D. K
Google
I attended today’s performance of The Nutcracker, and I found this difficult to rate highly. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be simplification - of the story, the sets, the costumes, and the choreography. I struggle to understand the reason behind changing the setting to Porvoo or renaming Fritz as Pekka.
These choices offer no narrative enrichment and ultimately weaken the fairy-tale nature of the work.
The greatest disappointment for me was the role of the Nutcracker himself. Traditionally, the Nutcracker should move like a doll with specific, stylized choreography that reflects his nature as a toy. In this performance, however, the Nutcracker danced like an ordinary human which completely erased this important layer of his character.
The children on stage were mostly running around, with very little effort made to present real classical ballet movement.
Anyone who has seen The Nutcracker at the Bolshoi Theatre even once will remember it forever for the overwhelming sense of magic, wonder, and fairy-tale illusion it creates. Sadly, that atmosphere was absent here.
However, I would like to especially praise the outstanding performances of Klaara, the Prince, and the Mouse King. These dancers are artists of a very high professional level, and they truly carried the whole staging.
Overall, this is a decent ballet by local standards, but it lacks the depth, magic and high-level performance expected from a canonical production of The Nutcracker.
To add, during the entracte we ordered coffee and a honey cake, the coffee was mediocre and the honey cake too dry, and overpriced.
