Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker Winter 2021/22

[Aklf]

4 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Onto this evening's performance where I was totally spoiled by a seat in Row A of the Orch Stalls which I picked up as a Return.  This was my first venture out post Omicron scares and I think I only nerved myself as I did have a seat with no one in front of me and it was also on the end of the row. It was marvellous and what I particularly noticed was how I could hear the orchestra astonishingly so much better than even a few rows back.... and I could see them which I also really enjoyed. 

 

As soon as the overture started, I was misty eyed; by the end of Act 1, tears were rolling down my cheeks, so moved was I by the beauty of the music, the ballet and sheer emotional experience. I suppose the Nutcracker, always has connotations with my childhood,  and I can't believe there was a time when I began to think it was boring. These days, the very challenging times we live in, seem to make every live ballet performance I see extra precious.  

 

Kevin O'Hare came out at the start with quite a heartfelt speech where he explained about the technical issues, celebrated that all advertised Principals were actually dancing and thanked everyone for all their efforts in putting on the show tonight. He also thanked the audience for supporting them. Then we had the wonderful Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer setting the scene for the glitter fest which was tonight's show as a positive shower fell out of his hat as he picked it up.  

 

Sae Maeda and David Yudes were very refreshing as Clara and the Nutcracker. All the party scenes were played to the hilt by all the dancers. My particular favourites were Hannah Grennell as the Grandmother, who manages to add a great deal of humour to the part and Olivia Cowley as the dance mistress. I did wonder if Christopher Saunders had to make a detour across the stage at one point to check on what the children were doing when playing with the dolls. It was certainly quite lively over in that corner of the stage. 

 

The tree was fully grown from the start, but I expected that. The transformation scene still worked for me, as the music is so wonderful that it carried me anyway. Other scenery still moved so there was movement and that helped. I found I didn't really care too much even though it is one of my favourite scenes when it works fully.  The Clara/ Nutcracker PDD always moves me massively, hence I was a bit of a wreck by the end of Act 1 (in a nice way). 

 

Act 2 brought William Bracewell and Laura Morera to the stage, so what more could one hope for.  Glorious dancing from them was celebrated by prolonged audience applause. I thought Will looked rather serious and fully concentrated with only intermittent smiles while Laura was smiling throughout. They were both very happy at the end though! 

 

David Donnelly worried me in the Arabian dance as he appeared to be finding all the lifts a big effort. One could see his arms shaking with the effort with every lift. Hannah Grennell danced very gracefully but I was worried for her. Thankfully, all went well. 

 

Leticia Dias made a lovely Rose Fairy. I too noticed Melissa Hamilton as she stood out, as did Leo Dixon who now has a tremendous stage presence. 

 

At the final curtain and bows, all the soloists came and threw glitter. What a wonderful end to the Nutcracker run, which has delivered so many such fantastic shows under really difficult circumstances. 

 

Finally, when I first arrived at the ROH, I was browsing in the shop when I saw Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri there, looking at the ballet CDs.  I didn't approach them as that doesn't seem right in these Covid times, I just enjoyed seeing them.  No-one else appeared to notice them at all.  Just an added highlight for my day though.    

 

What a wonderful summary of the final Nutcracker of the season! Lovely

insights to read for those of us who weren’t able to be there. 

[art_enthusiast]

8 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Finally, when I first arrived at the ROH, I was browsing in the shop when I saw Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri there, looking at the ballet CDs.  I didn't approach them as that doesn't seem right in these Covid times, I just enjoyed seeing them.  No-one else appeared to notice them at all.  Just an added highlight for my day though.    

 

 

Wow! I'm surprised no one else noticed them. Are dancers often seen in the shop?
Amazing recount of the final performance

Edited January 8, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[JennyTaylor]

12 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Wow! I'm surprised no one else noticed them. Are dancers often seen in the shop?
Amazing recount of the final performance

I've never seen any before except for official signings. There is a door from which artists can exit the ROH on the extreme left as you enter the shop, which can make for interesting sightings if you are lucky though. 

[alison]

6 hours ago, JohnS said:

 

I’d be very surprised if that were the case as Sambe may already have had a stage rehearsal before Covid struck and many performances were cancelled. O’Sullivan/Sambe we’re scheduled to debut on Christmas Eve if I recall and there may have been photos of rehearsals although I can’t recall.

 

Oh, I thought from something someone said that Sambe hadn't originally been scheduled to dance the Prince (or whatever he's called) at all, and that O'Sullivan was originally supposed to be dancing with Zucchetti throughout?

[alison]

5 hours ago, Rob S said:

Marcelino didn’t have the rectangular thing attached to the back of his hair this time, looked even better

 

Talking about things attached to hair, I'm not sure quite what happened, but at the matinee it rather looked as though perhaps the bow from one of the Rose Fairy cavaliers had dropped off.  One minute it was on the floor, the next it had vanished, and I never did work out how - I'd have sworn I didn't spot any hands near it, or any feet kicking it away, so kudos to whoever it was who dispensed with it

[Rob S]

I saw William Bracewell sitting at a table in the foyer for the whole of the matinee interval....only saw one gentleman come up and talk to him and the woman he was sat with

[Rob S]

3 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Talking about things attached to hair, I'm not sure quite what happened, but at the matinee it rather looked as though perhaps the bow from one of the Rose Fairy cavaliers had dropped off.  One minute it was on the floor, the next it had vanished, and I never did work out how - I'd have sworn I didn't spot any hands near it, or any feet kicking it away, so kudos to whoever it was who dispensed with it

 

That was Joseph Aumeer....it stayed there for a while and then he picked it up near the end of that section.

 

A show or two back a flower from the bunch held by Clara in Act 2 fell out landed on the floor and that was scooped up by William Bracewell.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Rob S

[JennyTaylor]

1 minute ago, Rob S said:

I saw William Bracewell sitting at a table in the foyer for the whole of the matinee interval....only saw one gentleman come up and talk to him and the woman he was sat with

Now, I'm really jealous!

[capybara]

52 minutes ago, Nina99 said:

Vadim Muntagirov posted a couple of stories on IG last week showing himself and Fumi Kaneko doing a couple of rehearsals, one in full costume, of the PDD from Don Q. I wonder if this was for the same gala in Dubai. The show has now been postponed to February apparently, which might clash with Vadim’s rehearsals for Swan Lake in March

@dancersdiary posted a rehearsal clip of Kaneko/Muntagirov which Bolle commented  on. Then @dancersdiary replied telling Roberto “they’re ready”. So I suppose we can assume from that that they were due to go to Dubai/Abu Dhabi.

 

Isn’t Instagram a mine of interesting information  - and I don’t even ‘go

looking’.

 

Returning to Nutcracker, the RB has done amazingly well this week (as has ENB).

A big ‘thank you’ too to BCF members who have shared their delight on here. So much of what has been said seems not only to have captured the mood of the moment but to illustrate how much ballet means in our lives, especially now.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2022 by capybara

[MJW]

39 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Onto this evening's performance where I was totally spoiled by a seat in Row A of the Orch Stalls which I picked up as a Return.  This was my first venture out post Omicron scares and I think I only nerved myself as I did have a seat with no one in front of me and it was also on the end of the row. It was marvellous and what I particularly noticed was how I could hear the orchestra astonishingly so much better than even a few rows back.... and I could see them which I also really enjoyed. 

 

As soon as the overture started, I was misty eyed; by the end of Act 1, tears were rolling down my cheeks, so moved was I by the beauty of the music, the ballet and sheer emotional experience. I suppose the Nutcracker, always has connotations with my childhood,  and I can't believe there was a time when I began to think it was boring. These days, the very challenging times we live in, seem to make every live ballet performance I see extra precious.  

 

Kevin O'Hare came out at the start with quite a heartfelt speech where he explained about the technical issues, celebrated that all advertised Principals were actually dancing and thanked everyone for all their efforts in putting on the show tonight. He also thanked the audience for supporting them. Then we had the wonderful Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer setting the scene for the glitter fest which was tonight's show as a positive shower fell out of his hat as he picked it up.  

 

Sae Maeda and David Yudes were very refreshing as Clara and the Nutcracker. All the party scenes were played to the hilt by all the dancers. My particular favourites were Hannah Grennell as the Grandmother, who manages to add a great deal of humour to the part and Olivia Cowley as the dance mistress. I did wonder if Christopher Saunders had to make a detour across the stage at one point to check on what the children were doing when playing with the dolls. It was certainly quite lively over in that corner of the stage. 

 

The tree was fully grown from the start, but I expected that. The transformation scene still worked for me, as the music is so wonderful that it carried me anyway. Other scenery still moved so there was movement and that helped. I found I didn't really care too much even though it is one of my favourite scenes when it works fully.  The Clara/ Nutcracker PDD always moves me massively, hence I was a bit of a wreck by the end of Act 1 (in a nice way). 

 

Act 2 brought William Bracewell and Laura Morera to the stage, so what more could one hope for.  Glorious dancing from them was celebrated by prolonged audience applause. I thought Will looked rather serious and fully concentrated with only intermittent smiles while Laura was smiling throughout. They were both very happy at the end though! 

 

David Donnelly worried me in the Arabian dance as he appeared to be finding all the lifts a big effort. One could see his arms shaking with the effort with every lift. Hannah Grennell danced very gracefully but I was worried for her. Thankfully, all went well. 

 

Leticia Dias made a lovely Rose Fairy. I too noticed Melissa Hamilton as she stood out, as did Leo Dixon who now has a tremendous stage presence. 

 

At the final curtain and bows, all the soloists came and threw glitter. What a wonderful end to the Nutcracker run, which has delivered so many such fantastic shows under really difficult circumstances. 

 

Finally, when I first arrived at the ROH, I was browsing in the shop when I saw Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri there, looking at the ballet CDs.  I didn't approach them as that doesn't seem right in these Covid times, I just enjoyed seeing them.  No-one else appeared to notice them at all.  Just an added highlight for my day though.    

 

 

A great summary of the evening - I thought David Donnelly struggled a bit with the lifts - but as you say it all went well in the end!

 

I might be mistaken but I thought there was some alteration in the Sugar Plum Fairy/Price choreography towards the end? I don't recall fouettes (if that's the correct term) from the Prince like that? Or am I going mad?

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by MJW
addition

[FionaM]

20 minutes ago, capybara said:

@dancersdiary posted a rehearsal clip of Kaneko/Muntagirov which Bolle commented  on. Then @dancersdiary replied telling Roberto “they’re ready”. So I suppose we can assume from that that they were due to go to Dubai/Abu Dhabi.

 

Isn’t Instagram a mine of interesting information  - and I don’t even ‘go

looking’.

 

 

 

Kaneko/Muntagirov and Osipova are also due to perform at the Daniele Cipriani Etoiles Gala in Rome on 30/31 January 

[Guest oncnp]

5 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Kaneko/Muntagirov and Osipova are also due to perform at the Daniele Cipriani Etoiles Gala in Rome on 30/31 January 

 

Les Étoiles ballet gala in Rome at the end of January (gramilano.com)

[JohnS]

7 hours ago, alison said:

 

Oh, I thought from something someone said that Sambe hadn't originally been scheduled to dance the Prince (or whatever he's called) at all, and that O'Sullivan was originally supposed to be dancing with Zucchetti throughout?

O’Sullivan was scheduled to dance 4 Sugar Plum Fairies, the first two with Sambe, the other two with Zucchetti. Her first two performances (24 & 30 December) were cancelled.

[zxDaveM]

STOP PRESS: glitter companies fearing bankrupcy now that the RB run of Nutcracker over. Seeking advice from Gary Avis...

[Fonty]

I am curious about Sophie Allnatt.  Her surname is quite unusual, I was wondering if she is related to Joanna Allnatt, who was in the RB in the 80s?   I used to know Joanna when we were children.  I don't suppose there is any way of finding out, unless someone knows her and asks her directly.  If, by chance, someone happens to meet her at the stage door, perhaps they could ask and satisfy my curiosity.  

[bridiem]

23 minutes ago, Fonty said:

I am curious about Sophie Allnatt.  Her surname is quite unusual, I was wondering if she is related to Joanna Allnatt, who was in the RB in the 80s?   I used to know Joanna when we were children.  I don't suppose there is any way of finding out, unless someone knows her and asks her directly.  If, by chance, someone happens to meet her at the stage door, perhaps they could ask and satisfy my curiosity.  

 

I just googled and found a Ballet Assocation interview with her - evidently Joanna is her aunt.

Edited January 9, 2022 by bridiem

[Fonty]

Ah, right.  I thought they might be related; they are both Essex girls.  Obviously a very talented family.

[JohnS]

A fabulous performance to bring the interrupted Nutcracker run to an end with extra glitter (and snow flakes?). Jonathan Lo also joined in the glitter curtain call extravaganzas and quite right too! Excellent to see Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer when he has done so much to make Nutcracker work whatever the trials and tribulations. I very much enjoyed Sae Maeda’s Clara. Her dancing was lovely although I think Sophie Allnatt at the matinee made the most of showing that she still had her pendant presented to her by her Sugar Plum Fairy. And what a gem of a performance from Laura Morera partnered by her Prince, William Bracewell. Morera exudes that assurance, confidence, good nature and sparkle that Sugar Plum Fairies must have. She sails through all the technical challenges which, when she dances, seem so natural. She has so much time, nothing is rushed. And she engages all cast members with such benevolence - her Prince (how she smiles at him as well as the audience), but also Clara and Hans Peter (not just when told of their heroics and presenting Clara’s pendant but when taking leave of the stage after her solo and acknowledging Hans Peter), and the Flowers/Escorts. A sublime performance and so fitting that Laura Morera brings the curtain down on this year’s Nutcracker.

 

[Silke H]

my curtain call photos 🙂

 

Facebook

 

Instagram 06 Jan 22

 

Instagram 08 Jan 22 matinee

 

Instagram 08 Jan 22 glittertastic grand finale

 

[Dawnstar]

15 hours ago, alison said:

Talking about things attached to hair, I'm not sure quite what happened, but at the matinee it rather looked as though perhaps the bow from one of the Rose Fairy cavaliers had dropped off.  One minute it was on the floor, the next it had vanished, and I never did work out how - I'd have sworn I didn't spot any hands near it, or any feet kicking it away, so kudos to whoever it was who dispensed with it

 

Dancers do seem to be remarkably good at unobtrusive removal of dropped small objects mid-performance. On Wednesday one of the Spanish dancers lost a ribbon & Gary Avis neatly & rapidly retrieved it between that dance ending & the Arabian starting. Mens' hair ribbons seem to be particularly prone to falling off, perhaps because with short haircuts there's not much of their own hair to clip the ribbon onto. I recall Joseph Caley losing his mid-scene in ENB's Manon 3 years ago & Jeffrey Cirio (Lescaut at that performance) unobtrusively despatching it wing-wards when he entered a couple of minutes later.

[Meetmeatthebarre]

8 hours ago, JohnS said:

A fabulous performance to bring the interrupted Nutcracker run to an end with extra glitter (and snow flakes?). Jonathan Lo also joined in the glitter curtain call extravaganzas and quite right too! Excellent to see Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer when he has done so much to make Nutcracker work whatever the trials and tribulations. I very much enjoyed Sae Maeda’s Clara. Her dancing was lovely although I think Sophie Allnatt at the matinee made the most of showing that she still had her pendant presented to her by her Sugar Plum Fairy. And what a gem of a performance from Laura Morera partnered by her Prince, William Bracewell. Morera exudes that assurance, confidence, good nature and sparkle that Sugar Plum Fairies must have. She sails through all the technical challenges which, when she dances, seem so natural. She has so much time, nothing is rushed. And she engages all cast members with such benevolence - her Prince (how she smiles at him as well as the audience), but also Clara and Hans Peter (not just when told of their heroics and presenting Clara’s pendant but when taking leave of the stage after her solo and acknowledging Hans Peter), and the Flowers/Escorts. A sublime performance and so fitting that Laura Morera brings the curtain down on this year’s Nutcracker.

 

 

Put beautifully. I was very close to the stage, and what struck me was how relaxed Morera looked - I can't remember the last time I saw a dancer hold so little tension in a performance; truly luxuriant. My friend remarked that she was the "warmest" Sugarplum fairy that she had seen - definitely a benevolent rule of the Kingdom of Sweets! I was in tears during the PDD, hoping that this wasn't her swansong in a tutu role. I admired Bracewell's restraint in his batterie, fitting for the role, precise, and highly regal. 

 

I did not initially warm to Maeda's Clara, being a bit too "proper" in her carriage to be believable in the role in the first half of Act 1, but danced freely with abandon later on. Yudes' Nutcracker was charmingly sweet, and I thought his balletic mime was delivered with an exceptional balance of humour and narrative. (Side note, we saw both of them in the piazza after the performance, seeming on Cloud 9 whilst cradling their bouquets!)

 

Dias' Rose Fairy was effervescent; I was captivated by her expressive wrists and hands in particular. Whilst she recovered like a trooper after a unfortunate mishap, my heart broke to see her smile transform form genuine joy to forced - we've all encountered an unexpectedly slippery part of the floor, and I am glad the audience rallied around her. 

 

And nothing but praise for Gary, a character artist king, and having taken class from him before, I'm convinced he is one of the most genuinely nice dancers in the world. Loved Lo's glitter throw as well, reminding us of the incredible magic the orchestra contribute. 

 

I stayed until the last curtain call, cheering furiously, and delighted to see a standing ovation from a majority of the stalls. 

 

P.S. I write the above as a previous Nutcracker sceptic!

 

[LinMM]

Absolutely right about Gary Avis! 
I know he has generously helped quite a few people I know. 

[theorist]

I was at last Wednesday's performance, conducted by Jonathan Lo. (The pre-Christmas performances were conducted by Koen Kessels or Barry Wordsworth.) I was sitting at the back of the stalls, which I usually find is the best place for listening to the music.At many points in the performance (not just the Waltz of the Snowflakes, where current performance limitations obviously make a difference) the orchestral balance sounded very odd indeed to me. Did anyone else have the same experience, either on that occasion or another with the same conductor?

[alison]

There was a bit in the Waltz of the Flowers (is that the right title, or am I confusing it with Sleeping Beauty?) where the music suddenly went piano, or even pianissimo, before returning to a more normal level, on the Wednesday and Saturday matinee, at least.  It didn't happen in the Saturday evening performance - I noticed that.  At one of the other two performances, some audience members immediately in front of me were visibly startled by the change.

[alison]

While we're back on the subject of Nutcracker, can someone confirm: did Osipova do any of her Sugar Plum Fairies(Fairys?)?  I don't think she did.

[San Perregrino]

7 hours ago, alison said:

While we're back on the subject of Nutcracker, can someone confirm: did Osipova do any of her Sugar Plum Fairies(Fairys?)?  I don't think she did.

Natalia danced Sugar Plum with Reece on 4th December.

She was replaced by Fumi on 25th November.

For me, though completely contrasting in style, one sizzled the other floated, both of these pairings/performances were outstanding. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by prs59

[Dawnstar]

14 hours ago, theorist said:

I was at last Wednesday's performance, conducted by Jonathan Lo. (The pre-Christmas performances were conducted by Koen Kessels or Barry Wordsworth.) I was sitting at the back of the stalls, which I usually find is the best place for listening to the music.At many points in the performance (not just the Waltz of the Snowflakes, where current performance limitations obviously make a difference) the orchestral balance sounded very odd indeed to me. Did anyone else have the same experience, either on that occasion or another with the same conductor?

 

I too was at Wedneday's performance and on a few occasions the sound seemd to be quieter than I would have expected. However I was at the far side of the stalls circle, right next to the orchestra pit, & the accoustics can be a bit odd there so I just put it down to that. It was also only the second time I've seen the ROH's Nutcracker live, the first time being 3 years ago, so it's not as if I know very well what their orchestra *should* sound like playing that particular score.

[theorist]

20 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I too was at Wedneday's performance and on a few occasions the sound seemd to be quieter than I would have expected. However I was at the far side of the stalls circle, right next to the orchestra pit, & the accoustics can be a bit odd there so I just put it down to that. It was also only the second time I've seen the ROH's Nutcracker live, the first time being 3 years ago, so it's not as if I know very well what their orchestra *should* sound like playing that particular score.

I'm not suggesting that there is only one orchestral balance that's "right". Different conductors can sometimes bring refreshingly different approaches. On the other hand, my choice of the word "odd" (rather than just "different") gives you an idea of what I thought on this occasion.

[zxDaveM]

I thought something must have happened that I couldn't see or had missed as the orchestra got quieter and quieter as if they were stopping. Until they burst out again. An 'interesting' interpretation, for sure 🙂

[Rob S]

50 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

I thought something must have happened that I couldn't see or had missed as the orchestra got quieter and quieter as if they were stopping. Until they burst out again. An 'interesting' interpretation, for sure 🙂

 

It wasn't a one off either, he was the conductor for  several performances  that I saw/heard and the same thing happened at that point each time

[LinMM]

😂😂
Im on a train at the moment and just startled the person in an adjacent seat by suddenly laughing out loud Rob S 

Rather appropriately have just been talking about the dynamics of our current piano pieces lol! 

Edited January 11, 2022 by LinMM

[Henry]

On the subject of wigs...Looking at the "Rob S" photos above, have the Russian Dancers lost their beards?  Has Mr O'Hare made an announcement?  Were there technical problems??  Is the connected with the recent casting of Ms Haegee Lee in this role???  

[Sim]

The Russians lost their beards two or three years ago I believe.  Although they looked silly, I do think they added to the look overall.