The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker (December 11th, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

The Nutcracker

Dec. 11th, 2015

This spectacularly sparkly performance of the Nutcracker is a yearly tradition at the Royal Ballet. A Christmas essential across Europe and North America, the Nutcracker comes in hundreds of versions (with different choreography, stories, and characters) all set to the same score.  It’s easy to think you ‘know’ the Nutcracker after seeing it a number of times; I’ve seen NBoC’s Nutcracker at least four times. But the Royal Ballet’s was so different, and it’s opened my eyes to how one score and basic story can be interpreted so many different ways.

Alexander Campbell and Francesca Hayward (ROH.org)

In the Royal Ballet’s version of the Nutcracker, choreographed by Peter Wright, Drosselmeyer's (Gary Avis) nephew, Hans-Peter (Alexander Campbell), has been bewitched to become a Nutcracker, and must defeat the mouse king to regain his human form. With Clara's (Francesca Hayward) help, the Mouse King is defeated, and Drosselmeyer and Hans-Peter take Clara on a adventure through a magical land full of different characters and dances. 

As I said, Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker is very different from the one I’m used to. In most cases, this is a good thing. But where I think NBoC’s Nutcracker is superior is the story. Royal Ballet’s follows the loosest possible storyline it can in the first act, and abandons it entirely in act two. The coherent ‘action’ ends about halfway through the first act, and the rest of the ballet seems like an excuse to have lots of little dances; it was basically just using the music. I had to reread the plot summary a few times to wrap my head around what was supposed to be happening. I think it’s very necessary for ballets to clearly communicate a story (especially a ballet with a large audience of children), so in this aspect, RB’s Nutcracker fell short. I think I can fairly say that in general, NBoC has more emotional performances and more ably develops coherent storylines, while Royal Ballet has superior dancers, more finesse, more variety in performers, and are clearly better rehearsed.

However, in most other areas, I really enjoyed the Royal Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. As soon as I saw how glittery and ‘big’ the first scene was, I knew I would love it (as we all know, I love everything grand and detailed!). The sets were so large and detailed; I was sitting quite far off to the side so I did miss a lot set-wise (especially the Christmas tree! Pout), but what I did see was incredible. They really created an environment in which the story could unfold; there was no question of where things were happening, and the contrast between the warmth of the Act 1 sets versus the iciness of the Act 2 sets helped to communicate the change from Clara's  reality to her dream.

Francesca Hayward (ROH.org)

The costumes were exquisite. From the simple beauty of Clara’s nightgown, so the incredible detail on the Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu and wig, every costume looked newly made (the costume department at the ROH should be commended for their excellent work). Even all of the group costumes for minor background characters were so detailed and individualized. I can’t comment on them enough. Favourite costumes of mine included Clara’s nightdress (it was so flowy – I need to know what fabric that was because I want to make something with it), the Rose Fairy’s glittery (!!) pink (!!!!) tutu, the Snowflakes’ costumes, and the Angel costumes. I also loved that every costume was a head-to-toe look. Nothing was just a tutu with a hairpiece. Wigs, makeup, shoes – everything came together to create a complete look that embodied and accentuated every single character in the show.

All the dancers performed beautifully. I always commend the Royal Ballet on how well-rehearsed their dancers are. Of course there are the odd mistake, but nothing is ever sloppy, and any mistakes are quickly rectified (and no one fell – every time I see Nutcracker, someone – usually a main character – falls). I was particularly impressed by the caliber of the student dancers; the children were charming and synchronized, and the older students performed so well you would think they were members of the corps. One of my favourite large group numbers was Snowflakes; I loved all of the intricacies and nuances of the choreography. The choreography itself was nothing especially revolutionary, but it was nice enough. I thought all of the divertissements - though too short - accurately communicated the 'feel' of the music. I did dislike the Sugar Plum's main variation; she did these odd little jumps (they're like pas de chats, but smaller, with what looked like a baby ronde de jambe - I'm sure it has a name, but I'm still new to ballet, so forgive my lack of knowledge) that looked awkward, and there was nothing 'fairylike' about the piece. The PDD was gorgeously done though; very grand, very attention-grabbing and exciting. 

Olivia Cowley (ROH.org)

A few outstanding performances were those of Clara (Francesca Hayward) and the Nutcracker (Alexander Campbell), that of the Rose Fairy (Yasmine Naghdi), and that of Lead Arabian (Olivia Cowley). Francesca Hayward is quickly becoming one of my favourite dancers. She is an absolute delight to watch, and Clara was a perfect role for her. She was sweet and innocent (blending in perfectly with the children onstage), absolutely solid technique-wise, and created a character that was believable and loveable. Alexander Campbell was charming and charismatic, and you could see why Clara would like him (I mean, other than the fact that he’s adorable). I didn’t really get much of his character, but I think that was a story issue rather than a problem with his performance. Yasmine Naghdi was beautiful and ethereal; she had a little stumble at one point towards the end of her performance (not in her main variation, but in a little aside later on in the ballet), but otherwise was sharp and tidy, hitting all the accents of the music, and giving an all-around charming and engaging performance. Olivia Cowley, a favourite dancer of mine, was sultry and charismatic as Lead Arabian. I’ve always found that music quite tricky to interpret, but Olivia does so with her usual elegance, finesse, and musicality. Not to mention she’s made out of elastic bands; the flexibility and strength Olivia showcased in this too-short piece would rival that of some of the top Rhythmic Gymnastics (Evgenia Kanaeva totally comes to mind). The Nutcracker was full of great performances, but these were the main ones that stood out to me. I did also have a soft spot for Drosselmeyer and his tendency to throw glitter everywhere though.

Lauren Cuthbertson (the Guardian)

One thing that surprised me was how unenthusiastic dancers Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli (The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince) appeared to be. Now, in all fairness, there had been a last minute cast change (Matthew Golding was originally scheduled to dance the Prince). Lauren was, as always, exquisitely elegant, and absolute technical perfection, but I felt she was lacking in the emotional department. Her smile seemed forced, and she didn’t really bring anything to the character. It was Lauren dancing, not a character. She and Federico didn’t look comfortable together; he seemed to be struggling to maintain his grip on her during lifts. On his own, Federico is a nice dancer, but like Lauren, he wasn’t really dancing a character. He was just doing a performance. I do love watching them dance, but something just seemed off about their performance that night. There was nothing memorable about either of them.

I had a wonderful time at The Nutcracker. Even if the story isn’t the greatest, Nutcracker’s a great, not-too long night out (it ends at 945, perfect for kids!), full of entertaining performances, beautiful costumes, and grand sets.