Tchaikovsky : The Nutcracker
The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Tom Seligman
Peter Wright's production of The Nutcracker for the Royal Ballet is now pushing 30, but as long as it can get performances like tonight's, there is clearly no good reason for retiring it. Speaking personally, and as I mentioned in a review a couple of years ago, I consider this Wright's Nutcracker Mark I, and the version he did for the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990 the Mark II, and generally superior, both choreographically and above all in production terms. Mark I is a very nice production, handsomely designed and dressed, but I have never seen anything to touch the magic of John Macfarlane's designs for the BRB. The Act 1 Transformation, for example, as the tree grows, for the later version, has no equal; Julia Trevelyan Oman's, at Covent Garden, is a banal vertical expansion by comparison.
Visually, this version is set in the early 19th Century, with a markedly 'Germanic' aspect to it, and therefore a little closer to the original Hoffmann tale. What I particularly like about this version is the framing device, whereby we get a little back-story to the fairy-tale. The Nutcracker here is actually Drosselmeyer's nephew, Hans-Peter, cursed by the Queen of the Mice into his grotesque doll form, and Drosselmeyer hopes that Clara will be the one to finally help break that curse, which, of course, she duly does. What I have never liked is that in Act 2, Clara and/or Hans-Peter are integrated into almost all of the characteristic dances. It does give them quite a lot to do in Act 2 (unlike most versions in which they are separate dancers from the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier), but I find it undermines the dances to a surprising degree. They cease to be the sparkling, individual cameos they should be, and become little showcases for the lead dancers. Only the Arabian dance keeps its isolated character, and this one wasn't quite sultry enough.
All that said, this was, on the whole, an extremely good performance, primarily driven by excellent playing from the ROH orchestra under Tom Seligman, with strong, bright, well-chosen tempi, neither too fast, nor too slow. Francesca Hayward is certainly a very attractive young dancer, but I'd like to see her in something else, because in the first act the one thing she failed to project is that between-two-ages stage that this kind of dancing Clara should be in - old enough to be getting seriously interested in boys, but young enough still to be interested in her dolls. Once partnered with Alexander Campbell's ebullient Nutcracker, a more playful side emerged, better suited to the role, while Campbell's energetic presence and bright-eyed vitality was very appealing.
Laura Morera and Federico Bonelli presented a fine contrast as the other lead couple. It's usual for the Royal Ballet to cast the rising generation as Clara and the Nutcracker, and have their established principals dance the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince - practically speaking, far smaller roles, but with the all-important pas de deux to deliver which, as in many of the great Russian classical ballets, can make or break a performance. No breaking here; they were an assured and elegant pair, just the right side of the Dresden prettiness the rose, ivory and gold setting of this Act 2 evokes, and displaying excellent synchronicity. Morera's beautifully soft hands were a particular pleasure to behold.
If there was, however, a single genuinely spectacular performance this evening, it was Gary Avis's Drosselmeyer. This is a character role, but a pretty active one, and something of a binding figure throughout. Avis was outstanding, vibrant, forceful, compellingly intense, giving a keen sense of the urgency of his longing to see his nephew delivered from the spell, and his joy at achieving his goal. He swirled around the stage in his turquoise and gold cloak, surging forward and dropping back with faultless timing, striking a lovely balance between the genuine magician who sets things in motion, and the simple party illusionist he pretends to be for his social circle in the first act. This was a truly magical Drosselmeyer such as I have rarely seen, and it lifted the whole proceedings to a new level.
[Next : 14th December]
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