Royal Ballet - Nutcracker (Christmas 2013)

[DavidW]

I was a bit surprised that she didn't call people by name. I was pleased to see a full cast list in the closing credits though - the printed cast sheet was sparse to say the least! Seemed odd that the Mouse King got credited on the printed sheet yet the Rose Fairy didn't...!

 

I thought it was a lovely performance and certainly got me in the Christmas spirit. Thought Hayward and Campbell were fantastic, and Avis, as always, a brilliant Drosselmeyer. I absolutely loved the Sugarplum PdD - Morera and Bonelli had such amazing synchronicity and musicality. Some great performances in the character dances (although I've never been a huge fan of the Chinese or Arabian choreography - in any production) with the highlight for me the Trepak with Campbell, Kay and Dyer. It definitely got a large round of applause from the (sold out) cinema where I was watching.

 

I noticed in the Bloomberg interview with Kevin O'Hare yesterday he said that he had reports that Nutcracker was the number one film for Thursday - I presume he means just in the UK but that's fantastic news if true. Also, he let slip that there will be another Royal Ballet Live in 2014!

[alison]

I was forced to miss it, unfortunately

[toursenlair]

I doubt that Nutcracker was the highest selling film in Canada, as there were about 20 people in the cinema I was at in downtown Toronto! This is because the presenter, Cineplex, is absolutely useless at promoting these ballet broadcasts (I think i do more to promote them than they do!) and then, if by some amazing chance you're actually aware they exist, their website makes it almost impossible to buy a ticket! This is worrisome because I fear that cineplex will say, "Oh, ballet is never well attended so we'll stop doing it." Meanwhile, the cinema had some 16-year-old come and make an announcement before the broadcast. She told us that the Nutcracker was coming to us from "the Royal Canadian Opera House" at a place called "Covenant Garden" and then there was a quiz question, to wit "Where was the opera [sic] The Nutcracker first performed?" At that point I couldn't take it any longer and said very loudly "It's a BALLET."

[zxDaveM]

I was lucky enough to attend the 'Christmas treat' Nutcracker performance on Saturday afternoon. A treat it was too - ME, in the Grand Tier - who'd have thought! Various parts of the front of house were setup with stalls - in the Floral Hall for example, were the costumes (lots of interesting tutus, and you could ask about how they were made and what went into them etc), the armoury dept, with guns and swords a-plenty, and a ballet shoe maker (think it was Freeds, but I couldn't get near enough as it was very popular - and I arrived from work with only 20mins to curtain up). Lots of things for the kids to do and try and see. Wish I could have gotten there earlier myself!

As for the show itself - Sarah Lamb as Sugar Plum was a delight; Sarah really has captured the essence of the role these days. Her Prince was the ever elegant Rupert Pennefather, and I really enjoyed the grand pdd with them. The highlights for me though, were the 2 school mates Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi as Clara and Rose Fairy respectively. Ms Hayward is developing into one of the best Claras I've seen, with her dancing and demeanour just so right for the role. Ms Naghdi danced the waltz section as well as I've ever seen it danced (a lot better than many soloists/principals in my opinion). There was nothing stretched or rushed about - just elegance personified. An unfortunate slip in the finale section prevented a 10/10, though the recovery straight back onto the music definitely gets a 9.5/10!  :-)  I heard she had only been asked to do it by Kevin O'Hare a week ago, as so many dancers that would normally dance the role are off injured or sick at the moment. Good choice Kevin! Lets hope Yasmine can dance it again, so that more people can see what I mean.

[alison]

What a shame.  I'd have liked to have seen her.

[chrischris]

I was lucky enough to attend the 'Christmas treat' Nutcracker performance on Saturday afternoon. A treat it was too - ME, in the Grand Tier - who'd have thought! Various parts of the front of house were setup with stalls - in the Floral Hall for example, were the costumes (lots of interesting tutus, and you could ask about how they were made and what went into them etc), the armoury dept, with guns and swords a-plenty, and a ballet shoe maker (think it was Freeds, but I couldn't get near enough as it was very popular - and I arrived from work with only 20mins to curtain up). Lots of things for the kids to do and try and see. Wish I could have gotten there earlier myself!

As for the show itself - Sarah Lamb as Sugar Plum was a delight; Sarah really has captured the essence of the role these days. Her Prince was the ever elegant Rupert Pennefather, and I really enjoyed the grand pdd with them. The highlights for me though, were the 2 school mates Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi as Clara and Rose Fairy respectively. Ms Hayward is developing into one of the best Claras I've seen, with her dancing and demeanour just so right for the role. Ms Naghdi danced the waltz section as well as I've ever seen it danced (a lot better than many soloists/principals in my opinion). There was nothing stretched or rushed about - just elegance personified. An unfortunate slip in the finale section prevented a 10/10, though the recovery straight back onto the music definitely gets a 9.5/10!  :-)  I heard she had only been asked to do it by Kevin O'Hare a week ago, as so many dancers that would normally dance the role are off injured or sick at the moment. Good choice Kevin! Lets hope Yasmine can dance it again, so that more people can see what I mean.

 

 

I didn't realise they did those kind of events. Good idea.

[MargaretN7]

I was lucky enough to attend the 'Christmas treat' Nutcracker performance on Saturday afternoon. A treat it was too - ME, in the Grand Tier - who'd have thought!

A well deserved Grand Tier Christmas treat, considering all the pleasure you give us with your photos. 

[zxDaveM]

Thats very kind of you to say! Thanks MargaretN7  :-)

 

@ Chrischris - it was one of those 'reaching out to new audiences' type things, so special invites via specific newspapers were emailed out - and they had to respond to that. Or some of us regulars pouncing on an error when they released it out into the world (I think by mistake). A shame  was that not all seats were filled - I don't know whether that was those same regulars thinking twice about the type of audience they might encounter and not bothering cos they hadn't paid much (and though it was very 'child friendly', and 99% of everyone were immaculately behaved too, bless 'em) or whether the reach wasn't great enough to sell all tickets; if the latter, then releasing to all and sundry and the likes of many of us regulars after a leeway period would have made sense. This would have been a well received and welcome treat indeed! There were a few spares around me (in said Grand Tier - don't you know!), and I spotted a few in the Stalls (can't vouch for the rest of the house). I did spot a few regulars in the Stalls, which was good - but I bet many families relished the opportunity to bring all the children for a total cost of less then one normal ticket. So hats off to ROH and Helen Hamlyn/The Hamlyn Trust for making it possible, and so much fun.

[Nina G.]

That sounds like a really fun event for families to attend. Well done ROH. 

 

DaveM. let's hope we will get a chance to see what you mean!

Edited December 15, 2013 by Nina G.

[zxDaveM]

DaveM. let's hope we will get a chance to see what you mean!

 

last I heard is she might be dancing the matinee on the 20th Dec, so if lucky enough to have a ticket for that you're in for a treat. I'm hoping, double fingers crossed, for more shows in January now...

[ElleC]

Gosh, I really hope that's right as I'm going on the 20th, and Yasmine is one of my favourite young dancers at RB!  Fingers and toes firmly crossed ...

[Nina G.]

It seems the RB is experiencing recurring problems with a slippery floor. During the evening performance (14th) reportedly Miss Hinkis (Clara) slipped and so did Mr Cervera.  

[Anna C]

Oh goodness, not again! :-(

[chrischris]

I heard that Lamb slipped on Saturday

[Spax]

Did any off you see the soldiers go wrong sat night?

My ds said one of the boys got his flag caught as they came out if the box and everything was out of time. Clara looked horrified cause she thought ds was going to shoot her!! Smiled as she turned. Ds said it was mayhem

[MargaretN7]

Did any off you see the soldiers go wrong sat night?

My ds said one of the boys got his flag caught as they came out if the box and everything was out of time. Clara looked horrified cause she thought ds was going to shoot her!! Smiled as she turned. Ds said it was mayhem

As long as he doesn't get tempted to try and shoot the nutcracker so that he can save the day by stepping into the part himself! (And best wishes to his soldiering)

[Spax]

I will have to keep an eye on him!

Thank you MargaretN7

[Fonty]

Did any off you see the soldiers go wrong sat night?

My ds said one of the boys got his flag caught as they came out if the box and everything was out of time. Clara looked horrified cause she thought ds was going to shoot her!! Smiled as she turned. Ds said it was mayhem

 

Oh, the perils of that scene.  I remember many years ago taking part in a production where we had marvellous rat costumes.    Unfortunately, the masks really restricted your vision, so we had to be spot on with our positioning.  One night, someone had their tail trodden on so hard it came off, and she toppled over.  The result was mayhem as we started to bump into each other.

 

In the aftermath of the battle the stage was littered with dismembered tails, feet, whiskers, which the Snowflakes had to dance carefully round.   Ah, happy days......

[bangorballetboy]

 

In the aftermath of the battle the stage was littered with dismembered tails, feet, whiskers,

 

As the aftermath of any decent battle should be...

[Nina G.]

I was lucky enough to attend the 'Christmas treat' Nutcracker performance on Saturday afternoon. A treat it was too - ME, in the Grand Tier - who'd have thought! Various parts of the front of house were setup with stalls - in the Floral Hall for example, were the costumes (lots of interesting tutus, and you could ask about how they were made and what went into them etc), the armoury dept, with guns and swords a-plenty, and a ballet shoe maker (think it was Freeds, but I couldn't get near enough as it was very popular - and I arrived from work with only 20mins to curtain up). Lots of things for the kids to do and try and see. Wish I could have gotten there earlier myself!

As for the show itself - Sarah Lamb as Sugar Plum was a delight; Sarah really has captured the essence of the role these days. Her Prince was the ever elegant Rupert Pennefather, and I really enjoyed the grand pdd with them. The highlights for me though, were the 2 school mates Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi as Clara and Rose Fairy respectively. Ms Hayward is developing into one of the best Claras I've seen, with her dancing and demeanour just so right for the role. Ms Naghdi danced the waltz section as well as I've ever seen it danced (a lot better than many soloists/principals in my opinion). There was nothing stretched or rushed about - just elegance personified. An unfortunate slip in the finale section prevented a 10/10, though the recovery straight back onto the music definitely gets a 9.5/10!  :-)  I heard she had only been asked to do it by Kevin O'Hare a week ago, as so many dancers that would normally dance the role are off injured or sick at the moment. Good choice Kevin! Lets hope Yasmine can dance it again, so that more people can see what I mean.

 

I totally agree with you Dave and also "Good choice Kevin!"

 

I watched Miss Naghdi dance the "Rose Fairy" at today's Matinee. Very special indeed. She shows that rare quality of unrushed, unshowy and controlled dancing in a pure Classical manner. An elegant and most beautiful performance! Yasmine's artistry and interaction with "Clara" reminded me of Zenaida's past performances in this role. 

&

Miss Hayward is the best "Clara" I have ever seen (not dancing it today). She is just the right age to dance this role and "acts" well.

A most lovely treat by the RB dancers just before starting the festivities

[Judo48]

I saw the matinee of Nutcracker yesterday, with Nunez & Soarez, but there were at least 5 separate cast changes on a separate sheet with the cast list + 2 others announced at the beginning of the performance and I found it all rather confusing!  Tristan Dyer was Hans Peter/Nutcracker and he seemed to disappear off stage after the dance of the Mirlitons, and only reappeared at the street outside Stahlbaum's house, which was rather strange.  I wondered if he was injured?  The rest of the production was brilliant.  Laura, replacing Itziar, was a splendid Rose Fairy.  Marianela was superb.

[alison]

My guess is that by now it's the time of year when the ROH has to get all its cast sheets printed off a lot further in advance than normal, so that more of the cast changes can't be accounted for on the printed copy, which is why you get longer and longer "injury slips".

[Tony Newcombe]

Totally agree with Nina G about Yasmine's Rose Fairy today. Classical dancing at it's purest.

[chrischris]

Loved it today. God I love Sarah Lamb. She is stunning. For me the star of the RB.

[aileen]

I didn't feel the magic at last night's Nutcracker. The transformation scene was stunning as always and Drosselmeyer's magic tricks were great but other aspects of the production left me slightly unsatisfied: the snowflakes dance and shaggy tutus (are they the same vintage as the swans' in Swan Lake?); the Spanish, Arabian and, particularly, Chinese dances and the strange glittery blond wigs which look so odd on some of the dancers. Even with Drosselmeyer stage managing the dances it was not made clear why these people were there dancing for Clara and Hans Peter. Francesca Hayward was really lovely as Clara (it's amazing that she's only two years out of the RBS) and Alexander Campbell was very good as Hans-Peter. Otherwise, it was the night of the feisty girls: Natalia O as the SPF and Laura M as the Rose Fairy and, for me, neither convinced in the roles. Natalia was clearly trying hard but it's not a role that suits her IMO; I feel that you've either got that crystalline quality in your dancing or you haven't and it's probably not something that you can learn (she also needs to close her mouth). Laura was too 'strong' for her role and had too much of a knowing look which was a bit incongruous, I felt. Did anyone else see the performance?

[zxDaveM]

I didn't feel the magic at last night's Nutcracker. The transformation scene was stunning as always and Drosselmeyer's magic tricks were great but other aspects of the production left me slightly unsatisfied: the snowflakes dance and shaggy tutus (are they the same vintage as the swans' in Swan Lake?); the Spanish, Arabian and, particularly, Chinese dances and the strange glittery blond wigs which look so odd on some of the dancers. Even with Drosselmeyer stage managing the dances it was not made clear why these people were there dancing for Clara and Hans Peter.

 

The character/national dances are represented at the party - they come in with St Nicholas. As its representing a sorta dream, Clara has pulled out the characters from that party. The toy soldiers and white rabbit from the fort, the Nutcracker turning into Hans-Peter as he was laid out in the dolls house, Chinese, Spanish, Arabian characters (they are attacked by the mice too) etc etc. Originally the music in Act 2 was set to represent 'Christmas treats' - so coffee from Arabia, tea from China, the sugared 'plum' (or gobstopper as we'd call them today!), and Peter Wright has woven those into his magical thread.

[balletla]

What is the 'rose fairy'? I thought the rose fairy was in Sleeping Beauty, not Nutcracker?

[Jan McNulty]

The Rose Fairy leads the Waltz of the Flowers in most productions I have seen.

[Nina G.]

What is the 'rose fairy'? I thought the rose fairy was in Sleeping Beauty, not Nutcracker?

 

 

The "Rose Fairy" (in link below danced by Lauren Cuthbertson)  is a Soloist role danced during the "Waltz of the Flowers"/The Nutcracker 

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIDV-zvcV0U  

(The "Rose Fairy" makes her entrance around 1:45 into the Waltz).

Edited December 30, 2013 by Nina G.

[Fonty]

People mentioned Morera dancing the Rose Fairy.  Have they got a shortage of dancers at the moment because of injuries?  The reason I am asking is that this is a very nice role for a soloist or potential solist, so why is a Principal being cast?

 

And I am a little out of touch with current productions, but does any company have children in the child roles any more? 

[Tony Newcombe]

Emma Maguire, Claire Calvert and Helen Crawford are all off at the moment

[Nina G.]

Laura Morera has danced this role many times before (yes, she is a Principal...)

Seemingly there are enough Rose Fairy's in this run. Besides Laura Morera there is Hikaru Kobayashi, Yuhui Choe, Yasmine Naghdi, Beatriz Stix Brunell 

[Jan McNulty]

People mentioned Morera dancing the Rose Fairy.  Have they got a shortage of dancers at the moment because of injuries?  The reason I am asking is that this is a very nice role for a soloist or potential solist, so why is a Principal being cast?

 

And I am a little out of touch with current productions, but does any company have children in the child roles any more? 

 

The Rose Fairy or equivalent is often danced by principals in performances I have seen by various companies over the years (as can be the Snow Fairy and some of the variations).