The Nutcracker is traditionally a Christmas ballet – pretty like an old-style Christmas card, with snow, pine trees, glitter, cosy interiors, sparkling decorations, gifts and magic. It is loved by audiences, attracting newcomers to classical ballet – and also loved by companies, boosting their box office earnings.
This is the 11th year that Queensland Ballet has performed The Nutcracker in December. The season extends for 3 weeks, the longest in their 2023 lineup. This version, first performed in 1987 by Houston Ballet, is by choreographer Ben Stevenson.
Entertaining and lovely dance is built around a minimal framework. In Act 1 the family of pre-adolescent Clara is throwing a Christmas party, the magician Dr Drosselmeyer entertains the guests, and he gives Clara a nutcracker as a present. After the party, Clara dreams that the Nutcracker and his army of toy soldiers defeat an army of mice led by King Rat. The Nutcracker then turns into a Prince, and he and Clara are transported to the Land of Snow. In Act 2, the Prince and Clara travel to the Kingdom of Sweets, are entertained by a variety of dances, and at the end, Clara wakes up.
Bronte Kielly-Coleman was a sweet, joyful Clara, making Vito Bernasconi’s Dr Drosselmeyer seem even more sinister, dominating the stage in his elegant 18th-century costume and black eyepatch, flirting with Clara’s susceptible mother (Georgia Swan), and performing magic tricks with panache. Generally, however, the party seems to go on a long time with not much dance, and a lot of milling around.
Rian Thompson as King Rat, in a fabulous rat costume and mask with red beady eyes, was athletic, comic and scary at the same time. His mouse troops fought vigorously against the Nutcracker (Liam Geck) and toy soldiers, whose stiffness and rigidity contrast with the mobility of the scurrying mice.
In the Act 2 dances, Chiara Gonzalez and Alexander Idaszak stood out with their sinuous acrobatic duet as the Arabian dancers, as did Vito Bernasconi’s energy and elevation in the Russian Gopak.
The three main couples on first night were outstanding: Sugar Plum Fairy (Mia Heathcote) and her Prince (Victor Estévez); Snow Queen (Chiara Gonzalez) and Snow Prince (Patricio Revé); and Lead Flower Couple (Lucy Green and Joel Woellner). Heathcote was radiant, and looked exquisite in her pink tutu, moving with a soft and expansive grace, Estévez a tender and solicitous partner. These two Principal Artists are leaving Queensland Ballet to join The Australian Ballet: they will be missed.
Gonzalez and Revé soared through the Land of Snow, Revé projecting an ecstatic energy in lofty jumps. Green and Woellner radiated happiness in the Waltz of the Flowers, Woellner giving the impression of boundless strength and vitality.
The Land of Snow scene was particularly enchanting, with the Snowflakes drifting, whirling and flying in a white landscape, bringing Act 1 to a close. In the wordless children’s chorus, the choirs of St Peter’s Lutheran College and Voices of Birralee created a pure celestial sound.
This is one of the most beautiful moments in Tchaikovsky’s music for The Nutcracker. There are many others, featuring the woodwinds, the harp, and of course the celeste for the Sugar Plum Fairy’s solo in Act 2. For me, the biggest star of The Nutcracker is the music.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: how lucky the audiences and the dancers are to have the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Nigel Gaynor, playing such gorgeous music for the ballet.
The sets (designed by Thomas Boyd) evoke a Christmas-card style, and are lit to create a wonderland (lighting design by David Walters, recreated by Cameron Goerg). The costumes (designed by Desmond Heeley and associate designer Noelene Hill) are lavish: Christmassy in Act 1, and uninhibitedly colourful fantasies in the Kingdom of Sweets.
I have ambivalent feelings about Nutcracker. While the music is beautiful, the design festive, and the main dance passages entertaining and lovely, these are at odds with parts of the action, and with current sensibilities. For example, in Act 1, the constant mocking of older people and their lampooning by young dancers is cruel, as is the mob of unruly boys harassing the girls and snatching their dolls.
Why does Dr Drosselmeyer give Clara a nutcracker of all things? And why is she so enraptured with it? The early adolescent Clara sitting on Drosselmeyer’s knee, and his casting a spell over her in her bedroom are very creepy moments.
The presence of Spanish, Arabian, French, Chinese and Russian dances in the Kingdom of Sweets also makes little sense. In other versions of the ballet, they represent particular foods or drinks (e.g. Chinese tea), but this isn’t specified here. Older traditional versions of the Arabian and Chinese dances have been criticised for being racist, but in this Nutcracker, the original Chinese dance has been reworked into a vigorous stylisation of martial arts. The Arabian, however, still has a seductive woman in filmy harem pants, and needs to be reworked.
This season of The Nutcracker is a milestone, heralding change for Queensland Ballet – it’s not only their final full-length ballet for 2023, but the last performed under the high-profile leadership of Artistic Director Li Cunxin AO. Sadly, Li and his wife Mary, Ballet Mistress and Principal Répétiteur, are retiring due to ill-health. Under Li’s direction, the company has grown, developed and prospered. May it continue to do so in the future.
