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ajf

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    Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker, Winter 2022/3

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    I was at yesterday evening’s performance of Nutcracker with Hayward and Campbell as SPF and her cavalier, and Sae Maeda and Joseph Sissons as Clara and Hans Peter.
     

    I enjoyed the feeling of Christmas that seeing Nutcracker always brings but the evening didn’t quite take off for me. There had been a matinee in the afternoon which never helps the dancers. However,  there were some charming performances from some of the minor characters. 

    Philip Moseley gave a peerless performance as the grandfather. He is able to bring such a very believable feeling of age to his character. 
    And Kristen Macnally as the mother also hit exactly the right note for me. 
    Giacomo Rovero was a very caring dancing partner to Clara and gave her some wonderful lifts. 
     
    But the highlight of the evening for me was Joseph Sissons, particularly once he turned into Hans Peter. His initial solo was a delight with his arm movements filling all the music. I am a fan. 
     
    I felt that Sae Maeda as Clara did better in the second act where there was less acting to be thought about and she danced charmingly. I am sure she will settle into the fist act with time and practice. 

    The pairing of David Yudes and Joonhyuk Jun, each a very good dancer for their role in the Chinese dance, had the challenge of being very different heights and I struggled to understand why they were cast together. 
     
    i know that the Arabian dance has been amended for current sensibilities but I still feel a little uncomfortable with its essence and also feel the loss of the pink trousers of the axed male duo. The two costumes left are mostly cream and look a little insipid on their own. 
     
    For me, neither Ms Hayward’s nor Mr Campbell’s strengths can be highlighted in their roles in this ballet. But the audience around me were very enthusiastic in their applause for both. 
     

    This was my one and only Nutcracker this season and what I did particularly enjoy was the array of younger dancers being given opportunities in the smaller roles. 

    • Like 8

    Mayerling, Royal Ballet Autumn 2022

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    The Scottish ballet production of Mayerling, premiered earlier this year, is a shortened version, made with the permission of Lady Macmillan, to be suitable for touring and for a smaller company. The sets and costumes are different and the frontispiece is a black and white photograph of the hunting lodge at Mayerling which is very effective.
     

    I saw three casts in Edinburgh and Glasgow earlier this year. It is 2 hours long including an interval. Both the birthday party and the hunting scene are cut but everything else is pretty much the same. 
     

    It works very well but what is lost is the stultified weight of the court and all its formality that Rudolf struggles with. But if you want a pacy production, this is it. 

    • Like 4
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