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The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker, London, December 2017


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What a lovely afternoon of dancing from the RB in the Nutcracker today. 

Because of all the shenanigans with tickets for this ....not being able to go on original day in the end and having to return ticket to box office ....then getting a Stalls Circle standing for today ( via the Forum) ...I was somehow really up for this Nutcracker.

First what a bargain at just £8!! 

Although my standing place was really well round to the right ....so tiny bit of the stage on the right not visible and cannot see the real height of the central sets etc( some of the effect of the Christmas tree growing a bit lost)  ...I did have a VERY close view of the dancers if I stood back against the wall ...so that was great and made up for a lot. 

This whole performance for me was joyous from beginning to the end....the dancing...the costumes...the sets ...all perfect for me and a lovely Sugar Plum from Jasmine Naghdi ....she has a sympathetic and gracious style and made the whole variation seem  spacious and generous in timing and with a fine Prince from Matthew Ball. Beatrice Stix Brunell was a lovely anduplifting lead in the Rose waltz( though it said Mayara Magri in the cast sheet) .....I'm sure I did not see Magri dancing at all ...so hope she is not injured...

 

But for me the real stars today were Anna Rose O Sullivan and James Hay.....he was simply wonderful in this role ....great dancing and such a responsive face ....a real actor in the making there I think...he looked as if he was really enjoying himself too ....I have noticed him before for his very stylish dancing but today I saw something else and really hope he gets a chance at a meatier role in the next year. 

The two of them go very well together ....Anna has that ability to connect to the far corners of the theatre and they connect well with each other.  

I did enjoy this Nutcracker....much more than the ENB one ( different thread) for so many little touches. 

I love the way the story holds together in this version from the very beginning scene to the final scene and like Beryl above felt quite moved by the reunion with the nephew and  Drosselmeyer at the end ...perhaps because I had been drawn in by all the wonderful dancing throughout ....so a very satisfying matinee and my faith in the Nutcracker restored!! 

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I also saw today's matinee performance and very much agree about Naghdi. I thought that she was exceptional in the role. She managed to be both crystalline and soft at the same time, which was very appealing. Many SPFs' dancing can be a little too 'brittle' for my liking but her dancing was luxuriant, with beautiful phrasing. Hay's dancing was wonderful too and Stix-Brunell was a lovely Rose Fairy (there was a cast change slip announcing Magri's substitution). I wasn't quite as taken with O'Sullivan as Lin. I thought that she was a bit bland and I've seen others whom I've preferred in the role. Ball was a noble cavalier but he needs to work on his 360 degree jumps (tours en l'air?). I was very impressed with the children's dancing in Act 1. There was some interesting choreography for them and they performed it very stylishly. Freddie was very good today too.

 

Regarding the production itself, I hadn't seen it for a couple of years and everything seemed rather brighter than I had remembered it (even the gold wigs!). The production is not without its flaws; there is some dull dancing for the adults in Act 1 and the Chinese dance is still problematic (and I too dislike Clara and Hans-Peter's involvement in the dancing in the Kingdom of the Sweets). However, there is a very clear narrative running through the production and plenty of magic (and not just the tricks). 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Shade said:

The Nutcarcker grand pdd is for me one of the pinnacles of classical ballet. It is what I wait to see with anticipation. I find it perfect and moving.

Especially when Miss Naghdi is the SPF.  She has an innate and natural classical purity, coupled with perfect musicality, that is quite rare these days and thus even more of a joy to behold.

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5 minutes ago, Sim said:

Especially when Miss Naghdi is the SPF.  She has an innate and natural classical purity, coupled with perfect musicality, that is quite rare these days and thus even more of a joy to behold.

 

this was reinforced this afternoon, and then some. Its not just the steps being danced, its the projection of the SPF character, and Yasmine has the knack of making this look natural, and such that you're 'seeing' the music enacted in front of you. Utterly glorious.

 

Have to add that it also a glorious performance from Fumi Kaneko this evening. She seems to be right back at the form that got her promoted ages before the host of lovely dancers we are all celebrating at the moment. Feel really glad I stayed sober (well, just a glass of wine with dinner) to enjoy both shows today. It was frankly a privilege

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I saw the matinee and Act 2 this evening.

 

There was plenty to enjoy in both performances but my particular highlights were James Hay’s outstanding Hans Peter, (not only in his ability to execute the steps faultlessly but in his attention to all the little details that flesh out a character) and Fumi Kaneko’s exquisite SPF. 

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And William Bracewell ? he was great tonight, very strong partnering, beautiful turns, an experienced partner for the beautiful Fumi Kaneko who is wonderfully musical and has a beautiful softness or quality of movement. Pas de deux was very nice but her variation a bit uneven, the end was weak as she had no energy or no legs anymore. For the rest it was quite unnecessary to add double fouettés in the coda,  she almost missed the end...  But that said it was a beautiful performance from both of them !

I  was in the audience when Fumi Kaneko got injured a few years ago, it was so sad...  I was so happy to finally see today the great potential she has.

By the way Royal Ballet is really full of talent at the moment, with wonderful men.

Leticia Stock was an exquisite Clara, Tristan Dyer a bit tense and lacking in precision. Not much connection between the two.

Yuhui Choe, what a ballerina, everything looks easy with her.

Very nice production with Peter Wright in the audience !

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19 hours ago, MissMonk said:

 

I'm the same way. I'm really not a fan of the classical ballets because the males dancers are basically just trucks which I find increasingly difficult to watch when you know the dancer has so much more to give. Liam Scarlett is adding some choreography to Swan Lake this season and I'm hoping its mostly to enhance the male dancer so their roles seem a bit more important and more involved in the story telling. That said, Its been over 20 years, while i love this nutcracker perhaps in the next few years they should consider changing the production up a bit. Maybe get rid of the Emo Gothic Nordic look in the 2nd half. (no offense if you're Nordic.) I can't be the only one who noticed they were wearing a tad too much makeup.

 

I kind of think that the makeup makes the Cavalier look like Prince Joffrey. 

 

1c0d2f0d786d5302c85c624293e709e2--joffre

 

23628375725_feddd3a4d0_b.jpg

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Final Nutcracker performance for me this Christmas time with Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and James Hay, and Bennet Gartside.  Another exhilarating matinee and I do so agree with Bruce Wall’s comments in his wish list for 2018/19 about James Hay - simply fabulous.  He and Anna Rose made for an ideal couple and I do hope they will have many more opportunities to dance together.  I very much liked Benn’s thoughtful, glitter free Drosselmeyer - the final reunion with Hans Peter was very moving and I thought helped by a slightly later curtain as in some performances the curtain seems to have come down perhaps a shade early?  Yasmine was radiant but I was not as convinced by Matthew who seemed less secure in places.

 

That leads to PenelopeSimpson’s question about the point of the PDD.  In the Royal Ballet production, isn't the PDD the realisation of the ideal that Clara and Hans Peter can aspire to?  The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince represent the highest levels of artistry, beauty, partnership, trust, support, love.  We would I’m sure hope that Clara and Hans Peter will achieve this ideal for themselves or at least enjoy the journey together towards realising the ideal.  And perhaps we might reflect on how we also have sought or seek similar ideals in our journeys.

 

So for me Nutcracker is fabulous, magical, enchanting and in Peter Wright’s Royal Ballet production I find Nutcracker also wonderfully life affirming because of what we see in Clara and Hans Peter and the hopes for the future.

 

Like others I very much enjoyed seeing Dancing the Nutcracker - a Christmas Day highlight in 2016 and for me again a television highlight this Christmas time.

 

Back to the dancing and a final highlight must be David Yudes - Apprentice, Russian Dance.  He really has lit up the stage throughout the year in all his roles.  On reflection I realise this is true of so many dancers and it’s good to see all the comments in highlights of 2017 about the Royal Ballet reaching a peak and it’s strength in depth with people wanting to see all casts.

 

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4 hours ago, JohnS said:

 

 

Final Nutcracker performance for me this Christmas time with Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and James Hay, and Bennet Gartside.  Another exhilarating matinee and I do so agree with Bruce Wall’s comments in his wish list for 2018/19 about James Hay - simply fabulous.  He and Anna Rose made for an ideal couple and I do hope they will have many more opportunities to dance together.  I very much liked Benn’s thoughtful, glitter free Drosselmeyer - the final reunion with Hans Peter was very moving and I thought helped by a slightly later curtain as in some performances the curtain seems to have come down perhaps a shade early?  Yasmine was radiant but I was not as convinced by Matthew who seemed less secure in places.

 

That leads to PenelopeSimpson’s question about the point of the PDD.  In the Royal Ballet production, isn't the PDD the realisation of the ideal that Clara and Hans Peter can aspire to?  The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince represent the highest levels of artistry, beauty, partnership, trust, support, love.  We would I’m sure hope that Clara and Hans Peter will achieve this ideal for themselves or at least enjoy the journey together towards realising the ideal.  And perhaps we might reflect on how we also have sought or seek similar ideals in our journeys.

 

So for me Nutcracker is fabulous, magical, enchanting and in Peter Wright’s Royal Ballet production I find Nutcracker also wonderfully life affirming because of what we see in Clara and Hans Peter and the hopes for the future.

 

Like others I very much enjoyed seeing Dancing the Nutcracker - a Christmas Day highlight in 2016 and for me again a television highlight this Christmas time.

 

Back to the dancing and a final highlight must be David Yudes - Apprentice, Russian Dance.  He really has lit up the stage throughout the year in all his roles.  On reflection I realise this is true of so many dancers and it’s good to see all the comments in highlights of 2017 about the Royal Ballet reaching a peak and it’s strength in depth with people wanting to see all casts.

 

 

Thanks JohnS for a very insightful post. I am very sad that I had to miss yesterday's matinée, so strongly cast.

 

From other performance memories I think Bennet Gartside brings the greatest depth and clarity to the role. He is the only RB Drosselmeyer of those I've seen who makes clear the enormity of the task of summoning supernatural powers in the transformation scene (in my view).

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I agree about Bennett Gartside's Drosselmeyer.  I love the way, just before the transformation scene starts, he looks at all the toys (e.g. the soldiers' castle) pensively, gives them a little pat, like "now how can I do something with this?  Ah, I know...", and then conjures up all his strength from his clenched fists throughout his body to begin the wonderful magic.  

 

I like JohnS's theory about the SPF PDD above;  however, for me, with that glorious music and choreography, it can just drop out of the sky for all I care!  It's so lovely that I don't even mind if it fits in or if it's just a random thing.   

 

I also agree with the comments above about James Hay's portrayal of Hans Peter.  Glorious dancing, wonderfully nuanced characterisation;  I couldn't take my binoculars off him;  he uses his eyes so well, and they convey so much.  I love him in just about everything he does;  and I will never forget how pleasantly surprised I was when he delivered such a wonderful prince in Sleeping Beauty.  He and Frankie Hayward made me cry in Rhapsody.  The first time I noticed him was as 'Flute Boy' in Fille and I was so impressed that I remember having to find out who he was;   he has come a long way since then, and I hope he goes a long way further.

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13 minutes ago, Sim said:

 

I agree about Bennett Gartside's Drosselmeyer.  I love the way, just before the transformation scene starts, he looks at all the toys (e.g. the soldiers' castle) pensively, gives them a little pat, like "now how can I do something with this?  Ah, I know...", and then conjures up all his strength from his clenched fists throughout his body to begin the wonderful magic.

 

There's something I particularly love about Gary Avis's portrayal at almost the same moment - when he looks over at Clara protecting the nutcracker after she's been fending off the attacks from the dolls, and I get the sense that he's clocking that her love for the nutcracker is now proven to be strong enough for him to know the next stage of his plan can work.

 

I haven't seen Bennet as Drosselmeyer this season; he's always been my second favourite after Gary though.

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4 hours ago, Josephine said:

From other performance memories I think Bennet Gartside brings the greatest depth and clarity to the role. He is the only RB Drosselmeyer of those I've seen who makes clear the enormity of the task of summoning supernatural powers in the transformation scene (in my view).

 

I also liked the way he managed to find something else to attend to when Clara was being terrorised by the various dolls, then suddenly turned round, saw what was happening, and "Away with you!"

 

BTW, only noticed for the first time yesterday that Hans-Peter changes boots to do the Russian Dance ...

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Glorious show tonight just glorious. First time seeing Nutcracker live after a life of listening to music, telling the story, teaching the dances. Anyway I just adored it. O'Sullivan got many compliments that I could hear. Stix Burnell was a great Rose Fairy. Hayward and Campbell practically  brought down the house with the pas de deux. After seeing them both with other partners they really do have something when dancing together, which is of course for a myrid of reasons which ultimately can be summed up as luck. I know people are weary sometimes because it is every year but its a wonderful production and Clara and Hans inclusion works in relation to the story. 

 

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13 minutes ago, Shya100 said:

Glorious show tonight just glorious. First time seeing Nutcracker live after a life of listening to music, telling the story, teaching the dances. Anyway I just adored it. O'Sullivan got msny commpliments that I could hear. Stix Burnell was a great Rose Fairy. Hayward and Campbell partically brought down the house with the pas de deux. After seeing them bought with other partners they really do have something when dancing together which is of course for a myrid of reasons which ultimately can be summed up as luck. I know people are weary sometimes because it is every year but its a wonderful production and Clara and Hans inclusion works in relation to the story. 

 

 

Glorious is the perfect word! How fantastic for you Shya100 for that to be your first Nutcracker! Just brilliant. It built and built to the most tremendous climax with the PDD - Hayward and Campbell (almost literally) out of this world, proud, slightly fey, glittering, and dancing as if it was the easiest and most natural thing in the world (their world). O'Sullivan and Hay danced superbly and kept the drama going throughout, and Gary Avis blazed off the stage. This was my only Nutcracker this season, but what a special one. Thanks to all the wonderful performers, musicians and stage managers who put on such a show.

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Delighted to read Shya100 and bridiem's posts about last night's performance - it must have been a wonderful performance.  Barry Wordsworth was back conducting the Royal Opera House Orchestra after Paul Murphy's stint over the Christmas period with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and I just wonder if folk fortunate enough to attend both (ie last night and the matinee on 30 December) might have any views?  I must say I find Barry Wordsworth extraordinarily sympathetic.  

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I was not at the matinee on 30th December.  However I have attended 4 this season including last night's.  I'm afraid the one I attended that was conducted by Paul Murphy (Monday 18 December, evening) was musically all over the place; the Russian Dance almost didn't finish together and the orchestral ensemble in the Waltz of the Flowers kept coming unstuck.  (I hadn't noticed until AFTER the performance that it was not the same conductor as did the other 3 I attended, so it certainly wasn't a matter of preconception.)

 

Those conducted by Wordsworth have had their duff moments musically (last night, for example, the ensemble came apart in the scene at the beginning when the guests are arriving at the party, and anybody who attended the matinee on 23rd December must surely be wondering what on earth happened in the clarinet section during the Prince's variation in the grand PDD) but have all been on the whole a lot tighter than that one I saw conducted by Murphy.

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Is anyone going to the last performance on 1/10/18? I just watched the 2012 Nutcracker with Meghan Grace Hinkis as Clara and she was really fun to watch and she's performing it on weds. Do post how she did if possible as I quite like her.

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8 hours ago, alison said:

Not likely :).  There are more enticing prospects for Wednesday, and the ROH has once again ruled itself out of contention.

 

Each to their own; I'm going Nuts tomorrow.  Can't imagine the ROH is too disappointed at having ruled itself out of contention, as it's sold out.

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I must admit I'm always delighted to find Barry Wordsworth conducting.  He just seems to bring the orchestra together to produce such warmth and richness. 

 

Daughter and I watched the older of our two RB Nutcrackers on DVD over Christmas (as well as seeing it twice) and I had forgotten that Yoshida and Cope don't have that pale blonde hair as SPF and her Prince - they have gloriously glittery hair but in their own hair colour.  It looks much nicer to my eye.  The naturally blonde dancers suit the blonde spray/wigs (it looks gorgeous on Sarah Lamb), but IMO it's jarring on the dark haired and olive skinned dancers.  

 

That reminded me of Takada having to wear a brassy blonde wig as Titania in The Dream.  I wonder if golden hair for Hans-Peter was phased out at the same time as SPF becoming blonde? 

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31 minutes ago, Anna C said:

Daughter and I watched the older of our two RB Nutcrackers on DVD over Christmas (as well as seeing it twice) and I had forgotten that Yoshida and Cope don't have that pale blonde hair as SPF and her Prince - they have gloriously glittery hair but in their own hair colour.  It looks much nicer to my eye.  The naturally blonde dancers suit the blonde spray/wigs (it looks gorgeous on Sarah Lamb), but IMO it's jarring on the dark haired and olive skinned dancers.  

 

That reminded me of Takada having to wear a brassy blonde wig as Titania in The Dream.  I wonder if golden hair for Hans-Peter was phased out at the same time as SPF becoming blonde? 

 

What date is your DVD, Anna?  Because I saw Yoshida dance SPF with McCrae at the ROH, and if I remember correctly, both of them were saddled with nasty blonde wigs or sprays. 

 

I hate them, they should be banned. What's wrong with the dancer's natural hair colour, with a little bit of glitter?  Where did the idea that they have to have fair hair come from?  

 

 

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13 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

What date is your DVD, Anna?  Because I saw Yoshida dance SPF with McCrae at the ROH, and if I remember correctly, both of them were saddled with nasty blonde wigs or sprays. 

 

I hate them, they should be banned. What's wrong with the dancer's natural hair colour, with a little bit of glitter?  Where did the idea that they have to have fair hair come from?  

 

 

 

It's this one, from 2000, Fonty:  http://www.roh.org.uk/products/the-nutcracker-dvd-the-royal-ballet-2000

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Just done a search.

 

Image of Yoshida and Cope, from 2000:

 

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/72/85/2a/72852a1fc7a449c2e8d0ebb51d459823--roller-skating-ice-skating.jpg

 

Image of Yoshida and McCrae, from 2009.

 

https://sequinsandcherryblossom.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/yoshida_mcrae_2.jpg

 

Actually, that second picture doesn't show the full horror of the wigs, which you can in all their glory in the DVD from that year.

 

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