It’s that time of year again, when ballet companies dust off their giant Christmas trees, shake up their snowflakes, and make sure their plums are well and truly sugared… yes, The Nutcracker is back in town.
Both the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet are presenting their own versions of the popular tale over the next few weeks, but it will take a lot to beat the Royal Ballet’s production which opened at the Royal Opera House on Monday night.
First performed in 1984, Sir Peter Wright’s production has undergone some tweaking since then. The main change is that Clara joins in the Act II dances, and this has done much to improve the narrative and link the two acts, which can otherwise seem disjointed.
Gary Avis has made the role of Drosselmeyer his own. All his tricks in the Act I party scene are pulled off with aplomb, and he twirls his magnificent turquoise cape and dispenses magic glitter around the stage with relish.
As Clara, Anna Rose O’Sullivan is delightful, with neat footwork and a particularly speedy bourrée. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince do not make an appearance until Act II, when they have one exhausting pas de deux but not much else to dance. Marianela Nunez is a delicate and precise Fairy, with such superb technical ability she can play with the tempo of the music and still make all the steps work. Vadim Muntagirov is her perfect partner, confidently managing the tricky lifts in the adage and also performing his solo with incredible ballon — an enviable lightness and ease in all his jumps.
Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs are pretty — the Snowflake Waltz looks stunning — and Tchaikovsky’s familiar music, under the baton of Barry Wordsworth, is, as always, a delight.
‘The Nutcracker’ is at the Royal Opera House until January 15.