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Waltz of the flowers with artists of the Birmingham Royal Ballet Picture: Bill Cooper The Nutcracker Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Hippodrome ***** JUST as the first sound of he cuckoo is the harbinger of spring, the delightful appearance of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Nutcracker at the Hippodrome has been the herald of Christmas, at least as far as the majority of the past 21 years have been concerned. This year the production comes of age but it
is still as fresh, alive and sparkling as it was when Sir Peter Wright
first created it in 1990 and it was a special moment when David Bintley,
the BRB Director, announced before the performance that not only was Sir
Peter in the audience but he was celebrating his 85th birthday. Cue the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and a rousing
chorus of Happy Birthday. The director also revealed that Saturday
evening's performance (Nov 26) would be the 400th showing of the BRB's ballet, widely regarded as being one of the
finest productions of
The Nutcracker ever staged. Sir Peter must have been a very happy birthday
boy to see his creation brought to life in such splendid fashion. It is always a pleasure to watch Robert Parker,
who, sort of, left to become artistic director of Elmhurst in the
summer, and as Drosselmeyer he is the flamboyant, elegant, slightly
sinister ringmaster of the entire ballet, the magician who can conjure
up all manner of characters to both frighten and entertain. If he can teach half as well as he can dance
Elmhurst School for Dance and BRB are in for some exciting times. This is a ballet where everyone plays their part
from the young pupils of Elmhurst as the excited children to the
established names of BRB.
Nao Sakuma as The Sugar Plum Fairy is every
little girl's vision of a ballerina, the exquisite figure atop an
expensive music box, and she dances exquisitely as well making the art
of ballet look so easy and effortless. Any turns or spins by Nao do not move a fraction
from the spot and her grand pas de deux with the excellent Jamie Bond as
the Nutcracker Prince was a delight. Another highlight was Victoria Marr in the
Arabian dance. She is an Elmhurst graduate incidentally, and another
dancer with that extra dimension. She might dance the same steps and
make the same moves but somehow it is on another plane. There were notable performances too from Laëtitia
Lo Sardoas with her jerky dance as Columbine with Kit Holder as
Harlequin and a lively contribution from Tzu-Chao Chou as the
Jack-in-the-box. Jenna Roberts shivered her way beautifully
through a veritable blizzard as the Snow Fairy while Céline Gittins was
an elegant Rose Fairy in the Dance of the Flowers It was also good to see David Morse back, along
with the indomitable Marion Tait, as the somewhat ancient Grandfather
and Grandmother who perform not so much a pas as a past it de deux. David retired in the summer but was then
desperately ill and it was good to see him back on stage again in a role
he made his own showing he is on the road to recovery. The real star though was Carol-Anne Millar as
Clara, the ballet student who dreams – or maybe not, who knows? - the
secret world of the magician and the Nutcracker. She dances like a dream with grace, vulnerability
and no small degree of talent showing some wonderful technique.
This is a ballet that relies on more than just
the dancers though. The stage crew have some demanding changes to make,
particularly in the Christmas Tree transformation which still brings
gasps from the crowd, as well as a huge flying goose with flapping wings
gliding across the stage at the opening of Act II. We have a fireplace converting to the gates of
some inferno of hell with King Rat, evil with a tail from Tyrone
Singleton and his followers out to attack Clara who is defended by The
Nutcracker and his toy soldiers. If that is not enough there are changes to dark
castles, forests, squares and palaces and back to a living room all in
real time without a break – and the lads backstage did not seem to put a
foot, fly or flat wrong. The design is by John F Macfarlane, who was also
responsible for last year's Cinderella, and I still love the opening
house scene which is so reminiscent of elaborate Victorian model
theatres. The whole thing is beautifully lit by David A Finn to create
anything from doom to delight be lights alone. As for the music . . . we have come to expect
high standards from the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under Koen Kessels and
they did not disappoint with Tchaikovsky's sumptuous symphonic score. So raise your glasses and grab a mince pie,
Christmas has officially arrived. Roger Clarke
And amid the tinsel and holly . . . ***** ANY performance of The Nutcracker by the BRB is a
special event, but the latest pre-Christmas production by the Pride of
the Midlands must rate as a particular milestone. It is the 21st anniversary of the spectacular ballet, and on Friday the creator, Sir Peter Wright, was at the opening night....on his 85th birthday. Cue for the audience to celebrate by singing 'Happy Birthday to You' accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
The following day saw the 400th performance of the ballet which is staged to Tchaikovsky's beautiful music, and Sir Peter must have been proud to see the public still responding enthusiastically to his work. Carol-Anne Millar is a delight as 15-year-old
ballet student Clara who, after a Christmas Eve party at her family home
where she receives the gift of a nutcracker doll from the magician Drosselmeyer
(Robert Parker), is transported to a fantasy world. There she sees wonderful dances from around the
world before waking from the dream. Several scenes are simply breathtaking, starting
with the Christmas tree sprouting to an enormous size, the fireplace in
the Stahlbaum home expanding and giant rats led by the Rat King (Tyrone
Singleton) battling against the Nutcracker and his life-size toy
soldiers. And there are gasps, followed by applause, when
Clara flies across stage on a giant goose to the Land of Snow, at the
start of the second act. Great performances, too, from Nao Sakuma (The
Sugar Plum Fairy), Jamie Bond (The Prince) and Tzu-Chao Chou (the
Jack-in-the-Box). This was ballet at its exquisite best, and among
the VIP's on opening night was former England and Aston Villa manager
Graham Taylor...if only his men-in-boots could have performed for the
three lions with such immaculate skill. Directed by David Bintley with Koen Kessels'
musical direction, this ballet cracker runs to 11.12.11 Paul Marston Tickets are rapidly becoming like gold dust for the Birmingham run BUT Birmingham Royal Ballet are performing The Nutcracker again on an even bigger stage at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London from December 27 to December 30 with matinees on December 28,29 and 30. Each performance will be introduced by 2009 X-Factor winner Joe McElderry.
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