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The Royal Ballet: The Nutcracker, December 2018 - January 2019

Richard LH
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Richard LH

Richard LH

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On 10/12/2018 at 17:00, Mary said:

As for Muntarigov and Nunez- what can one say, perfection in every possible way.

Well...having seen them on opening night and also at an encore cinema screening last night, I am not sure they were absolutely technically perfect - I thought I noticed the odd thing that seemed not quite right - for example in the main PDD the first jump of the SPF onto the Prince's shoulder looked to be aborted before the usual complete turn on his shoulder followed by a fish dive (if that is the correct terminology). But they are such accomplished performers that they are able to maintain the general flow and grace of the sequence even if it does not go quite to plan.

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capybara

capybara

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1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Well...having seen them on opening night and also at an encore cinema screening last night, I am not sure they were absolutely technically perfect - I thought I noticed the odd thing that seemed not quite right - for example in the main PDD the first jump of the SPF onto the Prince's shoulder looked to be aborted before the usual complete turn on his shoulder followed by a fish dive (if that is the correct terminology). But they are such accomplished performers that they are able to maintain the general flow and grace of the sequence even if it does not go quite to plan.

 

Whilst I take your point, RichardLH, I don't think that you apply the same exacting standards to other dancers. But maybe Nunez and Muntagirov should take that as the finest compliment you can bestow?

 

I'm not sure that any of us who have not been dancers quite understand how very demanding that Nutcracker pas de deux is.

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Richard LH

Richard LH

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

I don't think that you apply the same exacting standards to other dancers.

 This was just something I happened to notice in this particular performance. I am certainly not qualified to apply any technical standards, exacting or otherwise, to any of these brilliant dancers!

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Sophoife

Sophoife

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Having just returned from the first Australian cinemacast of this production, I can find very little to say that hasn't already been said.

 

Miss Fumi Kaneko's Rose Fairy was a delight, Miss Anna Rose O'Sullivan was a pleasure to watch and remarkably similar in feature to Miss Elizabeth McGorian as her mother, Mr Marcelino Sambé seemed full of joy and love and bounce, and the utter perfection of Miss Marianela Nuñez and Mr Vadim Muntagirov in the grand pas de deux was only "wrong" in one respect: I've always seen the Sugar Plum Fairy as being serene, and Miss Nuñez simply radiated joy.

 

The transformation scene is not as impressive as the Birmingham Royal/Australian Ballets' version partly because it's at the back of the stage I think. And also because "our" tree is truly enormous by the end.

 

Those creepy angels are still creepy, and White Lodge pupils' delight notwithstanding, there are far too many children on stage in the battle scene. I think they're largely there to make the tree look bigger in comparison.

 

The blonde and/or frosted wigs in act II are an abomination and should be done away with forthwith. I also find the Flowers' tutus too similar to the Mirlitons' and would welcome some deeper colour perhaps in one or the other.

 

I've saved the best for last: no-one swirls a cloak like Mr Gary Avis, and even though I dislike/find irritating the Hans-Peter storyline, the moment where he clasped his restored nephew to his manly bosom at the very end did in fact bring a tear to my eye.

 

If I go again tomorrow, will I get to see another cast with which to contrast? 😉

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Richard LH

Richard LH

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Some random thoughts from last night.....

 

I do admit to having favourites! William Bracewell being one - he has had a great year - so in the interests of objectivity, capybara, I thought he landed awkwardly twice in his solo as the Prince. But he recovered and I  thought otherwise he was a wonderful support for the lovely Fumi Kaneko.

  

Meaghan Grace Hinkis danced Clara rather than Emma Maguire....I don't think that change had been flagged in advance unless I missed it. She dances very well but I felt perhaps she tended to portray more of the young girl throughout rather than the blossoming young woman finding romance. I didn't get the same thrill from her and Acri as from other pairings (Hayward/Campbell, O'Sullivan/ Sambe). For the first time, I started to think they were tending to intrude on the divertissements rather than enhance them. 

 

It was great to see Mendizabal perform the Arabian dance. Leo Dixon was one of her gentlemen, and I had noticed him earlier as a very good "Clara's Partner".

 

I liked Saunders' Drosselmeyer as a contrast to Avis - he was rather more avuncular and less mystical, but still pulled off some great magic (including the odd different trick). I still can't work out how a handkerchief transforms into a stick when it is thrown in the air! And he moon-walked into his curtain call to great applause. 

 

It is good to see some of the Artists  coming though and performing with more experienced/higher ranked dancers - so for example we got Annette Buvoli and Chisato Katsura along with First Soloists Melissa Hamilton and Beatriz Stix-Brunell as the Leading Flowers.

 

Finally the Corps again lit up the stage ... completing a wonderful year, from Willis, to Swans, to Shades, to Symphony-in-C-ers, and now to Snowflakes. Such hard work and training, producing such beauty!

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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Gorgeous Nutcracker this afternoon - Nunez and Muntagirov magical; O'Sullivan utterly charming; Avis surely the most moving of Drosselmeyers; but - my goodness, how wonderful is Sambe these days? I haven't seen a lot of him in the last year or two: we always knew his leaps and turns were really something, but everything else seems to have caught up: partnering, line, acting and the most generous and happy stage presence.  So great to see him really flourishing.

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Clara_f

Clara_f

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1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

Gorgeous Nutcracker this afternoon - Nunez and Muntagirov magical; O'Sullivan utterly charming; Avis surely the most moving of Drosselmeyers; but - my goodness, how wonderful is Sambe these days? I haven't seen a lot of him in the last year or two: we always knew his leaps and turns were really something, but everything else seems to have caught up: partnering, line, acting and the most generous and happy stage presence.  So great to see him really flourishing.

Very envious you saw Sambe as nutcracker /Hans Peter Lizbie! He was a good partner in Fille and the Dream a while ago I thought, and was lined up for Gisele with Hayward which he missed due to injury and didn't seem to get any meaty roles since. I think he has DQ with Naghdi and R&J with O'Sullivan next though? 

 

And yes to Joseph Sissens, what a dancer! 

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ninamargaret

ninamargaret

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6 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

What really makes him, for me, is that even in large ensemble numbers he exudes enjoyment - there’s nowhere he’d rather be.

there's something marvellous about watching a dancer  who looks as he/she is enjoying performing. I also like a dancer who can make me believe that what he/she is doing is so easy that anyone can do it! Yes, I know about all the work that is necessary to become even a good dancer, but when I'm watching i don't want to know about it!

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LinMM

LinMM

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There's some magic tricks in the BRB version as well....I still don't know how Drosselmeyer got the head back on to the Nutcracker doll which lay broken in two parts on the floor. He made the head slide along the floor to the body of the doll but he was some distance away as he did it ....am supposing some extra powerful magnet of sorts but it was really well done ....it was a magical touch and the five year old in me believed it!

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Clara_f

Clara_f

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A few scribbles on a couple nutcrackers seen on 7 December where I took a friend who had never seen it before (but has been getting into ballet over the last 5 years) and last night with my mother who has been going to Covent Garden since the 1970s and enjoys the odd Nutcracker every now and again, with the following casts:

 

7 December 

Clara: Emma maguire 

Nutcracker / Hans Peter: Luca Acri 

SGP fairy: Yasmine Naghdi 

SGP prince: Riochi Hirano

 

21 December:

Clara: Meghan Grace Hinkis

Nutcracker/ Hans Peter: Luca Acri 

SGP fairy: Fumi Kaneko 

SGP prince: William Bracewell 

 

On both evenings, Christopher Saunders was Drosselmeyer, Leo Dixon Clara's friend, and Yuhui Choe the Rose Fairy. 

Barry wordsworth conducted on the 7th, and Kassels on the 21st. 

 

I was a bit worried I'd be a bit jaded by the time I saw the second show, but the waterworks came on like clockwork in the tree and toy transformation scene and continued until the climax of the snowflake waltz. I always ponder what is it about the first act that is so moving time and time again aside from the glorious music, and my friend summed it up really well by saying the story made him believe that "there is good in the world" and feel a sense of wonder and possibility. 

 

Luca Acri had lovely elevation and told his story with boyish charm. Maguire and Hinkis were both lovely as Clara, I'd say I preferred Maguire's characterisation, and Hinkis' technique which meant that the pas de deux with acri / Hinkis flowed more. As much as I like Saunders, I wish I'd been able to see Avis as Drosselmeyer once this season. I find Saunders plays Drosselmeyer as fun loving and mischievous, and doesn't seem too sad that his nephew has been turned into a wooden nutcracker. It could be that he knows that the spell will be broken, and as the puppet master that he is, he knows that all will be well since he is controlling the story! Last night he moonwalked out during his red run and puffed out lots of glitter from his mouth which brought a great cheer and he seems like a fun loving and unflappable sort of person in real life! On the 7th, his levitation trick didn't work and you would never have noticed as he just walked down the steps as if it was the most normal thing in the world. What I adore about Avis is the inner world that he brings to Drosselmeyer, his complexity and occasional darkness, and how he pines for his nephew, the last scene when he is slumped over his table and his nephew returns and how you feel his heart explode with joy and relief is so moving. It never fails to make me burst into tears! Saunders is all jollity, but to me less moving in comparison. 

 

In the Spanish on both nights, Calvin Richardson stood out, all smiles and haughty snaps of the wrists and heels.

 

In the Arabian on both nights, Izmendiar Mendizabal gave a great side eye and displayed a fierceness that to me just about succeeds in countering the naffness of the pink pantaloons and the stylised territorialness of the men which I find a bit cringe. One side eye from her and you realise who is really running the show. Yes girl!

 

In the Chinese, on 7.12 I was lucky to  see Joseph Sissens and Marcelino Sambe together. What a pair they made, you could just tell they were having so much fun together and it was contagious! The audience lapped it up and roared and when they did their red run during the applause they came out with grands jetés to more cheers. What unaffected showmen they are! They have such stage presence and for me have the chops to be principals just on pure technique. I really wish I'd be been able to see Sambe as nutcracker this run but dates wise it wasn't to be. 

 

In the Russian on 7.12, Leo Dixon and David Yudes (?) were technically brilliant and just brought the house down.

 

Yuhui choe was a very musical Rose fairy on both evenings, never rushed and serene, taking the tricky and fast choreography in her stride. You never worry that she will hit those counts, and can let yourself breathe and relax in the safety of that knowledge! 

 

Yasmine naghdi and Riochi Hirano, and Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell as the SGPF and P... I had seen Hirano last year with Akane Takada and they had really wowed my socks off with their energy and brio, they made the GPDD feel thrilling, and I was always on the edge of my seat as they were both really going for it! I didn't have that same feeling with Naghdi / Hirano, or Kaneko / Bracewell. I liked both GPDDs and they both felt very stately but didn't have that same feeling of breathlessness, and maybe controlled danger? Both men were good partners, but I feel that Hirano was more assured and in control and you knew that Naghdi was in safe hands. 

 

Naghdi was a musical SGPF, and is so technically assured, her SGPF was very crisp and precise, and she played the SGPF as serene and queen like. In comparison, Kaneko, also very musical, was more lyrical and soft, and her SGPF seemed very gentle and benevolent. Both to me were different takes on the SGPF, and I liked both. 

 

Bracewell nearly came a cropper in his solo doing a saut de basque but just about saved himself which was quite thrilling, but it did mean I couldn't watch the rest of his solo too closely as i was too nervous for the rest of it! He was brilliant in Winter Dreams earlier this week, and to me is possibly one of the best actors amongst the RB men. I feel that his partnering and strength will continue to grow as he continues to get plum roles. 

 

Even though both my casts were very similar, seeing both shoes did make me think quite how rich and diverse the RB is, and sent me off full of Christmas cheer. Happy holidays to all! 

Edited by Clara_f
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Mary

Mary

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I took my nephew to his first ballet- the Nutcracker matinee today. I have to say all the staff at ROH were fantastic- so welcoming and nice to him. It was good to be able to go in to the building early, (by the proper door, up the grand staircase) have a good look round, and all of them talked to him very kindly.  As I was explaining about the crush bar the nice barman said 'A glass of champagne sir?'  and poured him some fizzy water! Sweet.

We had a look at the amphi ( I explained it was my spiritual home but today we had a treat by being in the stalls..) , the Grand Tier, got lost on some staircases and sat on the terrace.

 

It was a dream come true for me that he enjoyed it all and loved the ballet. What a spectacular introduction to ballet it was- his face was lit up with delight and amazement by Gary Avis's cloak, the toys coming to life, the snow falling, the childrens' choir, the orchestra, the tree growing...and he was an instant convert to the amazing skills and charm of Marcelino Sambe who was in fantastic form again today- with a delightful Anna Rose O'Sullivan , and Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez glittering in elegant perfection a few feet away...wow.

It was so beautiful to see them all close up for once and to feel I could applaud them in a more 'personal' way.

 

Thanks RB,  thanks ROH for a memorably wonderful afternoon I won't ever forget  - and nor will a star-struck little boy.

 

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Mary

Mary

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6 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 my goodness, how wonderful is Sambe these days? I haven't seen a lot of him in the last year or two: we always knew his leaps and turns were really something, but everything else seems to have caught up: partnering, line, acting and the most generous and happy stage presence.  So great to see him really flourishing.

I was just thinking exactly the same-:  I remember thinking he had amazing jumps and presence but was sometimes a bit untidy- oh not any more.....he has come on by - er , leaps and bounds hasn't he- what a star he is now.

14 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

I wish I’d known, I’d have said hello!

Balletfanp, thank you and retrospective 'Hello!' Hope you enjoyed the performance this afternoon.

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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2 hours ago, Mary said:

I took my nephew to his first ballet- the Nutcracker matinee today. I have to say all the staff at ROH were fantastic- so welcoming and nice to him. It was good to be able to go in to the building early, (by the proper door, up the grand staircase) have a good look round, and all of them talked to him very kindly.  As I was explaining about the crush bar the nice barman said 'A glass of champagne sir?'  and poured him some fizzy water! Sweet.

We had a look at the amphi ( I explained it was my spiritual home but today we had a treat by being in the stalls..) , the Grand Tier, got lost on some staircases and sat on the terrace.

 

It was a dream come true for me that he enjoyed it all and loved the ballet. What a spectacular introduction to ballet it was- his face was lit up with delight and amazement by Gary Avis's cloak, the toys coming to life, the snow falling, the childrens' choir, the orchestra, the tree growing...and he was an instant convert to the amazing skills and charm of Marcelino Sambe who was in fantastic form again today- with a delightful Anna Rose O'Sullivan , and Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez glittering in elegant perfection a few feet away...wow.

It was so beautiful to see them all close up for once and to feel I could applaud them in a more 'personal' way.

 

Thanks RB,  thanks ROH for a memorably wonderful afternoon I won't ever forget  - and nor will a star-struck little boy.

 

 

Today felt like such a special performance: the last Saturday matinee before Christmas, so many children (and so well behaved!), and such a great cast. My niece danced her way out of the building - it was almost a shock to get outside and find it wasn't snowing!

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Balletfanp

Balletfanp

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18 minutes ago, Mary said:

Balletfanp, thank you and retrospective 'Hello!' Hope you enjoyed the performance this afternoon.

 

I certainly did! A very special performance where everyone shone. So many children there enthralled by it - not a peep out of any of them, but then it is like walking into a fairytale. I found myself filling up on a few occasions - the combination of the music, the wonderful dancing and the sparkling sets. On the way back to Plymouth now feeling shattered, but buoyed up by this afternoon’s performance!

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Dawnstar

Dawnstar

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May I ask whether the movement Nunez does at 5.29-5.31 (sorry, I don't know what it is called) has a particular meaning? I noticed it when watching Swan Lake last night and there the shaking of her leg seemed appropriate to represent Odette's agitation. However in the SPF's context it clearly can't mean that.

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Lizbie1

Lizbie1

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23 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

May I ask whether the movement Nunez does at 5.29-5.31 (sorry, I don't know what it is called) has a particular meaning? I noticed it when watching Swan Lake last night and there the shaking of her leg seemed appropriate to represent Odette's agitation. However in the SPF's context it clearly can't mean that.

 

You mean the petit battement serré I think - not sure if it has a meaning!

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