Balanchine's Nutcracker at New York City Ballet. Photo by Paul Kolnik.
For a ballet junkie like me, most of the options for ballet during the month of December boil down to The Nutcracker, especially in the United States. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, though. This season, I was lucky enough to see four wonderful Nutcrackers. In person, I saw George Balanchine's version at New York City Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky’s new one for American Ballet Theatre, and Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut, for his Mark Morris Dance Group. I also saw The Royal Ballet’s production by Sir Peter Wright, in a new recording that was made last Christmas at the Royal Opera House in London and screened at cinemas this Christmas (it was also released on DVD). These performances reminded me of the genuine charms of this ballet: the gorgeous Tchaikovsky score and the clever theatrical potential inside of it, the joy of Christmas as seen through the eyes of children, and—occasionally—some fantastically inventive choreography to go along with all of that. Living in the New York area has greatly improved my outlook on this ballet. I saw some pretty dreadful, unimaginative productions when I was living out West, enough to make me weary of Nutcracker (and to develop a personal rule to never, ever go out of my way to see The Nutcracker).
I’ve come across what may be, to my eyes, my personal favorite Nutcracker: Balanchine’s version, which has seriously good ballet choreography that rises to the occasion presented by the music. Balanchine’s version also has a simple, uncluttered narrative that doesn't try to hard to add too much plot or sense to the whole thing. It's sweets and simple vignettes, expertly staged so that we don't get too bored. Various other Nutcrackers spiral out from here in my view.Some productions focus more on the narrative than dancing, and others go straight to the spectacle, making everything as grand and resplendent as possible.
The snow scene in Balanchine's Nutcracker, at New York City Ballet. Photo by Paul Kolnik.
New York City Ballet’s production of Balanchine’s Nutcracker is the stalwart (there are also productions of the Balanchine version at Pennsylvania, Miami, Atlanta and Oregon Ballet Theatre). Every time I see it, I get giddy over the entire experience of it all. Walking up the steps of Lincoln Center, sitting in the jewel box of a theater, and seeing the illustrated blue curtain during the overture. And Balanchine’s choreography has me in awe every time, with its constantly unfolding and surprising patterns and the joyous speed of the dancing with the music. I’m sure the dancers must get tired of the endless repetition of performing this ballet, but I love seeing it every time. This year I saw Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz as Sugar Plum and the Cavalier, and Ana Sophia Scheller as Dewdrop. All of them a joy to watch.
Most charming about Balanchine’s production is his use of children. We see the ballet through young eyes from the moment the curtain rises. The child Marie is peeking through the keyhole at the family room, where parents are decorating the tree. From there, the childhood fantasy keeps growing, from an ideal Christmas party—where the children are mostly well-behaved and get some actual, pleasant choreography to dance—to a heroic battle, to a dream of a snow-scene, and a trip to the land of the sweets. Children get featured roles throughout the ballet, from being the cutest-angels-ever to big dance parts in the Candy Canes and Mother Ginger dances. Seeing these children on stage—dancing so well in such pleasing choreography—puts a smile on my face and makes me a happy child for two hours.
The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker, by Sir Peter Wright, with Miyako Yoshida and Steven McRae. Photo by Johan Persson.
Grand and resplendent is the route taken by the Nutcracker at the The Royal Ballet, created by Sir Peter Wright. It has a beautiful physical production with glittering, enormous pieces of scenery and elaborate costumes. In this production, I most enjoy seeing the Grand Pas de Deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier, which appears near the end of Act 2. It has gorgeously classical, majestic choreography (which I gather from various sources can be traced back to Lev Ivanov’s original choreography from the first Nutcracker in Russia). In this DVD, Miyako Yoshida and Steven McRae perform it with crystalline perfection. Also noteworthy is Laura Morera’s smashing performance as the Rose Fairy in the Waltz of the Flowers.
This is the second recorded version of this Nutcracker production to have been released since 2000, and both of them have featured Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Comparisons are inevitable since both discs are so readily available: as nice as it is to see Yoshida and Morera on the new disc, the older one is generally better. Alina Cojocaru was perfect as Clara on the old disc—young and sweet in character, expansive and spontaneous in her dancing—and it’d be hard for anyone to match that, even though Iohna Loots is just fine as Clara on the new disc. Regarding Yoshida’s double performance, before recording this DVD, the smile police must have told her to smile extra hard this time out: in 2000, she was cool and regal (maybe even a bit icy), but this time, she looks like she’s about to kill with kindness. Personally I prefer the calmer version on the old disc, but her performance with McRae is very much a joy anyway.
American Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker, at BAM.
This year, American Ballet Theatre offered New York City a classical alternative to Balanchine’s tried and true classic, premiering a brand-new version by resident choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. I loved this new production. It is very theatrical, focused more on narrative elements than either the Royal or Balanchine productions. While it tells essentially the same story—family Christmas party, girl falls asleep and has a dream filled with battles and candy sweets—the details make Ratmansky’s Nutcracker entirely original. It is very playful: jokes abound in the story and choreography, right from the beginning. Mice amusingly take over the kitchen during the first scene; during her iconic variation, the Sugar Plum Fairy bounces off stage then takes a peek-a-boo from the wings before launching into her final series of turns; the list goes on. There were surprises throughout, and I eagerly waited for every tried-and-true Nutcracker moment to see what Ratmansky would do with it—and each time I was happily tickled by the results. This production is a huge improvement over ABT’s old McKenzie production, and it’s a welcome addition to the cadre of American Nutcrackers. Also very exciting was the company's performance in this production. There was a palpable level of energy, playfulness, and commitment on stage that was especially noticeable since I saw so many tired performances during the company's Met season last spring. Perhaps having a new production and having Ratmansky in the room creating with them gave the dancers something to get excited about (where in the Spring they're performing things that they have done over and over). In any case, it was thoroughly enjoyable all around.
Mark Morris' The Hard Nut. Photos by Stephanie Berger.
But if a classical alternative just wasn’t alternative enough, Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut provided more than enough quirk to get through any holiday season slump. This production was presented at BAM in the week just before ABT’s new production, and it has been showing up off and on around the world for nearly 20 years. Though it’s certainly different from a traditional Nut—and certainly it was hyped that way—I was surprised to find that it was actually pretty straightforward and loyal to Tchaikovsky’s score. Morris revels in the music, and the Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble gave it the best reading that I heard in any of these four productions—it was sweet, nimble, and appropriately grand at all the right moments. And there was a live childrens' chorus for the Snow Scene (the excellent Brooklyn Youth Chorus)! From this excellent music grew the choreography, and Morris is one of the most musical of choreographers.
The best parts for a dance lover were the Waltz of the Snowflakes, the Waltz of the Flowers and the Grand Adagio in Act Two. In these moments, Morris offers a fantastic modern-dance alternative to classical ballet. He finds the joy and emotion in the score and brings it to the surface, giving a dance on flat foot that doesn’t wish like it was ballet (I have sadly seen that too often in other choreographers’ work) and is also hysterically wonderful as well. The dramatic scenes show quirky, but lovable characters, all finely drawn and fun to watch. Morris solves the Act Two problem of Nutcracker (where endless divertissements can bore) by inserting his own story on top. The device doesn’t work all the way but it keeps us gainfully entertained for the next 40 minutes. This is another Nutcracker that kept me smiling for the whole two hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment