The Nutcracker - Nureyev’s version (and some changes to it).

[TurningPointe]

Hello All,

 

I hope that you are all well.  I would like to think that I am not the only one that is suffering from ‘Nutcracker-withdrawal syndrome’ this season.  

 

I am wondering if anybody here would know the answer to the following: I have noticed (from the recordings of Nureyev’s Nutcracker dating back to 1968, and 1971), that (at least) some aspects of the choreography of the male solo following the final grand pas de deux have changed, and so has the jacket that Nureyev (as the Prince) wore.  

 

I have also noticed that for Sir Peter Wright’s version of The Nutcracker, some items of the BRB version (some of the stage settings, costumes, and battery operated rats roaming the stage) are not part of the Royal Ballet’s Covent Garden version, although both are ascribed to the same choreographer. 

 

Going back to Nureyev’s Nutcracker:  the Prince’s solo no longer seems to encompass that final diagonal of cabriole arabesque that Nureyev used to do at the height of his powers.  A ‘killer’ at the end of solo and following the grand pas de deux…I know….but it was iconic and wonderful to see him doing that diagonal in the films available.  Also, the iconic arabesque lift with the ballerina at the end of the grand pas de deux…, where the Prince lifts Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy seems to have changed slightly too.  If you look at Nureyev’s film, and the photos of many of his performances at the time, he very clearly has the ballerina’s body on his back and over his arabesque.  

 

However, now that arabesque lift has become what looks like an ‘open’ (and unstable at times) arabesque….where the Prince’s body ends up in a position that resembles a half-way between ‘a la seconde’ and ‘an arabesque’ if you know what I mean.  I absolutely do realise that mastering that lift and specific body position is absolutely gruelling, and that the positioning may have to slightly change depending on the dancers’ body proportions, etc.  At the time, from what I can see, Nureyev tended to dance with smaller (rather than taller) ballerinas.  In any event, I truly respect and appreciate Nureyev’s prowess even more! Particularly thinking that, at that time, there was no underpinning of anything other than perhaps Pilates to strengthen a dancer’s body to execute the choreographic challenges that a ballet may require.  Today, whole fitness programmes underpinned by sports science exist that can be built around a certain ballet’s physical requirements.  Certainly not something that existed until after 2012, when the Mason Healthcare Suite for the Royal Ballet was inaugurated at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. 

 

On a different note, the iconic jacket that Nureyev wore at the height of his powers as the Prince (he would have been in his late 20s, early 30s then - late 1960s/early 1970s)  also seem to have been swapped now by a shirt and a striped waistcoat…I wonder if anybody here would know the background, or the reasons, why these changes occurred.   I apologise if I sound really fussy, that is not my intention, I am only trying to understand the background of these changes whilst ascribing the choreography, sets and costumes to the original designers. 

 

Thank you very much in advance!  

 

Paula

[Sophoife]

1 hour ago, TurningPointe said:

I have also noticed that for Sir Peter Wright’s version of The Nutcracker, some items of the BRB version (some of the stage settings, costumes, and battery operated rats roaming the stage) are not part of the Royal Ballet’s Covent Garden version, although both are ascribed to the same choreographer. 

 

Correct that they are both productions from the same choreographer.

 

The Royal Ballet version (with the Nephew storyline and the Angels) was created in 1984, with designs by the late Julia Trevelyan Oman. This version (2023 revival) will be shown in selected cinemas in time for Christmas, or can be rented via the company website for £12.99 for three days.

 

In 1990 when Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet relocated to Birmingham and became Birmingham Royal Ballet, with Sir Peter Wright as artistic director, he created a new production as his gift to the City of Birmingham which had been so magnificently supportive of the company, with designs by John Macfarlane. This is the version Australian Ballet also performs and which is currently available to stream (cost $29 Australian) until 26 December.

[TurningPointe]

Thank you so much @Sophoife for getting back to me on the mystery surrounding Sir Peter Wright’s Nutcracker.  Really appreciate it.