The Nutcracker - Varna International Ballet
Completing their triage of Tchaikovsky's most loved ballets.
Norwich Theatre
Varna International Ballet's second visit to Norwich concluded on Saturday, completing their triage of Tchaikovsky's most loved ballets with two performances of 'The Nutcracker', the dream-like tale of a small girl (Marie) whose imagination is ignited by the arrival of her godfather Drosselmeyer on Christmas Eve, by some neat sleight of hand, and by the selection of magical toys that he brings. Later, in her dream, the toys come to life, the King and Queen arrive, and Marie meets her handsome Prince.
The opening scene, where the guests arrive in the colourful outfits and the party begins is a shower of colour – imagine a tin of Quality Street being emptied on the floor, and with all the sweets coming to life. The video-projected backdrop is back, and more intrusive than ever – Christmas tree lights, roaring fire, snow falling. It all seemed a bit stale, half-way through February. Personally, I am happy not to even hear the word Christmas once the decorations are back up in the loft. And the tour still has another seven theatres to visit before the month is out.
After the magnificent performance of Swan Lake the previous night, I was slightly taken aback to see so many of the company back on stage dancing substantive roles in The Nutcracker. Giulia Visalli, who was Prince Siegfried's mother in Swan Lake, was back as the Queen; Andrea Conforti, who was wonderful as Russian Dance, returned as Princess Pirlipat; Konsta Roos - Swan Lake's evil Baron von Rothbart, became Queen of Mice; and Alessio Cavalero lined up as The Nutcracker having danced wonderfully the part of Benno just the previous night.
Not that I would want to criticise any of their performances tonight in The Nutcracker, especially if they all danced the matinee as well. But I have to say that this performance of The Nutcracker simply did not come up to the incredibly high calibre set by the previous night's Swan Lake. I do not know what the reasons were, and I do not need to know, but the synchrony and timing of the dancers tonight fell way short of Saturday's very high standards. The orchestra, too, seemed to be struggling at times – one of the violins was definitely out of tune tonight, and the glockenspiel was really struggling.
I am sure that the children who came to experience The Nutcracker will still have been enchanted by the show. But for those paying top dollar, and expecting high quality performances every night, I suspect that some may have left feeling slightly disappointed.
