Francesca Hayward an enchanting Swanilda in Royal Ballet's Coppélia

By Graham Watts, 02 December 2019

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“a very fine performance ideally suited to this young ballerina’s strengths”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 28 November 2019

Coppélia (Lev Ivanov, Ninette de Valois)

The Royal Ballet

Barry Wordsworth, Conductor

Osbert Lancaster, Set Designer, Costume Designer

John B. Read, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Gary Avis, Dancer

Fumi Kaneko, Dancer

Itziar Mendizabal, Dancer

Alexander Campbell, Dancer

Francesca Hayward, Dancer

BRB’s The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall is at its best

Deborah Weiss, 29th December

Sir Peter Wright’s beautiful Nutcracker ticks every box with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Will Tuckett's Nutcracker for National Ballet of Japan is delightful

Naomi Mori, 19th December

National Ballet of Japan premiered production of Nutcracker choreographed by Will Tuckett, that features a stylish and dramatic Act 1 and a hilarious, colourful and unique Act 2.

****1

NEBT’s Nutcracker: pared down, efficient and exuberant

Deborah Weiss, 18th December

Valentino Zucchetti's Nutcracker for New English Ballet Theatre's may be economical on numbers but the cast make up for it in commitment.

***11

The Nutcracker in Buenos Aires brings joy for all age groups

Fátima Nollén, 16th December

Ballet Teatro Colón's production of The Nutcracker by Silvia Bazilis is a delight from start to finish, clearly aimed at engaging families.

****1

Candy-crazed: ENB’s sweet-toothed Nutcracker returns

Mark Pullinger, 11th December

Returning for its first anniversary, Arielle Smith and Aaron S Watkin’s Nutcracker for English National Ballet remains a feast for hungry eyes, despite its flaws.

***11

The Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker: exceptional performances

Amanda Jennings, 22nd November

The Royal Ballet opened the Christmas season with a superlative performance of Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker.

*****

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.

Francesca Hayward an enchanting Swanilda as Coppélia returns to The Royal Ballet