The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker, London, December 2017

[Fiz]

It’s gone up by £5 here, Sharon!

[taxi4ballet]

Our nearest cinema (an independent) charges more than the next-nearest (chain), but then they do put on a champagne reception beforehand...

[grey]

6 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Hello Grey and welcome out of the lurking shadows!

 

Thank you, Janet (Ballet keeps me sane too!).

 

3 hours ago, alison said:

12 hours ago, grey said:

On 12/4/2017 at 21:13, alison said:

So, Steven McRae gets to dance the Prince for, what, the 3rd? 4th? time on a relay?  I know someone was complaining about getting the same SPFs over again and not ringing the changes, but what about the Prince?

 

Did McRae dance the Prince in any relays before the 2012 one?

 

In 2013, the Prince was Bonelli, in 2015, Kish, and in 2016, Bonelli again.

 

He did 2 with Yoshida, I think possibly also one with Marquez ...?  Not sure of the years.

 

Thank you. I remember now - he did dance in the 2009 relay, with Yoshida (with Iohna Loots as a charmingly feisty Clara). In 2012, it was with Marquez.

 

It would have been refreshing to have a different Prince (Muntagirov?), but we do get a different Sugar Plum Fairy - it just so happens that Lamb is partnered with McRae in this run - so I can't complain.

 

At the moment what I'd love to know is if they dispense with the golden hair dye for the Nutcracker again this year...

[alison]

Wonder how

10 minutes ago, taxi4ballet said:

Our nearest cinema (an independent) charges more than the next-nearest (chain), but then they do put on a champagne reception beforehand...

 

I can't help wondering how many more punters they'd get if they dropped the champagne reception, and the prices accordingly.  Might get more people in that way.

 

Or have "posh seats" and standard seats.

[Sharon]

2 hours ago, Fiz said:

It’s gone up by £5 here, Sharon!

£5 that's just ridiculous!! I would be fuming.

[Fiz]

I am! It would cost £45 for just the two of us! Jog on, Odeon.

[Nina G.]

Such a shame the price for a Live Relay cinema ticket (my local is the Vue cinema) has gone up so much! 

As a Senior it'll cost me £20.99. A Standard ticket is now £22.99 (for 19 years plus): which youngster/student will fork out £22.99? and Pensioners £20.99?  

[taxi4ballet]

5 hours ago, alison said:

Wonder how

 

I can't help wondering how many more punters they'd get if they dropped the champagne reception, and the prices accordingly.  Might get more people in that way.

 

Or have "posh seats" and standard seats.

It's a small cinema and completely sold out - I tried booking a fortnight ago. Pretty much every screening from the ROH gets sold out, opera too.

Edited December 5, 2017 by taxi4ballet

[capybara]

5 hours ago, grey said:

At the moment what I'd love to know is if they dispense with the golden hair dye for the Nutcracker again this year...

 

Most of the leading dancers wear blonde wigs which are glued as well as pinned onto their hair. They were very much in evidence on Takada and Hirano at the General Rehearsal.

[bridiem]

2 hours ago, Nina G. said:

Such a shame the price for a Live Relay cinema ticket (my local is the Vue cinema) has gone up so much! 

As a Senior it'll cost me £20.99. A Standard ticket is now £22.99 (for 19 years plus): which youngster/student will fork out £22.99? and Pensioners £20.99?  

 

That's crazy - that's nearly as much as (or more than) the tickets I get at the ROH. And it's really bad because it reinforces the idea that ballet is only for rich people, which is precisely what these screenings are supposed to be countering.

[LinMM]

Omg glued onto hair!! It's bad enough removing loads of grips one has rather short sighted ly and in a bit of a panic put in hair to hold on some headdress or other which you then lose half your hair trying to get out!! But glue is in another league altogether!!

[Mary]

What a great evening.

 

Gary Avis doing his usual magic, Hayward a most charming, lyrical Clara and Campbell was better than ever I thought, looking dashing in his red coat, really oomphing up the ante tonight ( that's a technical term)   ( and gave a sweet interview) : they are an ideal pair; McRae and Lamb were wonderful -hard to believe she had all that injury time so recently ( she  did have a slight stumble  but it hardly registered after a really exciting pas de deux, and she looks so beautiful)-they go together so well and feel so right:  and the whole evening was a treat really ( even though I do have reservations about this production and could do with a bit less business here and there etc)

Oh the Rose Fairy..where do I sign to join that Naghdi fan club? She was sensational.  Barry Wordsworth's conducting is always so sensitive, bringing the best out of the orchestra to show off that perfect music.

Thanks RB.

For me it is just marvellous to be able to cycle down the road to see this, with an - almost- perfect view  (if only the camera wouldn't cut away at certain points grrr) and a comfy seat,  instead of slogging to London on the train (£20+) for an amphi seat  with someone's xmas shopping digging into my leg, and at this time of year suffering an often pretty horrible train back too, full of drunken people spoiling the experience and getting home past midnight.......

 

[alison]

Oh, was it tonight?  I hadn't realised.  Oh well ...

[Sim]

Welcome to the Naghdi fan club, Mary...I have been a signed up member since she was at school!  😛

[Mary]

If anyone has a fuller cast list than the hopelesly inadequate one supplied by the Picturehouse I'd be v grateful to see some more names..

 

 

[James]

This is the cast as given in the digital programme:-

 

Herr Drosselmeyer                          Gary Avis

Clara (his god-daughter)               Francesca Hayward

Hans-Peter/The Nutcracker        Alexander Campbell

Drosselmeyer’s Assistant             David Yudes

Maiden Aunts                                  Caroline Jennings, Susan Nye

Housekeeper                                   Barbara Rhodes

Dr Stahlbaum (Clara's father)      Christopher Saunders

Mrs Stahlbaum (Clara's mother)   Elizabeth McGorian

Fritz (Clara's brother)                     Caspar Lench

Clara’s Partner                                 Tristan Dyer

Grandmother                                    Hannah Grennell

Grandfather                                       Alastair Marriott

Dancing Mistress                              Kristen McNally

Captain                                                 Bennet Gartside

Harlequin                                            Kevin Emerton

Columbine                                          Elizabeth Harrod

Soldier                                                  Paul Kay

Vivandière                                          Meaghan Grace Hinkis

St Nicholas                                          Giacomo Rovero

Mouse King                                        Nicol Edmonds

The Sugar Plum Fairy                      Sarah Lamb

The Prince                                           Steven McRae

Spanish Dance                                   Olivia Cowley, Tomas Mock, Nathalie Harrison,

                                                                Erico Montes, Hannah Grennell, Kevin Emerton

Arabian Dance                                   Melissa Hamilton, Reece Clarke , David Donnelly, Téo Dubreuil

Chinese Dance                                  Leo Dixon, Calvin Richardson

Russian Dance                                   Tristan Dyer, Paul Kay

Dance of the Mirlitons                   Elizabeth Harrod, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Mayara Magri,

                                                             Romany Pajdak

Rose Fairy                                           Yasmine Naghdi

Her Escorts                                         Matthew Ball, William Bracewell, Nicol Edmonds, James Hay

Leading Flowers                               Claire Calvert, Fumi Kaneko, Itziar Mendizabal,

                                                                Beatriz Stix-Brunell

[Fiz]

I’ve just discovered that there is no Encore screening either which has never happened before - curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.

[alison]

The ROH website is showing Encore screenings, so I guess your local simply isn't doing one.  It may be a business decision: there may be a lot of films out where demand is high and they don't want to sacrifice a screening or two at the weekend, or perhaps the constant repetition is having an effect on audience numbers - after all, how many Christmases running is the average child going to want to see the same production of The Nutcracker? (plus there's competition from the Bolshoi).  Looking at my nearest Odeon, they aren't doing the usual Sunday repeat either, but then there are a couple of National Theatre broadcasts this week already.

[Mary]

My Picturehouse is doing an encore screening on Monday 11th.

[Fonty]

I haven't seen the RB's Nutcracker for years. Or indeed any other Nutcracker, for that matter, apart from my favourite (Matthew Bourne).  I am curious about the Rose Fairy role.  I don't remember anyone dancing this when I used to see it as a child.  I thought it just used to be an ensemble piece for the female corps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alison]

 I have a feeling it may be something Wright reinstated when he revised the production in the 90s?  I have a feeling my original cast sheet didn't show it.

 

Just checked: no RF in 1994, but one (Belinda Hatley ) by the time 2002 came around.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 I am curious about the Rose Fairy role.  I don't remember anyone dancing this when I used to see it as a child.  I thought it just used to be an ensemble piece for the female corps.

 

48 minutes ago, alison said:

 I have a feeling it may be something Wright reinstated when he revised the production in the 90s?  I have a feeling my original cast sheet didn't show it.

Just checked: no RF in 1994, but one (Belinda Hatley ) by the time 2002 came around.

 

I think that, 15 years on, the role of the Rose Fairy has achieved greater prominence in the minds of ballet fans because Yasmine Naghdi in particular makes such a positive impression in the role  .

[MargaretN7]

2 hours ago, Fiz said:

I’ve just discovered that there is no Encore screening either which has never happened before - curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.

Some have a Nutcracker Encore screening between Christmas and New year. 

[alison]

15 minutes ago, capybara said:

I think that, 15 years on, the role of the Rose Fairy has achieved greater prominence in the minds of ballet fans because Yasmine Naghdi in particular makes such a positive impression in the role  .

 

I think it's always been a role which is looked at as a "step-up" towards or the secondary role to Sugar Plum.  And I've frequently looked at a not-too-prepossessing cast sheet over the years and thought "Oh well, at least we've got Hatley/Yanowsky/Morera/Choe etc. etc. as Rose Fairy"

[Sharon]

I really enjoyed the live relay last night. The whole company performed well. And the orchestra was fantastic. As you can imagine all the principles were excellent, yes Lamb had a wobble, slight over rotation on the chaines I think but she still finished in 5th. In particular I want to mention Campbell who's interpretation was just right and of course Nagdhi who breezed through the difficult choreography like it was a breeze. What an utter delight she is.

However one of the highlights of last night was the video of rehearsing with the wonderful Lesley Collier, what a treasure she is. I was so pleased to see them acknowledge this as she deserves every praise and gratitude.

[Beryl H]

Enjoyed last night's performance, it gave me a chance to see different casts plus Alexander Campbell who replaced Valentino Zuchetti as Hans-Peter, I hadn't seen any cast change lists so I was very surprised to see him, he has made this role his own and partnered Meaghan Grace Hinkis well at presumably short notice. I particularly liked Matthew Ball and Joseph Sissens in the Chinese, Tierney Heap in the Arabian, and Melissa Hamilton as the Rose Fairy, think she would be a lovely Aurora! Akane Takada and Ryoichi Hirano looked very elegant in the grand pdd and Akane Takada was so exquisite and ideal for this role. 

[JohnS]

Apologies again for such a late post - busy lobbying for a safe footpath to link two wonderful village communities in North Cumbria.  I just wanted to say how fabulous the Friday 15th matinee was with Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov as Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince along with many of the cinema cast.  Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell were Clara/Hans Peter.  Francesca was utterly captivating throughout.  I hadn't quite appreciated how we first see her through the gauze and the speed of those fantastic spins.  For me it's very much Clara's ballet although Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer might see things differently.  Alexander Campbell is a wonderful dancer and he and Francesca seem so well matched.  Brilliant dancing throughout, from David Yudes as Drosselmeyer's Assistant to Yasmine Naghdi's beautiful Rose Fairy.  So good to see Olivia Cowley back on stage in the Spanish Dance.  Marianela and Vadim luxuriated in their pas de deux.  It really was one of those dream performances.

I'm very fortunate that my local cinema in Keswick is screening the encore performance on Christmas Eve and then hopefully a couple of day trips for matinees 30 December and 1 January, trains etc permitting.  Add a repeat of the lovely BBC 'Dancing the Nutcracker' documentary on New Year's Eve and it's very much Nutcracker Christmas.

[JohnS]

Back from an encore screening of the 5 December live relay in Keswick.  Fabulous performance, full cinema, all ages, lots of applause, and all box office receipts donated to Cumbria Community Foundation, a great charity distributing funds to those who are disadvantaged including those affected by flooding.  I first saw Francesca Hayward's Clara in January 2014, stunning then, now so accomplished and yet so fresh.  I'm delighted she continues to dance Clara.  That said I'm looking forward immensely to her Sugar Plum Fairy on 30 December. 

[Ivy Lin]

Hi I saw the transmission. I must say I am disheartened at all the changes Peter Wright has made to his Nutcracker over the years. I have the 1984 video with Lesley Collier and Anthony Dowell and despite the poor picture quality I generally love that video a lot. But having Clara and Prince jumping into all the divertissements as well as the two big corps scenes (the Waltz of the Snowflakes and Waltz of the Flowers) is distracting. It was especially egregious in the Waltz of the Snowflakes as the camera focused almost entirely on Hayward and Campbell and not on the gorgeous ballet blanc in the background. The patterns of the corps especially the famous "blizzard" whirl that Ivanov choreographed is almost lost. 

 

I understand the need to give Clara and the Prince more of a dancing role but in doing so a lot of the structures present in the original version he made in 1984 are lost. Just my two cents.

 

With that said Francesca Hayward was lovely, and I enjoyed Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae in the grand pas de deux.

[JohnS]

Thanks Ivy and interesting to read a different perspective.  For my part I really like Clara and Hans Peter taking full part in Act 2.  In light of Luke Jennings Nutcracker article in yesterday's links including Gary Avis's comment about the Sugar Plum Fairy/Prince representing the ideal that Clara/Hans Peter should aspire to, I was mulling over how SPF/Prince could teach Clara/Hans Peter, as the Rose Fairy teaches Clara, so Clara/Hans Peter conclude the PDD.  But I guess this would break the wonderful PDD and we do after all see Clara/Hans Peter entranced by the glorious dancing and can imagine what lies ahead for them.

[Ivy Lin]

6 hours ago, JohnS said:

Thanks Ivy and interesting to read a different perspective.  For my part I really like Clara and Hans Peter taking full part in Act 2.  In light of Luke Jennings Nutcracker article in yesterday's links including Gary Avis's comment about the Sugar Plum Fairy/Prince representing the ideal that Clara/Hans Peter should aspire to, I was mulling over how SPF/Prince could teach Clara/Hans Peter, as the Rose Fairy teaches Clara, so Clara/Hans Peter conclude the PDD.  But I guess this would break the wonderful PDD and we do after all see Clara/Hans Peter entranced by the glorious dancing and can imagine what lies ahead for them.

 

That's another thing -- I wanted to focus on the Rose Fairy of Yasmine Naghdi but again, the camera was all on Hayward. Again, it seems like he added these dancing bits for Clara and Prince without rethinking the structure he had set up in Act 2. So these interpolations come across as that -- interpolations, and not really built into the fabric of his original work. 

I have never seen the Royal Ballet Nutcracker live so I have no idea whether the camera work really captures what the overall effect is onstage. 

[LinMM]

I will be seeing this on Jan 1st and will see how it compares with ENB ...which I saw last week.

 

its a while since seen the ENB but have a feeling whatever the pitfalls of RB production will not be as annoying as those of ENB!! 

I haven't posted about the ENB performance ....the dancing was absolutely fine ...especially by Shiori Kase... but feel so irritated by many aspects of this production ...am hoping will enjoy the RB one more!!

[JohnS]

I do understand Ivy Lin's point about the camera focus on Clara.  In the theatre I always feel that it is undoubtedly the Rose Fairy's solo and that Clara's joining in doesn't distract at all but helps sustain the strong narrative of what i think is a magical production.  I do hope Ivy Lin has opportunity to see Nutcracker at the ROH and that LinMM enjoys New Year's Day.