Alberta Ballet and
Ballet British Columbia

Date: 27 December, 2003 2.00pm
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Reviewer: John Jane

 

 

 

 

 

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Mikko Nissinen
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker is a charming seasonal ballet with stirring dance interpretations of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's legendary score. For most who have only seen one ballet performed live, that one is likely to be The Nutcracker.

Choreographer Mikko Nissinen’s Nutcracker is refreshingly traditional -- and aside from a somewhat abrupt ending -- no real surprises. Much of the charm of this ballet is in the willingness of the choreographer to allow it to be as bright as a well-decorated Christmas tree and dancers who communicate the story really well.

As the young Clara, Vancouver Ballet Society scholarship winner Raquel Lanziner (alternating for regular Alyssa Stevens) offers as real a portrayal as one might ever see, capturing the naïveté of a 12-year-old child who still plays with dolls.

Jonathan Renna is perfectly cast as Uncle Drosselmeier. His dancing is excellent, as he disappears into the role of the enigmatic toymaker. He seems to travel effortlessly between the real world and Clara's dream world. The audience is never quite sure whether he is a villain or a benefactor.

Following the Nutcracker Overture the curtain raises to reveal the solitary figure of Drosselmeier frantically putting the final touches to a nutcracker fashioned in the form of a toy soldier.

 

 

 

 

The Silberhaus Weihnachten party scene, with the gathering of guests and the eventual arrival of the eccentric Drosselmeier, is the most entertaining. The horseplay by the mischievous Fritz (Raelynn Heppell) is great fun to watch, as are the antics of the Ballerina Doll (Nicole Caron), Harlequin (Mao Ye) and the Toy Soldier (Kelley McKinlay).

The costumes are eye-catching, especially the elegant gowns worn at the Weihnachten party, as well as the blue-and-gold uniforms worn by the toy soldiers.
For The Dance of the Snowflakes which concludes Act One, we see a backdrop of a pristine wintry forest, with glittering snowflakes falling around a corps of ballerinas -- probably enough to make Vancouverites temporarily forget about the driving sleet outside.

As the story progresses, Clara falls under the spell of the Nutcracker Prince and they are both taken to the castle of the Sugar Plum Fairy. In celebration of triumph over the Mouse King, there are a number of dances performed in their honor. While the set design here is rather perfunctory, the dancing is spectacular. Maki Matsuoka and Igor Chornoval as Sugar Plum and her Cavalier, moved with fluid grace, handling their respective variations cleanly and with the superb technique that one might expect of seasoned pros.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Peter Dala hold nothing back to deliver a rousing, satisfying work.

This ballet is much more than just another performance date on the season schedule. It is a family-friendly holiday tradition. What is truly amazing is that neither Tchaikovsky’s score nor Marius Petipa’s original choreography seem to falter with the passing years.

© 2003, John Jane

home