the country. Mr O'Hare just goes to prove the point.

Saturday night gave me the chance to see Monica Zamora as Sugar Plum, Tiit Helimets as the Prince, Wolfgang Stollwitzer as Drosselmeyer and Laëtitia Lo Sardo as Clara. Mr Helimets looks right as the Prince; his blonde hair and northern European looks obviously helping in this regard. He is not one of my favourite dancers, although clearly he is very good. Perhaps I need to see him a few more times. Miss Zamora was as radiant as ever. I once saw her getting into her car dressed in daggy jeans and a t-shirt. Even in that guise you could tell she was a ballerina. Mr Stollwitzer brings a different dimension to the role of Drosselmeyer, playing the menace in a much more understated fashion. Again on Saturday I reflected that we in Brum really are blessed with the best in male dancers.

I personally find this fact a real inspiration. You see, I take ballet class just for fun; I came to it far too late in life to even vaguely contemplate dancing for performance. I am always inspired when I see the chaps up there on stage; what we in class are trying (vainly in my case) to achieve all starts to make sense. I can see what one has to do to perform the perfect pirouette. Now how do I get my body to do what the eyes see? If anyone out there in cyberland knows the secret please, please pass it on! Other chaps I take ballet class with take similar inspiration from seeing the men up there on the stage.

All in all, spending the night with the BRB's Nutcracker is a fine way to commence the silly season. The costumes are right, the lighting design right, the dancing superb. Bring on that pud!

Unsubstantiated rumour time. I have heard along the grape vine that this is to be the final year that we will see the BRB perform the Nutcracker. I do hope not. Not seeing the Nutcracker would be like not being able to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what a good boy I've been this year.