West Australian Ballet: The Nutcracker
His Majesty's Theatre, 18 November
West Australian Ballet's captivating new production of The Nutcracker premièred on a warm Perth night, but before being transported back to make-believe happenings on Christmas Eve in London in 1830, audiences were swept into a magical world on arrival at the theatre, as "snowflakes" fell from a balcony above onto the pavement outside.
Choreographed by Aurélien Scannella, Sandy Delasalle and Jayne Smeulders, and set to Tchaikovsky's much-loved score, played magnificently on opening night by West Australian Philharmonic Orchestra with a stellar line up of musicians under the baton of by Myron Romanul, this is a traditional Nutcracker based on German romantic writer E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 fairy-tale. The dazzling costumes and decorative settings are co-designed by international pair Charles Cusick Smith and Philip R Daniels who add their own magic and lift this production into another realm. Jon Buswell's brilliant lighting completes their vision.
The ballet begins with a depiction of a London street at dusk as snow softly falls, a candlelight glow is seen through windows of houses and St Paul's Cathedral is visible in the distance. As the overture plays, Uncle Drosselmeyer (Matthew Lehmann), a creator of magical toys, puts finishing touches to a Nutcracker doll, before families in capes and coats, men in top hats, scurry through snowy streets carrying Christmas gifts to the Stahlbaum family Christmas Eve party, where the scene is set for the magical events to follow.
In this Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer, flourishing a colourful cloak and wearing a rather odd top hat, is the kindly, fun, slightly eccentric uncle of Clara (Carina Roberts) and Fritz (Andre Santos) and is the central figure in the story. He loves demonstrating his magician skills, and he masterminds all the weird and wonderful magic that occurs.
In a lively first act, highlights are plentiful and include Drosselmeyer bringing two dolls to life (Kymberleigh Cowley and Adam Alzaim in great form), Drosselmeyer gifting the Nutcracker doll to Clara, Drosselmeyer's miniature theatre of costumed dolls from many lands (who later magically come to life in the Land of Sweets), the mingling of children and adults in group dances which elicited cheers and applause throughout, the transformation of the Nutcracker doll to Prince (Gakuro Matsui), a comic battle between King Rat (Christian Luck getting into the spirit), and the pirate rats versus toy soldiers well-played for laughs, and finally a magical land of frost and snow with twelve silvery snowflakes and Snow Queen (Chihiro Nomura) in glistening costumes, their fleet jetés and runs across the stage thrilling to watch.
Dancing highlights from the Land of Sweets in Act II include Polly Hilton and her three Spanish swains, Christopher Hill and his hyper-flexible harem of three, Andre Santos's fabulous Russian Trepak, and star-studded Mirlitons Florence Leroux-Coléno, Brooke Widdison-Jacobs, Alessio Scognamiglio.
Sugar Plum Fairy (Chihiro Nomura) and her Prince (Gakuro Matsui) sparkled in their pas de deux, Matsui's clean, apparently effortless technique and refined style a joy to see in an immaculate solo, and Nomura radiant in a lovely version of the Sugar Plum solo.
Dashing Matthew Lehmann was in his element as Drosselmeyer, which also offers plenty of dancing. His experience and professionalism were invaluable on opening night when there was a brief issue with a slippery stage because of an unavoidable delay to the start of the second act.
Carina Roberts, a young dancer still in the corps de ballet, was on stage throughout. She made a spectacular success of her opportunity showing an impressive, confident technique and an infectious innocence.
West Australian Ballet hopes to make The Nutcracker a biennial event and the rapturous applause and multiple curtain calls following this performance would suggest that this is a certainty. If you like to see dancers and musicians in top form, delightful sets and costumes, uncomplicated, enjoyable storytelling, and appreciate leaving the theatre with a lighter heart, then don't miss it.
Margaret Mercer
The Nutcracker plays His Majesty's Theatre until 11 December.
