English National Ballet's "The Nutcracker" - Winter 2019

[Terpsichore]

I should be surprised if I was the only one to have caught the English National Ballet while it was in Liverpool at the end of November but, as I can't find any other reviews or mentions on this website, I thought I would just say a few words before The Nutcracker opens in London later this week.  I attended the evening performance at the Empire on 30 Nov 2019.

This was Wayne Eagling's version of "The Nutcracker" that I had seen before in :London. I enjoyed it a lot though not perhaps as much as Peter Wright's for the Birmingham Royal Ballet or Peter Darrell's for Scottish Ballet but I prefer it to Wright's for the London Royal Ballet and David Nixon's for Northern.  I like Farmer's designs which seem a little different from Toer van Schayk's for HNB.  In this version Clara becomes the Sugar Plum Fairy.  She was danced appealingly by Shiori Kase.  Brooklyn Mack was her prince,  Junor Souza the Nutcracker, Fabian Reimair  and James Streeter was the Mouse King.  All the divertissements were performed well but if I had to single out any particular artist for commendation it would be Precious Adams who led the snowflakes and flowers with grace,

This was not the first time I had attended a show at the Liverpool Empire.  As on previous occasions the audience were demonstrative in their appreciation. For that reason alone it was good yo watch that ballet in their company.

[Irmgard]

For my first “Nutcracker” of the season, and ENB’s second performance in their 32-show run at the Coliseum, there were some disappointments but there was also much to love, not least Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score given its usual Christmas magic by the ENB Philharmonic under the wonderfully sympathetic baton of Gerry Cornelius.  Now being rolled out for the tenth year, the sets look in need of refreshing (as do some of the Act I costumes), as they appeared washed out at times with the lighting also appearing somewhat dingy, especially in Act II.  Most disappointing was a general lack of style in the dancing of the ladies in their various ensemble dances, starting with the party scene in Act I which lacked its original elegance but my eye was caught by Emily Suzuki and Jia Zhang, mostly dancing at the back of the group, who can always be relied upon to add a touch of class to whatever they do.  Likewise, Alison McWhinney brought her ballerina sheen and a much-needed lyricism to the dance of the Snowflakes, with a masterclass in how to fill out a musical phrase with her gorgeous ports de bras, letting the music flow through her entire body.  Hopefully the other dancers will follow her example, especially on the beautiful exiting step which needs this wonderful style to give the choreography its true magic.  Indeed, it was another pair of dancers who have been in the production since its première, Adela Ramirez and James Forbat, who brought elegance and class to the waltz of the Flowers in Act II, with Ramirez exquisitely demonstrating the wonderful sliding step choreographed by Eagling which seems to have all but disappeared in the last few years.

 

Another ‘veteran’ of the production, Junor Souza, made much of the Arabian Dance, channelling his Ali from “Le Corsaire”, with an extremely sensuous yet always elegant performance, enhanced by a very sultry group of harem ladies.  Shevelle Dynott repeated his wickedly mischievous Mouse King, making much of the comedy with his highly amusing body language. The whole evening was presided over by the warm and genial Drosselmeyer of Fabian Reimair with his fatherly love for both his nephew and Clara shining through.  Indeed, he and the Nutcracker of Daniel McCormick made the pas de trois, which begins Act II, look effortless as there was an almost carefree manner to the way they lifted and tossed Clara who responded with the most delighted of smiles which took on an extra rapture when the Nutcracker transformed into the fabulous Nephew of Jeffrey Cirio whose devastating charm lit up the whole theatre as well as the face of his adoring Clara, played as a child by the tiny Amelia Clark before transforming in her dream into the exquisite Katja Khaniukova.  Less than a week ago, I was watching her on the same stage in the ultra-modern “Radio & Juliet” and yet tonight she was the quintessential classical ballerina displaying her heritage of the Russian school with her heady mix of delicious footwork, evident from her first exquisite run onto the stage in Act I, and beautifully languorous upper body movements and ports de bras, bringing depth of character to Clara who can sometimes be portrayed as rather two-dimensional. There was a moving soulfulness to her first pas de deux with the Nutcracker, especially with her meltingly beautiful bourrées around him as he knelt, which she repeated with even more delicacy in her delectable Sugar Plum solo in Act II.  Cirio partnered her to perfection in the Act II grand pas de deux, both of them radiant and glittering in the entrée, and then showed us his beautifully clean technique in his bravura solo and the coda, never losing his youthful charm and that lovely smile.  Khaniukova also shone in the coda with her trademark multiple pirouette into an immaculate set of fouetté turns. She and Cirio received rapturous applause and cheering from the capacity audience, many of whom appeared to be seeing the ballet for the first time and were no doubt as enchanted as I was by this glorious partnership.

[Don Q Fan]

I saw the opening night with the same cast as in Terpsichore's review.  Kase (Clara) and Mack (Prince) were delightful and Souza (Nutcracker) and Streeter (Mouse King) were great. James Streeter really relishes the role of Mouse King.   I particularly enjoyed the male dancers in the Spanish and Russian dances they were both really amazing dancers and jumped very high - definitely 2 young men to watch!   I can't find my cast sheet but I know the the Russian dancer's first name was Daniel.  The Spanish dancer was very elfin like and soooo sharp with his poses.  (Definitely need ENB to do DonQ.)   Overall the whole cast shone and considering this was opening night for the whole Nutcracker run in Liverpool and London, I thought the snowflakes were fabulous, they were so precise and perfectly aligned, it was quite wonderful to see and I didn't want that scene to end.  It was a beautiful show, and I really like this production.  The company received very well deserved rapturous applause from the audience and it was pretty much full house.  Some photos from the curtain call below.

Ensemble

Shiori Kase with Brooklyn Mack

Junor Souza as Nutcracker and James Streeter the Mouse King, Precious Adams in pink as a Mirliton 

Kase and Mack

[capybara]

Yes, you've said it, Irmgard. Whether it's classical ballet (Le Corsaire or Nutcracker), new choreography (Broken Wings), modern 'classics' (The Cage) or other modern works (Radio and Juliet), Katja Kanuikova has become one of those ballerinas who is able to 'deliver' in spades. She is a very worthy nominee for best female dancer at the National Dance Awards.

[Beryl H]

I have never seen Katja Kanuikova in a leading role, so am looking forward now to seeing her in my only Nutcracker at the Coliseum! 

[Jan McNulty]

I've merged the two extant threads on the current run.

[Don Q Fan]

On 13/12/2019 at 18:18, Beryl H said:

I have never seen Katja Kanuikova in a leading role, so am looking forward now to seeing her in my only Nutcracker at the Coliseum! 

She is a delightful dancer - in the performance I saw she was the Chinese Dance lead.  You can just see her in green in my first photo behind Drosselmeyer (all in black)

[bridiem]

ENB has tweeted: Cast change: due to illness, Fernanda Oliveira will replace Alina Cojocaru for the Sunday 22 December 2.30pm performance of #ENBNutcracker at the London Coliseum. 

[Irmgard]

In the forty-plus years I have been watching the company, ENB has always had a tradition of strongly casting its matinées, and 18 December was no exception.  In what I believe is her second season as the young Clara, Sophie Carter’s stage presence has matured and there was a lovely feeling of tender sorrow when she cradled the broken nutcracker doll in her arms, which was beautifully reflected at the end of Act I when the older Clara comforted the wounded Nutcracker, performed by Henry Dowden in a marvellously sensitive performance, despite the mask.  Angela Wood was the sweetest of Nurses in the opening scene and interacted naturally with the Mother of Sarah Kundi, whose graciousness and elegance lifted the party scene.  This was almost stolen by the Grandmother of Amber Hunt, replacing the listed Jennie Harrington, who brought her knitting to the party, providing the Grandfather of Michael Coleman with the opportunity to improvise some very entertaining high-jinks.  Snowflakes was danced enthusiastically, if still lacking in style.  In Act II, the lovely pairings of Jia Zhang with Francisco Bosch and Emma Hawes with Junor Souza added a touch of class to the Waltz of the Flowers.  Anjuli Hudson, as Louise, was as gentle and as delicate as a butterfly in her charming pas de deux with the genial Drosselmeyer of Daniel Kraus, and brought a delightful lyricism to the small pas de deux in Act I, gallantly partnered by William Simmons.  The mischievous antics of Shevelle Dynott as the Mouse King entertained both the many children in the audience and adults alike.

 

The crowning glory of the performance was the grand pas de deux in Act II by James Forbat as the Nephew and Fernanda Oliveira as the adolescent Clara.  Oliveira, like Erina Takahashi, has danced Clara in this production since its first season and brings an enchanting freshness to the role from her first entrance, with an expression of wonderment on her face when she realises she has transformed into the adolescent Clara.  Her actions during the battle between the soldiers and the mice are just unsophisticated enough to convince us this is a very youthful Clara, but her dancing is glorious, bringing a mixture of soulfulness and joy to the pas de deux which concludes Act I and then a wonderful sense of glee to the pas de trois which opens Act II.  Forbat is every inch a Prince Charming, starting with his gallant partnering of the young Clara in the party scene.  In the grand pas de deux, he presents his ballerina to perfection, securely and elegantly holding her aloft, especially in the super-smooth ‘bum’ lift in which he carried her across the stage, eliciting gasps from some of the audience members around me.  Oliveira reinforced her ballerina status with exquisite use of her legs and feet, particularly in her luscious développés à la seconde in which she filled out every millisecond of the music.  Her ‘sugar plum’ solo was quite simply ravishing, using the slightly slow tempo to her advantage, letting it flow through her whole body to hold some beautifully serene, breath-taking balances, and showing some genuine double ronds de jambs in the series of gargouillades. I think this was probably the finest performance of this solo I have seen her give and she was rewarded with thunderous applause and cheering from the audience, as were both she and Forbat at the end of the coda.  Since it has just been announced that she will be replacing the indisposed Cojocaru in the performance on 22 December, I can assure anyone attending that they are in for a real treat.

[Lizbie1]

There's a very lovely piece on James Streeter and Erina Takahashi in today's links: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/relative-values-interview-english-national-ballets-erina-takahashi-and-james-streeter-krnjlvz22?shareToken=c96993d8b3f2b54106545807b985713c

[DanJL]

I'm planning to see this on the evening of the 28th and excited by the reviews!

 

Does anyone who's already seen the production this year happen to know the length in practice? The website states 2 hours including interval, which would be perfect for my train if true!

[Irmgard]

It is more like 2 hours and 15 minutes by the time they seat the full house before it starts!

[DanJL]

Thanks Irmgard, that's really helpful. I probably need an alternative plan for getting home then.

[Bruce Wall]

I was there this afternoon.  It was 2 hours, 15 minutes exactly .... and the magical combination of the musically tantalising Katja Khaniukova and effulgent Jeffrey Cirio managed to not only define ... but refine ... elegance within the framework of a production that is far from my favourite.  There can be no question.  They were worth the price of ANYONE's admission.  Bravi!

[Irmgard]

I was back at the Coliseum this afternoon (27^th) for my first post-Christmas visit to “Nutcracker” and, as always at these matinées, I was surrounded by many children seeing it for the first time, including a pleasantly surprising large number of boys as well as the expected profusion of girls in their Christmas finery who, along with the adults, seemed as enchanted as I was, once again, by the magical partnership of Jeffrey Cirio and Katja Khaniukova in the leading roles.  Other delights were the Mouse King of Shevelle Dynott who seems to discover more comedy in the role at every performance whilst cleanly executing every step of the choreography, a deliciously delicate lead snowflake from Francesca Velicu, a thrilling Russian dance with gravity-defying leaps from Rentaro Nakaaki and beautifully stylish lead flowers from Jia Zhang, Ken Saruhashi, Emma Hawes and Skyler Martin (the men replacing those listed on the cast sheet).  It is always a pleasure to see Fabian Reimair’s genial and benevolent Drosselmeyer overseeing the proceedings and to watch his elegant partnering in both the Mirlitons pas de deux and in the past de trois which opens Act II in which he and Daniel McCormick, as the Nutcracker, made the effervescent Khaniukova look light as a feather. As always, it is the grand pas de deux which concludes the ballet which should be the highlight and it certainly was this afternoon, with Khaniukova and Cirio bringing both grandeur and magic to it, despite conductor Orlando Jobling never quite letting the orchestra reach the same magical heights in the slightly slow tempi he took for the entrée and sugar plum fairy solo.  In a partnership which has blossomed even more since I saw their first performance two weeks ago, Khaniukova and Cirio sparkled and demonstrated why they have both been nominated for outstanding classical performance in the National Dance Awards for this year.  Cirio’s partnering is both refined and secure, presenting his ballerina to perfection, and he showed us his beautifully clean technique in his solo, bringing elegance to the wonderfully soft landings from his jumps. Khaniukova shone in the most serene of sugar plum fairy solos, with her delicate footwork and some amazingly slow multiple pirouettes which were both unexpected and breath-taking and looked as if they could have gone on forever if the music had not dictated otherwise.  This very classy couple were rewarded with a prolonged ovation of enthusiastic applause and cheering.  I shall now look forward to watching them and several other thrilling partnerships that ENB is presenting in its post-New Year feast of dancing - “Le Corsaire”.

[Sim]

I saw the matinee this afternoon and I was mighty impressed with Francesca Velicu’s Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy. Such lovely arms, and beautiful turns that snap like a whip and are perfectly placed.  
 

I seriously dislike this production but the company’s dancing made it very bearable! The theatre was full of rapt children who were very well behaved throughout.  
 

The orchestra sounded lush and joyous.