ENB Nutcracker Nov 2023 - Jan 2024: Southampton, London

[Emeralds]

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!....in the snowflakes scene of course ❄️ 😀

English National Ballet's 2023-2024 run of Wayne Eagling's production of Nutcracker begins tonight (earlier than usual) at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, until Sat 2 Dec, then travels to its regular Christmas home at the London Coliseum from Thurs 14 Dec to Sun 7 Jan.

 

There have been cast changes since casting was first announced in summer, so do check the ENB website for the latest casting updates. Tonight's cast is led by the glorious Fernanda Oliveira as grown up Clara, elegant Aitor Arrieta as the Nephew (equivalent of the Prince/Cavalier role in other productions), rising talent Henry Dowden as the Nutcracker, and versatile company hero James Streeter as Drosselmeyer. Toi toi toi to the company, especially artists making debuts in new roles! 

 

The weather is actually forecast to turn very cold tonight and tomorrow, so do wrap up warm if attending....and as always, don't forget to tell us what you thought of the show! 🎄 ❄️ 💃 

[Aklf]

What a wonderful way to launch into the festive season. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing this production for the first time, having previously only seen the RB Nutcracker. Beautifully staged, glittering costumes and some very menacing rodents all brought much joy to a freezing afternoon at The Mayflower. A treat to see Precious Adams’ debut as Clara/Sugarplum. Also very impressed with the young students from Tring Park (I believe)who did a fabulous job and were well rehearsed. A united and strong corps sparkled through Snowflakes and danced beautifully in Flowers pdd. Just one thing seemed slightly out of place - the Nutcracker toy used as a prop in Act 1 looked quite heavy and clunky! I felt for the poor young dancers having to manoeuvre it around stage. Otherwise an immensely uplifting, entertaining and beautifully danced production. Looking forward to seeing it again at The Coliseum.

 

 

[Emeralds]

Thank you for the lovely first review of ENB's production this season,  @Aklf- I did wonder if any members were in/going to Southampton for the production this season 😀.  I'll be catching it in London. I think the doll/toy in Eagling's production is bigger (I was on a backstage tour and saw it up close- it's massive compared to other versions) because the doll moves "by itself" - I assume it's remote controlled from the wings - for part of Clara's dance in Act 1 so I suppose they need to be able to fit the gadgets for that inside the toy. Glad you enjoyed the performances and that Precious Adams  had a successful debut in the lead role! 👏 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Emeralds

[San Perregrino]

3 hours ago, Emeralds said:

- I assume it's remote controlled from the wings

It’s magic 

#keepthesecret 🙂 

[Emeralds]

Yes, probably magic, I agree!  🎩  🪄 😀

#YouSawNothing

[CCL]

I know this production isn’t to everyone’s taste but I’ve been attending almost every year since 2010 with my daughters, who have grown up with it, so I’m very fond of it. We will be seeing Precious Adams as Clara/SPF and I’m very much looking forward to her performance. Glad to hear you enjoyed the production Aklf!

[LinMM]

Am putting this here as don’t want to start a whole new thread but just to say if you are a Friend of ENB you may need to keep an eye on your renewal date! 
My membership ran out on Nov 30th and not a thing from ENB. I emailed them and got a reply this morning saying to just go to the main website to renew and thanking me for wanting to. 
I’ve had to email again as the question Id asked didn’t get answered….are they no longer sending out reminders to Friends.  
The email came from Jasmine Wong ……Donor Relations Officer…… So am a bit confused at the moment of whether this is now the new Friends person or they’ve changed all the titles! 
Anyway don’t expect to receive any reminders about membership etc. 

 

On a lighter note am looking forward to seeing Lauretta Summerscales in this Nutcracker on the 20th …it’s about seven years since I’ve been to the ENB version so I’m sure I will enjoy it this time though will never be a favourite I think. 

[Peanut68]

How many Nutcracker versions does ENB ‘rotate’ & which are they?

I recall seeing photos/clips years ago of a version (maybe ENB?) where the land of sweets had images of a dancer leaping out of a giant fridge…. But have never seen again or worked out what/where/who company was etc…. Or was I having my own sugar-rush dream???

 

[Sim]

4 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

How many Nutcracker versions does ENB ‘rotate’ & which are they?

I recall seeing photos/clips years ago of a version (maybe ENB?) where the land of sweets had images of a dancer leaping out of a giant fridge…. But have never seen again or worked out what/where/who company was etc…. Or was I having my own sugar-rush dream???

 

That was the ENB Hampson/Scarfe version from a good few years ago.  This article from ENB's website will explain more:

 

https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/the-changing-face-of-nutcracker/

 

[San Perregrino]

2 minutes ago, Sim said:

That was the ENB Hampson/Scarfe version from a good few years ago.  This article from ENB's website will explain more:

 

https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/the-changing-face-of-nutcracker/

 

according to the ENB article, the current

“..interpretation has been enjoyed by over 850,000 audiences to date!”

That is a helluva lot of perfomances!! 

 

[alison]

Yes, 850,000 x 2500 = ????????

[LinMM]

Just an update on ENB Friends membership 

Ive now had a second reply from Jasmine Wong ( Donor Relations Officer) and she says they ARE STILL sending out reminders but have been having some “technical problems” recently which means some people may not have received their reminders. Hopefully this is now solved! 

[Balletbloke]

Sadly, following the Coloseum's decision to close the cloakroom and sell hot dogs and popcorn to be consumed during the performance, I shall not be gracing them with my presence.

There was a debate on here earlier in the year, and some of us emailed the theatre. I was fobbed off with some lame excuse about people having to eat for "medical reasons"!

If they'd rather sell junk food to their patrons then they can forgo my ticket price.

 

[LinMM]

My reply from them was that other Theatres are now doing this so they feel they have to offer a more relaxed attitude to food in the auditorium too. 
There was a brief mention of some people may need to eat for medical reasons but that hardly counts as has always been the case and is a very small minority of people who need to eat every hour!!! And even if they did they don’t have to eat in the auditorium itself. 
Im afraid it’s in vogue and one has to lump it or leave it. 

[Blossom]

I’m not going to see ENB’s Nutcracker because I just don’t like it. I wrote an email to ask Aaron S Watkin if he would mount a new version. To his credit he replied within 24 hours to say it’s early days for him at ENB but I certainly hope he views the Land of Sweets with a critical eye at the Coliseum at least. I find it is completely lost on such a huge stage for a start.

 

In agreement on the food and drink situation- my friend had the displeasure of being covered in someone else’s  glass of red wine at a performance of Manon pre Covid.

[zxDaveM]

5 hours ago, Balletbloke said:

Sadly, following the Coloseum's decision to close the cloakroom and sell hot dogs and popcorn to be consumed during the performance, I shall not be gracing them with my presence.

 

I can sympathise - I'm going to see Giselle in January with a little trepidation, I can't deny

 

5 hours ago, Balletbloke said:

There was a debate on here earlier in the year, and some of us emailed the theatre. I was fobbed off with some lame excuse about people having to eat for "medical reasons"!

 

that's like finding a bovine pat on your seat:  pure BS

[Peanut68]

On 05/12/2023 at 16:56, Sim said:

That was the ENB Hampson/Scarfe version from a good few years ago.  This article from ENB's website will explain more:

 

https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/the-changing-face-of-nutcracker/

 

Thank you!

Is there any footage of this to watch out there?

[Emeralds]

Opening night for the company at London Coliseum tonight- toi toi toi to Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw (who were so glorious in Four Last Songs) for their London debuts in the lead roles, and to all the company! Amber Hunt's iconic pointe shoe tree is looking very pretty this year in multiple pastel hues (on the company social media pages). 💃 🎄 🍬 ❄️ 🎶 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Emeralds

[bridiem]

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today's matinee performance: Sangeun Lee replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara, Gareth Haw replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew, Junor Souza replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker, and Fabian Reimair replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.

[Sim]

36 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today's matinee performance: Sangeun Lee replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara, Gareth Haw replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew, Junor Souza replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker, and Fabian Reimair replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.

Good heavens, I can't keep up with all these cast changes.  I don't know how the Company does!!  

[LinMM]

Unfortunately will have to miss Lauretta Summerscales in this on the 20th. 
After LBC interview this week I was so glad I’d booked to see her but not to be. 

[bridiem]

And now! From the Coliseum: 'We are sorry to announce that due to a water supply issue at the London Coliseum, today's matinee performance of English National Ballet's Nutcracker has had to be cancelled.'

The evening performance will go ahead as planned.

Edited December 16, 2023 by bridiem

[LinMM]

Oh how disappointing for all those little girls in their twirly fairy dresses looking forward to going to this this afternoon….well and the big girls and aspiring Hans Peters too! 
 

Good it’s sorted for this evening though. 

[San Perregrino]

19 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Oh how disappointing for all those little girls in their twirly fairy dresses looking forward to going to this this afternoon….well and the big girls and aspiring Hans Peters too! 
 

Good it’s sorted for this evening though. 

yesterday on the train home there was a very happy little boy in his twirly fairy dress complete with wings. 

[Sim]

Oh dear.  I hope ENB gets compensated by the Coli for the busiest matinee of the year! They have lost a lot of money because of this.  So much disappointment all round....audience, dancers, musicians and staff. 

 

[Mary]

Dreadful for all those taking family as a special treat.

What exactly happened to the water I wonder? too much or too little?

 

[alison]

I felt sorry for the woman stuck on the Elizabeth line the other day who was supposed to be taking her daughter to the (RB?) Nutcracker, too ☹️

 

Presumably no refunds there ☹️

[Emeralds]

Friday 15 Dec:

Clara - Fernanda Oliveira 

Nephew - Aitor Arrieta 

Nutcracker - Henry Dowden 

Drosselmeyer- James Streeter 

Mouse King- Giorgio Garrett

Young Clara - Millicent Honour 

Louise- Julia Conway 

 

A glorious performance to a 99-99.6% full house from the entire company and the ENB Philharmonic last night, the second performance of the London run. The whole company were on fine form, despite some injuries keeping some eg Frola, Coloma, Woolhouse etc  temporarily away. We also had the luxury of some fine soloists in supporting roles eg Ivana Bueno as lead couple in Waltz of the Flowers and a Snowflake, Emily Suzuki as a Lead Snowflake and a party guest, Lorenzo Trossello in a lead couple in Waltz of the Flowers, etc. 

 

Millicent Honour (who was a moving young Cinderella in the summer performances of Wheeldon's Cinderella) was a spirited, lively and expressive young Clara, who matched Fernanda Oliveira as her older self. Oliveira is probably the most feisty Clara I've seen in this production;  a very expressive and independent minded young heroine, who is more than willing to thump the Mouse King (a menacing yet cheeky Giorgio Garrett)  and his minions for invading her home (and dream) and harassing her beloved Nutcracker. She has lovely lines and is so expressive that her face and body convey the excitement and drama of the story all the way to the back of the highest rows. 

 

Aitor Arrieta is every young girl and parent's ideal of the young man next door- handsome, courteous and gallant, and who just has jumps and leaps that soar and wonderfully centred and controlled pirouettes. His Nephew is of course a hit with the besotted young Clara and popular with party guests young and old. Arrieta continues to go from strength to strength, improving with each season, and after brilliant performances in the recent triple bill, has made the role of the Nephew one of charm, modest but impressive virtuosity (I'm not sure if there's an official term for the jetes he essayed in the grand pas de deux which looked like a riff on the 540 and a cabriole) and sensitive partnering. 

 

This production has my favourite costumes and choreography for the Snowflakes as they combine classical purity with visual elegance in conveying the glories of the music as well as the beauty of the snow scene. Some productions have more complex choreography, some have costumes that look more like realistic wintry elements but this production really shows how beautiful the Snowflakes can be. Ever since I first saw it, it has always looked like there is some of Ashton's musicality and precision in the choreography- perhaps Eagling was subconsciously influenced by years of dancing Ashton ballets and working with Ashton when Eagling was a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet. The Mouse King and mice interrupting the snow scene is definitely more ETA Hoffmann than Ashton though, and this version does retain some elements and characters from Hoffman's original darker tale.

 

Julia Conway, doubling up as a Lead Snowflake (surprisingly she is not that easily recognisable when dressed identically to other Snowflakes) with Emily Suzuki, led the graceful ensemble which included lyrical Minju Kang, Angela Wood (also unrecognisable from the Maid she portrayed brilliantly in Act 1) and Ivana Bueno, with gorgeous phrasing and musicality from Suzuki and Bueno. 

 

The divertissement of dances was a cornicopia of colour and energy at this performance, with Victor Prigent, Alice Bellini and Georgia Bould bringing the Spanish sun in their dazzling smiles and lively turns and leaps. The Arabian dance is back! After an absence of a few years it is now a dance for four women, with no captured prisoners or dark overtones. Likewise the butterfly net in the Mirliton dance has gone, the Russian dance is now named Cossacks to reflect its proper inspiration in the style and costumes (one of Tchaikovsky's ancestors was himself a Ukrainian Cossack). The sleek, inspired Chinese dance was danced with great verve by Van Le Ngoc, Miguel Angel Maidana and Ashley Coupal, with Coupal's neat lines and speedy turns providing a spectacular touch. Shunhei Fuchiyama danced the virtuoso lead Cossack role to the well known Trepak music - for a moment we apoeared to have been transported to superhero land as Fuchiyama's elevation isn't just remarkable- he seems to be able to fly! Topped off with some fast pirouettes too.

 

The dancers and orchestra brought a sense of mounting excitement as the divertissements progressed- Nutcracker productions can sometimes seem to plod through each "national dance" but in this performance, you couldn't wait to see what came next. The Waltz of the Flowers was also infused by some magic last night- I've never seen the men (including Trossello, Rentaro Nakaaki, Eric Snyder, Rhys Antoni Yeomans, Matthew Astley) soar so high, and the ladies were infused with a fragrant elegance. 

 

In the glorious finale, Oliveira and Arrieta were a dreamy delight of classical lyricism and romantic elegance in the adagio, and their experience and technical mastery evident in the princely solo, the Sugar Plum Fairy dance, and the exciting coda (oh those incredible pirouettes by Aitor and glorious jetes from Fernanda!) 

 

This production is full of complex manoeuvres and effects in choreography, props and sets which can be a minefield sometimes but impressively spectacular when everything goes well. I'm pleased to report the hot air balloons flew well, the cannon, castle and magic tricks behaved as they should for Drosselmeyer and the Nutcracker, with no stage collisions, mishaps or other untoward events. We were also treated to some magnificent playing by the ENB Philharmonic led by Daniel Parkinson (fresh from conducting Northern Ballet performances) and accomplished dancing and singing (of the choral parts in the snow scene) from the students of Tring Park school.

 

Besides the gorgeous performances on stage, the Coliseum seems extra festively decorated this year, with the iconic ENB pointe shoe tree by Amber Hunt twinkling with fairy lights and multihued shoes in the lobby, and at least 6, 7 or 8 other Christmas trees dotted around the building! Ending at around 2 hours but with less rushed curtain calls nowadays, the full house showed their enthusiastic appreciation for the excellent performances with rousing cheers. The programmes are £8 this year and cast sheets are now digital via QR code at sales desks or company website:

 https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/daily-performance-casting-nutcracker/

 

 

Edited December 16, 2023 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

(Apologies to members and mods for the novella-length report! I think I felt obliged to be a bit more detailed as it was the first review of the London run, and  subconsciously felt like compensating for the cancelled third show today! I swear I didn't do anything or see anyone do anything to the water supply....although there were a few messy but quiet popcorn eaters in the auditorium.....yes, popcorn is still there, sorry folks. Would ban it if I could!)

[bridiem]

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today’s matinee: Fernanda Oliveira replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara; Aitor Arrieta replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew; Henry Dowden replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker; and James Streeter replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.

[San Perregrino]

50 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today’s matinee: Fernanda Oliveira replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara; Aitor Arrieta replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew; Henry Dowden replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker; and James Streeter replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.

which is a timely reminder that any information sought and received re advance casting is a double-edged sword as it can only be considered a guideline not a given. 
that said if my preferred dancers don’t make it on stage for the performance I have booked there will be disappointment.

 

[Dawnstar]

Did anyone else read the BTG review (in yesterday's links) and feel your heart sink at this paragraph:

 

Quote

The audience, of all ages, is out to have a good time and do. There is fizz to drink, popcorn on sale and jelly sweets, as well as chocolate, nuts and ice cream. An indulgent evening, the theatre is buzzing. Festivities have begun in good spirit.

 

While I'm not seeing The Nutcracker I hope to see Giselle next month & I really don't want to be surrounded by people eating half a dozen different foodstuffs.

[Sim]

3 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Did anyone else read the BTG review (in yesterday's links) and feel your heart sink at this paragraph:

 

 

While I'm not seeing The Nutcracker I hope to see Giselle next month & I really don't want to be surrounded by people eating half a dozen different foodstuffs.

Ditto.  Giselle is so NOT conducive to all that.  Nutcracker, which has many references to sweets, and kids at Christmas out on a treat, well for that I can be tolerant (much as it bugs me).  But Giselle?  NO!!