Review by Gemma Keliher
A true Christmas tradition, 2024 brings the twelfth year of Queensland Ballet’s The Nutcracker to our Brisbane stage. Choreographed by Ben Stevenson OBE, The Nutcracker brings us fully into the festive season by sweeping the audience away into a traditional winter wonderland.
The story begins with festivities of its own, with guests of all ages attending a Christmas Eve celebration at the home of the Stahlbaum family. The mysterious Dr Drosselmeyer makes an appearance, where he gifts young Clara a toy Nutcracker. Far from his only gift, we see him incite the beginning of a magical journey for Clara and her Nutcracker, now brought to life, from fighting life sized mice to travelling through the Land of Snow to the magical Kingdom of Sweets.
This classic tale has been a Christmas staple for hundreds of years, and it would be near impossible to find someone unfamiliar with at least one adaptation. As with any story that has been around for as long, productions of the ballet haven’t been without problematic content. In this year’s The Nutcracker, I was pleased to see subtle changes that gave fresh perspective to what was previously some outdated elements, the most noticeable being the replacement of the Native American headdress and toy gun gifts from the opening Act. The freshness these changes brought made it more timeless than ever and provided a much more comfortable environment for the audience to appreciate the joy of the show.
I found myself noticing much more detail in the initial party scene and witnessing many humourous moments. Amongst plenty of hilarious physical comedy and facial expressions from the party goers, Laura Tosar, Rian Thompson, and Vanessa Morelli as Grandmother, Grandfather, and Auntie respectively, were absolute scene stealers. Certainly, a hard feat, as the cast performances were all particularly strong and well rounded. Kaho Kato as the young Clara was believably youthful, from her sibling tousles to her childlike wonder through the night’s adventures. As the cape swinging Dr Drosselmeyer, Vito Bernasconi brought a powerful stage presence to give us a strong and detailed performance. As Clara’s brother Fritz, then returning as one of the Chinese Dancers, Luke DiMattina was impressive in his roles, appearing so light on his feet and yet so grounded and controlled. Ivan Surodeev as the Soldier Doll, Libby-Rose Niederer as the Nurse Doll, Shaun Curtis as the Harlequin, and Kayla Van den Bogert as the Columbine were all very entertaining, with well executed doll-like movements. Niederer had a particular head wobble through the choreography that I was tickled by. Wrapping up Act I, Chiara Gonzalez as the Snow Queen and Kohei Iwamoto as the Snow Prince gave an enchanting performance.
Act II introduced us to many magical characters and showcase performances, with the crowd favourite being Ivan Surodeev as Gopak, as he worked through impressive choreography with plenty of airtime and controlled landings. I was eagerly anticipating the grand pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince, and Neneka Yoshida and Patricio Revé were simply magnificent to watch. Yoshida was elegant and graceful in her iconic role working through beautiful pointework, and Revé was equally impressive as he navigated through jumps, turns, and well supported lifts. Their pairing was certainly my favourite performance of the evening. Also impressive was the well synchronised Lead Flower Couple Georgia Swan and Vito Bernasconi, in what were my favourite costumes. Spanish Dancers Heidi Freeman, Shaun Curtis, Brooke Ray, Lewis Formby, Paige Rochester, and Luca Armstrong, Arabian Dancers Vanessa Morelli and D'Arcy Brazier, Mirlitons Libby-Rose Niederer, Ines Hargreaves, and Edison Manuel, and the other half of the Chinese Dancers duo Mali Comlekci, showcased their talents well as features of our second act.
The skills of the Queensland Ballet company were well supported by Tchaikovsky’s famous score, beautifully performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra under guidance of Music Arranger and Conductor Nigel Gaynor. The music is such a vital piece of this tale, and it invokes such a sense of wonder and nostalgia. Desmond Heeley’s costumes, reimagined by Associate Costume Designer Noelene Hill, brought to life the magic and beauty of many characters, and the humour of others. The mice costumes, including Rat King, are more family friendly (translation: less frightening to young ones) than some other company versions and allowed the humour of Stevenson’s choreography to shine.
Queensland Ballet’s The Nutcracker is perfect for young or first-time ballet visitors, not just because it’s a well-known Christmas story, but at two hours runtime the evening is short and sweet with fast pacing moving through colourful characters and a very recognizable score. The choreography and staging bring us plenty of humour and heart, and the production is filled with a plethora of talent, from the many children dancing right past their bedtimes, to the Principal Artists. This production of The Nutcracker was simply a delight to experience, bringing a touch of magic to our Brisbane holiday season.
Image Credit: David Kelly