I went to watch “The Nutcracker” last night. I have not caught the previous version, so I cannot compare, but this version seems not bad to me, except it gets rather draggy on the second part. Tchaikovsky was a genius indeed! To be able to compose the entire tune, where the whole thing can be danced out as a ballet, yet telling a story at the same time!
The story of the Nutcracker is a Christmas fantasy by itself. One can feel it in the music – lighthearted, soothing, dreamy, with a somewhat magical atmosphere. The main dancer is so graceful that she just flitted and glided on stage just like that! One look at her feet and one can tell she is born to dance!
Anyway, the synopsis of the story is that on Christmas Eve at the stroke of midnight, a girl called Clara received a Nutcracker doll from the village’s toy-maker-cum-magician. She was playing with the other kids and villages, when she was called in to bed. She left the Nutcracker doll on a bench and the toy-maker saw it. He wanted to give it back to her but she was already in bed, so he decided to keep it and give it back to her the next morning.
However, Clara realized that her Nutcracker doll was gone, so she went back outside to the bench looking for it, but it was gone. She started crying and fretting, and suddenly, a whole group of rats came attacking her! The King Rat wanted to take her hostage, but an army of toy soldiers, led by the Nutcracker (dressed in a major’s uniform) came out to protect her and fought with the rats.
Unfortunately, he was outnumbered, so Clara went to protect him in turn. Together, they managed to chase the rats away. The Snow Queen, seeing how brave the Nutcracker was, turned him into a handsome prince, and told both of them that to reward them for their bravery, they could go to the Kingdom of Sweets. The Queen, together with Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, boarded a carriage to go to the Kingdom of Sweets. End of Part One.
Part Two started with the fairies dancing in the Kingdom of Sweets. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince were warmly welcomed. Clara was given a cloak, and both were invited to a welcoming ceremonial of beautiful dancing. There were all kinds of dancing by all the folks in the Kingdom of Sweets, like the Sugar Plum fairies and the other fairy folk. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince even joined in the dancing.
Suddenly, Clara found herself drifting away. All the fairy folk started disappearing, and she was left alone in the darkness. Then she heard knocking, and woke up. So everything was just a dream! She answered the knocking at her door and found the toy-maker coming to return her the nutcracker doll. In the end, even though everything was just a dream, she felt really pleased and happy about her magical journey.
About the performance, the dance sequence is good. Despite the pirouettes and whatnot, the entire story was performed by a simple yet fantastic cast! In fact, there were not that many performers, so those in the minor roles had to take on more than one part. The sets were simple yet nice, and the entire performance gave a rather heartwarming feeling, especially to those who have forgotten the meaning of Christmas. I feel like dancing myself during the performance! When was the last time I actually danced anyway?
I was sitting right on top at Circle Three. Normally I would take Circle One, but since I did not want to spend so much on the ticket, I settled for Circle Three. Which was not too bad actually, because even though I was rather high up, my seat was towards the middle so it was still a good view. I could tell what the performers were expressing and gesturing.
Surprisingly, the theatre had more people than expected. It was not a full house, but still, in these times and with locals in generals not interested in arts events, especially ballet, there were more people than expected. Most came with families and friends, there were a few couples, and I was the only one that was alone.
It is much better going with someone of course, after all it is better to have company and a discussion post-performance. Why is it other girls can find a man who is willing to attend these shows with them, yet I can never find anyone who is willing to do so? Sigh……
The story of the Nutcracker is a Christmas fantasy by itself. One can feel it in the music – lighthearted, soothing, dreamy, with a somewhat magical atmosphere. The main dancer is so graceful that she just flitted and glided on stage just like that! One look at her feet and one can tell she is born to dance!
Anyway, the synopsis of the story is that on Christmas Eve at the stroke of midnight, a girl called Clara received a Nutcracker doll from the village’s toy-maker-cum-magician. She was playing with the other kids and villages, when she was called in to bed. She left the Nutcracker doll on a bench and the toy-maker saw it. He wanted to give it back to her but she was already in bed, so he decided to keep it and give it back to her the next morning.
However, Clara realized that her Nutcracker doll was gone, so she went back outside to the bench looking for it, but it was gone. She started crying and fretting, and suddenly, a whole group of rats came attacking her! The King Rat wanted to take her hostage, but an army of toy soldiers, led by the Nutcracker (dressed in a major’s uniform) came out to protect her and fought with the rats.
Unfortunately, he was outnumbered, so Clara went to protect him in turn. Together, they managed to chase the rats away. The Snow Queen, seeing how brave the Nutcracker was, turned him into a handsome prince, and told both of them that to reward them for their bravery, they could go to the Kingdom of Sweets. The Queen, together with Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, boarded a carriage to go to the Kingdom of Sweets. End of Part One.
Part Two started with the fairies dancing in the Kingdom of Sweets. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince were warmly welcomed. Clara was given a cloak, and both were invited to a welcoming ceremonial of beautiful dancing. There were all kinds of dancing by all the folks in the Kingdom of Sweets, like the Sugar Plum fairies and the other fairy folk. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince even joined in the dancing.
Suddenly, Clara found herself drifting away. All the fairy folk started disappearing, and she was left alone in the darkness. Then she heard knocking, and woke up. So everything was just a dream! She answered the knocking at her door and found the toy-maker coming to return her the nutcracker doll. In the end, even though everything was just a dream, she felt really pleased and happy about her magical journey.
About the performance, the dance sequence is good. Despite the pirouettes and whatnot, the entire story was performed by a simple yet fantastic cast! In fact, there were not that many performers, so those in the minor roles had to take on more than one part. The sets were simple yet nice, and the entire performance gave a rather heartwarming feeling, especially to those who have forgotten the meaning of Christmas. I feel like dancing myself during the performance! When was the last time I actually danced anyway?
I was sitting right on top at Circle Three. Normally I would take Circle One, but since I did not want to spend so much on the ticket, I settled for Circle Three. Which was not too bad actually, because even though I was rather high up, my seat was towards the middle so it was still a good view. I could tell what the performers were expressing and gesturing.
Surprisingly, the theatre had more people than expected. It was not a full house, but still, in these times and with locals in generals not interested in arts events, especially ballet, there were more people than expected. Most came with families and friends, there were a few couples, and I was the only one that was alone.
It is much better going with someone of course, after all it is better to have company and a discussion post-performance. Why is it other girls can find a man who is willing to attend these shows with them, yet I can never find anyone who is willing to do so? Sigh……
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