My favorite Christmas card of all time had a vintage advertising image on its cover of a perfectly coiffed "June Cleaver" late 1950s housewife, of course in her de rigeur dress, apron (and pearls), screaming in horror. I'm sure the original ad had something to do with "waxy yellow build up" or "ring around the collar" or some other bugaboo which haunted the otherwise perfect life of an Eisenhower era hausfrau. Upon opening the card, however, the lucky recipient was greeted with the hilarious (to me, anyway) inscription, "No more Christmas music!" Now that may have been more resonant with someone like me, a performing musician who spends much of every November and December playing one Christmas standard after another, not to mention hearing them nonstop on every mall speaker I encounter. I was reminded of this great card this week upon watching this San Francisco Ballet production of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, because I have seen no less than four commercials recently featuring the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" as accompanying music, and often for some very strange products (like, for example, pancakes). The Nutcracker's music admittedly has been surprisingly adaptable, though, including everything from several swing versions to a delectable Klezmer version released by the group Shirim a few years ago. Unfortunately, that same versatility too infrequently infiltrates actual productions of this hoary holiday ballet. Generations have grown up with any of several classic versions, including ones aping the original by Marius Petipa, and of course the famous child-infused Balanchine version. Others, including one by Mikhail Baryshnikov, have followed, each offering their own take on the source material. When these efforts work, they can indeed be magical; when they don't, they often take on the hardened ambience of a past its prime fruitcake. Perhaps the San Francisco Ballet has a figurative leg up (sorry, couldn't resist) on other adaptations by virtue of their long history with the property; the first complete American version, choreographed by William Christensen, was danced by this troupe and it was a longtime annual holiday staple in the City by the Bay. Kudos, then, to this imaginative new version by the San Francisco Ballet (one which you might have seen broadcast on PBS), a version which combines the familiarity of Tchaikovsky's incalculably colorful score with a lot of very impressive and innovative production ideas.
One of the charming daguerrotypes which places this 'Nutcracker' in the early 20th century.
It may seem almost ridiculously obvious for the San Francisco Ballet to place the magical happenings in the household of sweet little girl Clara (or are they actually only in her mind?) in, well, San Francisco, and yet that simple readjustment to the ballet's more typical European setting offers a host of visual delights that this version exploits, often to astounding degree. If Petipa's classic version had all the elegance and poise of old Europe, San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson's reimagining has all the insouciance and vigor of early 20th century America. The ballet is now placed more or less in the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, a gala world's fair of swirling color and multi-ethnic influences, all of which play into the sets and costumes, offering a wonderful kaleidoscope of colors and textures. Though the outline of the familiar plot remains the same, Tomasson has taken several liberties with it which may raise the hackles of purists who insist that the original E.T.A. Hoffmann story (as adapted by none other than Alexandre Dumas pere) be followed to the letter. Those with a little more flexibility in their appreciative bones will find quite a bit to recommend this production, which features some wonderfully athletic dancing and often stunning scenic and costume design.
We are in this version still in the grand home of a family on Christmas Eve (I won't deign to name them, as they're no longer German). Clara and Fritz are young siblings and become very excited when their parents' friend (their Uncle in this version), Drosselmeyer, arrives with presents. In this version, Drosselmeyer is not as patently sinister as he is in many others, though Damian Smith does sport a just slightly frightening ambience, kind of like Gene Wilder's take on Willy Wonka. Drosselmeyer in this version delights the assembled children with several magic tricks, including bringing several life sized dolls to dancing life. He then shows the group a little wooden nutcracker, and places it in a large empty box. Within the blink of an eye, the box pops open and out charges a life sized Nutcracker, who begins dancing (this is yet another slight change from the original conception). Clara is of course given the magical Nutcracker, but her obvious love of the creature sets off little brother Fritz in a fit of pique, and he breaks it. Christmas festivities are not really interrupted, however, and Drosselmeyer manages a quick fix of the nutcracker's broken arm. As the evening winds down, it's obvious Drosselmeyer has something other than colored scarves up his sleeve.
After the guests have left and all are supposedly getting their long winter's naps, Clara sneaks back downstairs and nestles with her new little friend. Soon she's whisked off on a magical journey by Drosselmeyer himself, who once again transforms the little nutcracker into a life sized Nutcracker, who quickly goes into battle against some wicked mice and their equally evil Mice King. Soon the Nutcracker vanquishes the mousy hoardes and Drosselmeyer, with a seemingly unending series of tricks at his disposal, transforms the creature yet again, only this time into a handsome Prince. We're then into one beautiful tableaux after another, including the justly famous Dance of the Snowflakes which closes Act I and the equally famous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies which opens Act II.
This is a gloriously colorful and ceaselessly imaginative new production of a piece which is too often sadly staid and bound by tradition. With a really beautiful scenic design by Michael Yeargan and a spate of both gorgeous and fanciful costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, this is a production that revels in the visual as much as it does in Tchaikovsky's luscious music (music he himself wasn't particularly fond of, but composers are frequently not the best judges of their output). The dancing is similarly wonderful, with Davit Karapetyan's Nutcracker Prince and Vanessa Zahorian's Sugar Plum Fairy standouts amidst a uniformly excellent cast. The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Martin West may not be the definitive interpreters of this score, but they play with a lot of vigor and care, and the music itself has a goodly amount of momentum and fun.
I know from personal experience, both my own as a child and later with my own sons, that kids, especially boys, are not going to be shouting with glee if they're told they're off to see The Nutcracker. You might just end up surprising them by showing them this version; it has just the right amount of visual ingenuity to keep kids enthralled, and they don't need to know they're being exposed to one of the most colorful ballet scores ever written.
This is one glorious looking Nutcracker, courtesy of a very sharp AVC encoded image which contains some of the most lustrous color and fine detail I've experienced lately. There is so much to enjoy visually here that it's a shame to single just a few items out for individual comment. But aside from the beautiful scenic design, which has just the right amount of Christmas cheer in its reds and greens, the costume designs are uniformly lovely and offer some incredible hues (notice the brilliant purples, reds and golds of Drosselmeyer's jacket, for instance) as well as textures (the mice's furry legs can be seen in all their rodent glory). No artificating of any major degree was noticed throughout the 90 or so minutes, and indeed I was continually impressed at the level of detail. In the snowy finale to Act I, individual "snowflakes" can be almost counted as they fall from the flies. Similarly the ballerinas' lacy costumes provide a delicate counterpoint to this wintery flight of whimsy. This is a wonderfully visual ballet, something all too rare as strange as that sounds, and this Blu-ray supports it marvelously.
While some Tchaikovsky purists may have some very minor passing qualms with this performance, which just occasionally lacks the fire of some of the better versions, little fault can be found in the LPCM 5.0 recording (and to a lesser extent its 2.0 sibling). This is a score full of a really wide range of frequencies, including of course Tchaikovsky's famous repeated use of the celesta (frequently incorrectly thought of as appearing only in The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies). From those high bell tones to the deepest brass and low strings, this LPCM 5.0 offers excellent, often superb, fidelity with a real warmth and lifelike hall ambience throughout. Separation is similarly excellent here, with strong, clearly defined and delineated brass and strings. Immersion is excellent, though rear channels seem to basically be utilized for ambient hall effects, thereby creating a sort of sonic mirror image to the front 3 channels.
Aside from the standard illustrated synopsis and cast gallery, this Nutcracker provides several fun, if brief, extras, including:
An Interview With Helgi Tomasson (HD, 7:21), offers the choreographer of this version giving some background on other Nutcracker versions and his personal take on the tradition.
An Interview With Michael Yeargan (HD, 7:58). The Nutcracker's ace production designer talks about the influence of San Francisco on his scenic design.
An Interview With Martin Pakledinaz (HD, 8:54), finds the costume designer of this production showing how he crafted both traditional and more fanciful costumes.
The 1915 World's Fair (HD, 9:38) is for my money the best extra feature on this BD, with a really interesting, if far too brief, overview of the exhibition which inspired the look and feel of this Nutcracker.
A brief promo piece for this production's sponsor, Republic Bank, is also included.
The Nutcracker is one of those holiday staples that, like fruitcake, isn't often very deeply appreciated. Unlike fruitcake, this is a fresh and imaginative new production that restores a modicum of visual ingenuity to the proceedings and makes it perhaps more accessible to American audiences. It's a near perfect entertainment for this time of the year and comes highly recommended.
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