The enduring delights of Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, first aired in 1990 with Birmingham Royal Ballet, look set to carry on drawing in audiences for another few decades. It has had some tweaking, Sir David Bintley is credited with this production (not choreography) and inevitably, what has now become a regular slot – the version shown at the Royal Albert Hall – has required some reinvention.
This is not an ‘in-the-round’ production but more of a highly exposed proscenium version, no hiding, with some audience members close enough to shake hands with the protagonists. And in the vast arena of the RAH that houses 5,272 seats, at this packed opening matinee the majority of spectators were undoubtedly transported by its magic.
This version presents the traditional story: young Clara is given a Nutcracker by her godfather, Drosselmeyer, a toymaker and magician; she falls asleep after a Christmas Eve party and dreams that the Nutcracker has to battle King Rat and his army only to transform into a prince, and is taken via the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets. She awakes to wonder if it has really been a dream. It epitomises charm.
The RAH lacks flies, so the growing Christmas tree that is the hallmark of Wright’s usual proscenium production is replaced by fabulous projections (59 Productions) of branches and snow storms and colourful decorations and baubles galore. Dick Bird’s wonderful sets and John Macfarlane’s magnificent costumes work tremendously well in the Hall. The distortion of image size spread across the enormous backdrop of the organ and live orchestra above the stage, set against the real life dancers, made the experience even more inclusive and captivating. There seemed to be a collection of ever more effective illusions – the mechanical rats that skit across the stage, the ‘invisible’ mending of the broken nutcracker doll and, a major highlight, the whirlwind of the snow scene. Amelia Thompson as The Snow Fairy, led her team of immaculately drilled Snowflakes in a flurry of joy. The addition of four male Winds gives the scene a further, powerful dimension.
Another highlight of the first half was Riku Ito’s Jack-in-the-Box. This role is unique to Wright’s production and while it gives a virtuosic opportunity for a dancer (very rewarding on this occasion), it also provokes a reaction from the audience, of wonderment. He burst forth from an impossibly small box, devoured the stage, leapt through the air and in a feat of impeccable timing, managed to return to his tiny box in the blink of an eye.
Act 2 began where Act 1 finished, amid Snowflakes and the journey that takes Clara and her Prince on the back of a goose across many interesting lands to find The Sugar Plum Fairy. It’s difficult to work up any significant enthusiasm for the character dances although these were all admirably well executed but at least this viewer finds them unsurprising these days. The Waltz of the Flowers was superb from every quarter of the stage, led by a radiant, exquisite Yu Kurihara as The Rose Fairy. Though Kurihara had an unfortunate fall, she bounced back within seconds to recover her composure and continue dancing with the grace of a top ballerina. This was noted and appreciated by the audience.
The benefit of seeing a matinee cast is that some of these dancers were new to me in these particular roles. I had not seen Max Maslen as Drosselmeyer previously and he made a very convincing magician. Céline Gittens is not new to Sugar Plum but always a pleasure to watch. The warmth of her personality (even in this larger than life auditorium), her easy command of what is essentially difficult classical choreography, and the fact that she does not make an appearance on stage until the start of the grand pas de deux, made her demeanour and elegance all the more remarkable.
Spanish born Sofia Liñares and Cuban Yasiel Hodelín Bello were Clara and The Prince respectively. Liñares has a big future ahead of her. She has all the attributes necessary to become a ballerina of quality: beautiful stage presence, strong in every technical aspect and musical. She also comes across as a versatile interpreter. It is as easy to imagine her in the contemporary repertoire as in the tutu ballets (pas de trois, Swan Lake, Southampton 2023 has not been forgotten).
Hodelín Bello only joined BRB a year ago but is already proving a talent to watch. He too, is blessed with a fluid technique (my companion called him, ‘the big jump guy’) and a warmth on stage. It's early days for him but as his confidence grows, his trajectory looks set to soar.
The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Paul Murphy, were glorious.
