Really lovely to see this production again. I was one of the party children back in the day (sadly absent here!) so it brought back a lot of good memories - that red living room! And of course 10-year-old me was SO smug knowing how Drosselmeyer's tricks were done. Sadly I can't remember much more about the show apart from the spectacular flying goose, but I enjoyed this reduced version anyway. I liked the addition of the male snowflakes, and I thought the dancing was all very strong - unfussy and refreshingly direct. Wish we could have seen (or that I could remember 🙄) the Act 2 set, which in Youtube clips looks stunning.
For me the 1984 RB version will always be the gold standard, as I grew up watching the VHS with Lesley Collier and Anthony Dowell. I can see how it might come off a bit stuffy compared to other versions but to me that's part of the charm - even the infamous wigs (which I love! Perhaps in a minority of one). Such beautiful designs (the owl clock, that deep blue dropcloth before the snow scene, the SPF in gorgeous ivory and peach). I like the sense of hierarchy in the Kingdom of Sweets, with the SPF welcoming Clara and Hans-Peter to the court and reappearing for the PDD - she is established as a character rather than simply showing up to dance. I much prefer Hans-Peter's mime to a return appearance of the Rat King himself, who I think should be defeated in Act 1 and left there!
That being said, I do not particularly enjoy the various changes that seem to have accumulated over the years - too many angels and too much Clara/H-P (sorry). If the BRB goose could fly over to the original RB version then that would probably be my perfect production! But then I have never seen Balanchine's....