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Royal Ballet - Nutcracker (Christmas 2013)


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I was at the dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker the other day, with Lauren Cuthbertson and Cory Stearns in the lead roles (they have their first show on Friday 6th Dec). Here are a couple of photos to whet the appetite!

 

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Hans-Peter & Clara (Ricardo Cervera & Meaghan Grace Hinkis)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Snowflakes
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Lauren Cuthbertson & Cory Stearns (Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

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Set from DanceTabs - The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker (Christmas 2013)
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

By kind permission of the Royal Opera House
 

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The run opened on Wednesday (4th Dec) with the wonderful Laura Morera and Federico Bonelli leading. (many of the cast were the same as in the rehearsal I photographed - except for the 5 main leads that is). I for one enjoyed the overall performance, as i love Nutcracker anyway. The orchestra was a bit variable to my ol' cloth ears though!

 

anyone else like to venture a few thoughts?

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Well, of the MANY performances of the Nutcracker that we have seen this must have been the perkiest .... I agree that orchestra wasn't at its fabbest, , but the dancing was so enjoyable!

 

Where would we be without Mr Avis - he really is a fantastic actor-dancer and he was, for me, quite the star of the show. That is not meant to downgrade the rest of the cast - Harrison and Campbell were sweet; Bonelli and Morera (despite a teeny slip) mesmerising; the variations were undertaken with gusto (and it was nice to see a brief reappearance by Hirano);, the children were convincing and accurate (especially the little monster of a brother); ... really I could go on spraying positive adjectives around for paragraphs on end, but I won't. 

 

I see the same cast is due to be in the cinema - can't wait!

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Aww, tonight's performance made me feel all warm and fuzzy and christmassy. The lower school children and the choir were just adorable and very impressive on stage.

 

Cory Stearns seems to have mastered hovering beautifully in mid-air and and I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more of him. The partnering looked a little uneven at times, but I guess that there isn't a lot of time for rehearsals with a guest performer.

 

Ricardo Cervera and Valentino Zucchetti really stood out for me on stage today, and Meaghan Hinkins was a very sweet Clara. The energy on stage was really noticeable and definitely lively, with the whole company coming together to deliver a really enjoyable performance.

 

After watching tonight, I now want to be a special little snowflake

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Yes, indeed, Lauren & Beatriz were excellent. Ricardo & Meaghan were ideally suited.The children from RBS helped to make a wonderful atmosphere.

 

What a great evening!

Interestingly, the one other performance that stayed with me since seeing it on the 6th was Itziar Mendizabel in the Arabian Dance - not normally a big fan of the 'ethnic' dances, but she was very slinky and good in it. Their curtain call was pretty good too, with her being carried out like a queen. Do they always do that?

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Interestingly, the one other performance that stayed with me since seeing it on the 6th was Itziar Mendizabel in the Arabian Dance - not normally a big fan of the 'ethnic' dances, but she was very slinky and good in it. Their curtain call was pretty good too, with her being carried out like a queen. Do they always do that?

 

I don't know the answer to your question, but i've noticed that some dancers seem to love curtain calls, while others look like they want to get off stage as quickly as possible.

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Coated, re your post 12: I've certainly seen the Arabian dancers do their "aloft" curtain call several times, but I can't say for certain whether it's standard. Have any of the more frequent attenders seen it done any other way?

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Interestingly, the one other performance that stayed with me since seeing it on the 6th was Itziar Mendizabel in the Arabian Dance - not normally a big fan of the 'ethnic' dances, but she was very slinky and good in it. Their curtain call was pretty good too, with her being carried out like a queen. Do they always do that?

 

Well, tonight Johannes Stepanek did what I thought was a rather Bolshoi-inflected one - holding Mendizabal almost completely vertical, I think from an ankle grip or something, although I wasn't totally paying attention.  I know I don't remember seeing it before.

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Coated, re your post 12: I've certainly seen the Arabian dancers do their "aloft" curtain call several times, but I can't say for certain whether it's standard. Have any of the more frequent attenders seen it done any other way?

 

it does seem to be almost standard these days

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It still seems a bit strange that her name would not be printed in the Spring 2014 Brochure if it is an injury, surely she would still be in the list of Soloist's

Now I've looked at the brochure, I agree her name isn't there. However, there's the odd name in the wrong place, so I wonder if it's an oversight rather than a deliberate omission.

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Can't see any comments elsewhere on the cinema relay so am posting here, wasn't going to this but changed my mind when Francesca Hayward was announced, glad I went because she combined gossamer light dancing with very expressive acting, she and Alexander Campbell made such a charming couple. This is a very traditional production, full of Christmas spirit and warmth, welcome after the more austere ENB version the night before. Peter Wright described Laura Morera being perfect for the role as she was like crystal, she was but also with a soft, unhurried style and well partnered by Federico Bonelli, also Yuhui Choe was sublime as the Rose Fairy. At the end, the scene between Hans and Clara was so magical and emotional, great acting between Campbell and Hayward in a camera close up, perfect for the cinema!

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I'm glad you posted this, Beryl, because I was also looking for comments on the cinema performance which I thought was spectacular. This time round there were no technical glitches and we were able to see the entire presentation. The backstage part presented by Gary Avis was fascinating and very well done while Darcey Bussell seemed rather wooden IMO. Also, when she was doing a voice-over at the cutrain calls surely she could have remembered Yuhui Choe's name instead of saying one of the girl soloists!

I was really looking forward to seeing Laura Morera and she lived up to expectations. Apart from the dancers you've mentioned, Gary Avis was splendid, as always. Francesca Hayward is a joy to watch, and effectively contradicts pronouncements about the younger generation of dancers lacking passion and commitment.

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