Tchaikovsky had no idea what he was starting back in 1892 when he brought The
Nutcracker into this world. Within a year of its Russian premiere he was
dead, but I like to think that somewhere in composer heaven he’s sitting
there rubbing his hands with glee while millions of little girls dream of
Sugar Plum Fairies and a million cash registers ring with pleasure. For The
Nutcracker isn’t just our favourite Christmas entertainment, it’s also
the best little earner ballet has.
Nothing wrong with that, of course. The Nutcracker has probably done
more to popularise ballet than any other show in history. It can be whatever
you want it to be: a delightful Christmas ritual, a wallow in nostalgia, a
rite-of-passage allegory, a wintry fantasy or a chance to hear some of the
most enchanting music Tchaikovsky wrote. As long as you buy a ticket and
keep Britain’s ballet companies afloat, everyone is happy.
Britain’s love affair with The Nutcracker began in the 1930s
when the Vic-Wells Ballet (now the Royal) staged it with the help of
Nicholas Sergeyev, who had first-hand knowledge of the work in his native
Russia. In 1950 London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet)
presented its own production and two years later, when it took the ballet to
Festival Hall, it began an annual tradition that still continues.
This year Britain is more Nutcracker-tastic than it has been in
years. London alone has three of them, with productions at Covent Garden
(the Royal Ballet), the Coliseum (English National Ballet) and Sadler’s
Wells (Matthew Bourne’s company). Elsewhere, Birmingham Royal Ballet and
Northern Ballet Theatre have stagings, while foreign visitors such as Vienna
Festival Ballet and St Petersburg Ballet Theatre are traversing the regions
with their versions.
If you haven’t seen The Nutcracker yet chances are you will
find it coming to a theatre near you. So here, in the festive spirit, is our
ten-point guide to cracking The Nutcracker. And, no, you don’t have
to be a child to be swept up in its bewitching vision of giant Christmas
trees, midnight battles, dancing snowflakes and exotic journeys to strange
new lands.
Take it seriously
Nobody takes The Nutcracker more seriously than the Royal Ballet,
where Peter Wright’s magical and romantic staging remains the single most
beautiful production I’ve seen. For old-fashioned values and sumptuous
visuals (thanks to the late designer Julia Trevelyan Oman), not to mention a
tender and touching story of young love, there is quite simply nothing to
beat it. “Just because it’s traditional doesn’t mean it’s old and tired,”
says Monica Mason, the Royal’s director, and how right she is.
Get the best to stage it
Peter Wright has been staging Nutcrackers for 50 years, ever since he
first tackled the ballet for BBC Television in the 1950s. Not only did he
give Covent Garden its much-treasured production, he also presented
Birmingham Royal Ballet with a fine and very different staging that’s still
going strong after 17 years.
“I just see it as a good story, a coming of age for Clara who is awakening to
the fact that boys are more than mere objects to be teased,” Wright says.
Keep it coming
When it comes to longevity, no one beats English National Ballet, which spent
45 Christmases dancing Nutcracker at the Festival Hall before
moving to the Coliseum for the festive season in 1997. “We created a
tradition which we now have to service,” says Craig Hassall, ENB’s managing
director. “It would probably be ballet heresy for us not to do it.”
Make ’em laugh
Matthew Bourne’s centenary production for Opera North, with tongue firmly in
cheek, is back in London for Christmas, and you can see why. His frisky
adaptation, which starts in a bleak Victorian orphanage and ends inside an
extravagant MGM musical, draws audiences like a magnet.
At Sadler’s Wells the Christmas show accounts for 25 per cent of the annual
box office, which means that Bourne’s six-week Nutcracker run
is key to the theatre’s financial survival. “He’s perfect for us,” says
Alistair Spalding, artistic director of the Wells, “because he makes
contemporary versions of story ballets that suit the Christmas market, while
his unusual take fits our mission to offer alternatives.”
Turn it into a cartoon
This is what English National Ballet did when it asked Gerald Scarfe to design
its new Nutcracker in 2002. Relying on easy laughs and eye-popping
visuals, it has proved enduringly popular with London audiences. “It is
cartoonish and in your face,” says Hassall at ENB. “But I think it’s great
to have a Nutcracker that pokes fun at the story.”
Think big
Nutcracker has to compete with West End musicals such as Spamalot
and Hairspray, so why not outplay them at their own game? The Royal
Ballet, with a cast of 71, probably takes the size honours but ENB is close
behind. “We have 64 people on stage and a full symphony orchestra in the
pit,” Hassall says. “You will never get that number of artistic personnel on
the West End stage.”
Spend money to make money
Because The Nutcracker is a cash cow it’s worth splashing out on a
top-notch production. “You wouldn’t really get any change out of £1 million
in today’s terms for a production like ours,” says David Bintley, Birmingham
Royal Ballet’s artistic director. “But Peter Wright’s 17-year-old staging
long ago paid for itself; now it’s paying for everything else.”
Keep it simple
Throughout the 20th century countless choreographers have tied themselves into
knots in their search for Freudian truths in Clara’s fantastical journey.
But sometimes, says David Nixon, who just produced a stylish new touring Nutcracker
for Northern Ballet Theatre, simple is best. “The original never intended to
be anything much deeper,” he says. “It’s a Christmas story; it’s not a time
of darkness, it’s a time of light. And I’ve never seen a Nutcracker
full of darkness and psychological depths that actually works.”
Keep the parents happy
You can’t deny the adolescent appeal of frilly tutus and a handsome Nutcracker
prince, but as Bintley says: “It’s actually a show that appeals far more to
adults than to children.” So while the kids are distracted by the Mouse King
and his pesky rodent army, parents can bask in the pleasure of nostalgia,
revisiting happy memories of Christmases past and the stirrings of first
love. And, children and grown-ups alike, don’t we all want to believe that
dreams can come true?
And don’t forget the music
Tchaikovsky’s luminous score, with its felicitous melodies and sweeping
dramatic flourishes, is the reason this ballet has survived for 115 years.
“I find it enchanting; there’s an innocent sweetness to it,” Nixon says.
“How many times do people listen to Sugar Plum Fairy or Waltz
of the Flowers in lifts and department stores and never tire of it?”
Adds Wright: “If it wasn’t for that magical, wonderful score, The
Nutcracker wouldn’t keep on coming back.” And he, presumably, wouldn’t
go on staging it.
WHERE TO SEE A CRACKING NUTCRACKER ROYAL BALLET
Staged by Sir Peter Wright, designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman and with the
Royal Opera House Orchestra in the pit. Royal Opera House, Floral
Street, London (www.royaloperahouse.org
020-7304 4000), opens today (Dec 8) and continues in repertoire until
Jan 19
SADLER’S WELLS
Choreographed by Matthew Bourne, designed by Anthony Ward. Sadler’s
Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1 (www.sadlerswells.com
0844 412 4300), Dec 13 to Jan 20
ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET
Choreographed by Christopher Hampson, designed by Gerald Scarfe and with the
English National Ballet Orchestra. London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane,
WC2 (www.eno.org 0870 145 0200),
from Wed, until Dec 16
BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET
Choreographed by Sir Peter Wright, Vincent Redmon and Lev Ivanov. Designs by
John Macfarlane. Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, (www.birminghamhippodrome.com
0870 730 1234), until Thursday
NORTHERN BALLET THEATRE
A brand new production choreographed by David Nixon, with sets by Charles
Cusick Smith and costumes by Nixon. Grand Theatre, New Briggate, Leeds (www.leedsgrandtheatre.com
0870 121 4901), Sat (Dec 8)
ST PETERSBURG BALLET THEATRE
Based on the original Russian production from 1892. House & Winter
Gardens, Blackpool (www.blackpoollive.com
01253 292029), Sun; Congress Theatre, Compton Street, Eastbourne (www.eastbourne-theatres.co.uk
01323 412000), Fri, until Dec 15
ON TELEVISION
The South Bank Show pays homage to The Nutcracker with Margy
Kinmonth’s documentary examining its history and enduring influence.
Transmission is scheduled for Christmas week on ITV1.
