Two critics review ‘The Nutcracker’
Our dance critic and our classical music critic went to the same show. Here’s what they thought.
George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, is a holiday tradition filled with theatrical wonder that continues to charm audiences. Many people recognize the Tchaikovsky score from holiday shopping, TV specials, and gatherings with friends and family.
But more than most ballets, Nutcracker is a celebration of dance and music, and it’s nearly impossible to separate the movement happening on stage from the music emanating from the live orchestra. So dance critic Ellen Dunkel and classical music critic Peter Dobrin went to opening night of Philadelphia Ballet's production at the Academy of Music and discussed their impressions of the performance.
Hello!
Hi, Ellen.
I’m not thinking this will be a case of the music critic reviewing the dance and the dance critic reviewing the music. But I was paying closer attention to how the music and dance related to each other Friday night. And after all these years I’m still startled when we’re going along in The Nutcracker and all of a sudden we’re in the middle of a near-violin concerto. That long violin solo was actually written for The Sleeping Beauty. Why is it there?
George Balanchine, who choreographed the version that Philadelphia Ballet dances, did not always stick to one score. He would choose music that he thought worked for the piece. The Nutcracker was not a popular ballet when he choreographed it in 1954. He had danced it as a child in Russia.
Balanchine's was one of the first Nutcrackers in the United States. The first was by William Christensen at San Francisco Ballet 10 years earlier. Christensen apparently had never seen the entire ballet but asked various people, including Balanchine, for insight.
I interviewed a number of choreographers and artistic directors about The Nutcracker in the past few weeks, and many mentioned repeats in the music and feeling it was rather long.
Long! Anyone who thinks The Nutcracker is too long should be made to sit through the double-bill it was originally written to be part of (paired with Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta). I never tire of it.
I was also struck once again by how fortunate Philadelphia is to hear this score live every year coming from the Academy of Music orchestra pit. I wish the overall orchestral sound was fuller and more enveloping, but the ensemble is relatively small. The Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra needs more strings to match the brass, so there is only so much the conductor, Beatrice Jona Affron, can do to balance sections of the orchestra.
I did think all of the elements came together beautifully in the “Snowflake” scene — the way the arm and hand gestures of the dancers seemed to enhance the wind instruments (or was it the other way around?) and the falling-like-snow floaty texture of the two dozen singers from the Philadelphia Boys Choir.
I also love the “Snowflake” scene. For as many Nutcrackers as I've seen, that's one scene that always brings the magic. It's the first time dancers in pointe shoes come out. Their steps are appropriately floaty and light and Judanna Lynn's icy blue tutus against Peter Horne's ice-blue sets (which are supposed to be the banks of the Schuylkill in East Falls) are all so wonderful.
And then it not only snows on stage but, as you said, the red-coated Philadelphia Boys Choir slips into the theater and it all adds up to something very special. I think that's the point when audience members who have not seen ballet before begin to understand why it's so special.
Speaking of the audience, they were pretty chatty, which left me feeling conflicted. I mean, the people all around me were talking about the ballet, so it’s nice to see that level of engagement with the art form. But they were talking, which sometimes made it hard to even hear the music. Was this the case where you were sitting? Do you think some people have been COVID-isolated for so long they’ve forgotten how to act in public?
That was 100% true.
I was sitting to the right side of the orchestra. There were two women with two daughters behind me and the younger girl talked throughout the entire performance. I get that children have a hard time keeping quiet, but there was no attempt to shush her. A man sitting a few rows in front of me found an usher during intermission and said a person near him was texting through the whole performance. Either people forgot how to behave in public or they are new audience members who don't know the rules. This was the first performance I've been to where masks were not required, which also may have led to more audible talking.
I always wonder whether it’s hard for the dancers and musicians to focus when there’s a lot of noise in the house. But I think there were also times when the artists might have drawn energy from the audience — when the crowd was clapping in time, and near the end when Yuka Iseda and Zecheng Liang, Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier, pulled out that incredible athleticism. This was also a point, by the way, when I thought Affron and the orchestra showed why a ballet orchestra is a specialized ensemble, hewing tightly to the motion.
Good point.
Yuka Iseda and Zecheng Liang looked wonderful in those roles. Iseda was a bit more of a not-part-of-this-world Sugar Plum Fairy than many. Her dancing is very light and her gaze went up toward the balcony. It's a good thing to be otherworldly, though, if you are a fairy.
My other favorites were Peter Weil, in two roles: the Soldier doll and the lead Candy Cane; Nayara Lopes as a very approachable lead Marzipan; and Oksana Maslova as a sultry Coffee.
Mayara Pineiro was also very good as Dewdrop, but I prefer that solo with smaller, lighter movements, and her turns were more powerful. But every dancer brings a different take to the roles.
One last thought…
We seem to be in a storybook moment here in town. Cinderella is at the Walnut Street Theatre, and in addition to The Nutcracker, Philadelphia Ballet did Cinderella earlier this season and has The Sleeping Beauty and Coppélia coming up. Are we all looking for an escape from reality?
I spoke to artistic director Angel Corella about this last week. He's concerned with bringing audiences back to the theater. Dance fans love the triple bills but a lot of new audience members find it easier to start out with a story ballet. So this seems like the moment to do those.
Ballet seasons are generally planned two to three years in advance, though, so some of these may have already been set.
It's not always easy to slip a new full-length ballet in at the last minute, though, because Philadelphia Ballet doesn't own the costumes and sets to all productions. Sometimes they rent them from other companies.
So it may be a combination of timing, planning, and yes, escapism.
We could also use a little theatrical magic and escapism. It couldn't come at a better time.
Show Details
Philadelphia Ballet’s The Nutcracker continues nearby daily (sometimes twice daily) with a rotating cast through Dec. 28, including a sensory-friendly performance at noon on Dec. 26. At the Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. Tickets are $25-$280. philadelphiaballet.org, 215-893-1999.
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