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| Programme |
ACT I
The toymaker, Drosselmeyer, is in his workshop assembling his dolls, attaching the heads to the finished bodies. A group of children arrive for a party and Drosselmeyer opens a chest from which he issues each of the excited children a costume. Little Marie however, arrives late by which time all of the costumes are taken. To calm her disappointment, the kindly Drosselmeyer gives Marie a nutcracker in the shape of a toy soldier.
Drosselmeyer recounts to the children a story acted out by his magic dolls. Once upon a time there lived and King and Queen and their beautiful daughter, the Princess Pirlipat. One day an evil mouse Queen that lived in the palace dungeon cast a spell on the Princess and transformed her into an ugly creature. But then a handsome Prince broke the spell by cracking a magic nut and the beautiful Princess was restored. In revenge, the mouse Queen turned her magic on the Prince and transformed him into a nuctracker, Marie's nutcracker.
Darkness comes and the children leave for their homes, all except Marie who is so enthralled with her wonderful new toy that she does not notice. But when the clock chimes midnight sinister shadows and strange magical creatures fill the room. An army of mice crawl out of the clock, which turns into a magic mirror, followed by the mouse Queen herself and a strange small three headed mouse. Frightened Marie hands the nutcracker back to Drosselmeyer and it comes to life as a soldier and leads a band of other toy soldiers in a battle against the mice. But the mice are too many, the toy soldiers are defeated and the nutcracker soldier is injured.
Marie comforts the wounded nutcracker, and Drosselmeyer transports them to a magical place where Marie is no longer a child and the nutcracker is a handsome Prince again. Elves appear and dance with them in celebration until the evil mouse Queen reappears. The handsome Prince battles with her again but this time it is she who is defeated. Drosselmeyer then presents Marie and her Prince with a giant golden nutshell to transport them to Wonderland.
ACT II
Marie and the Nutcracker Prince are whisked away in their magical nutshell, sailing over a sea of dreams and fantasies to arrive in Wonderland. But the little three headed mouse has followed them, growing and transforming into the new mouse king. Once again the nutcracker Prince is called upon to do battle, again is victorious. Now the evil mice are all defeated. The doll King and Queen welcome Marie and the nutcracker Prince and a grand carnival is held in celebration of the defeat of the mice. All the dolls dance in celebration, each in small groups in turn. Then Marie dances with her Prince. She is happy, in the land of her dreams.
But then Marie finds herself transported back to Drosselmeyers workshop, she is a child again , was it just a dream. But the reflection of her grown up self emerges from the magic mirror, returning her beloved nutcracker.
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| Playbill |
This was a new, compelling and imaginative re-interpretation of the classic nutcracker story. I have always found with the Nutcracker, that the best choreography, like the best of Tchaikovsky's musical score, is always to be found in the second act - and this production was no exception to that rule. The first act carried most of the story, but in choreographic terms was merely a prelude to what followed after the interval. The Arabic dance was outstanding, one of the highlights of the performance. It was performed by one male dancer costumed as a golden statue, and six veiled Indian maidens in gossamer trousers and halter tops. The French dance, performed by a shepherdess and two sheep, was also a cut above the average.
The backdrops and stage furniture were simple but varied, and very colourful. The costumes were exceptional, beautifully made, bewildering in variety and also very colourful. The orchestra seemed a little muted and lacking in depth in the quieter passages early on, but possibly that was just the poor acoustics of the venue. Certainly, as the music became more powerful later in the peice they played it magnificently.
Tatiana Gavrilova as the child Marie gave a good account, very slight and childlike she certainly appeared very young to be in the corps de ballet of an International company. Maria Kuimova as the grown up Marie was superb. Her spins in particular were perfectly executed, whether solo or supported the axis remained absolutely vertical with never a hint of wobble. She danced most of the role in a mid-length fluted white dress, but for the main pas de deux in the second act changed into a traditional flared white tutu in which she looked absolutely stunning. Arkady Zinov as the Nutcracker Prince was every inch the dashing and handsome hero. His pas de deux with Marie was very tender and in the lifts he supported her with effortless ease. Alexander Kuimov performed well as Drosselmeyer, a role which required more mime than dance. The remaining soloists all displayed a high standard and the large corps de ballet provided fine support.
An innovative and extremely colourful reinterpretation of the Nutcracker story. Talented dancers and orchestra made it a joy to watch and listen to.