N E W S ...&... R E V I E W S
Recent Review

For Metropolitan Classical Ballet's wind-up dolls enchant 'Nutcracker'

Posted on Sunday, December 23, 2007

By Margaret Putnam
Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

ARLINGTON – Right in the middle of the Stahlbaums' merry Christmas Eve party, the Mouse King pounces. Everyone stops, mesmerized. The toy Princessa dips from side to side, her eyes wide with terror. The toy Officer skitters his way toward the Mouse King, unsheathes his sword, but is no match. The Mouse King drags him by the ankle behind a curtain and, puff, he goes up in smoke.

It is a given that every Nutcracker will have a Mouse King, Sugar Plum Fairy, snow and a naughty Fritz. But beyond that, there is plenty of room for innovation.

Metropolitan Classical Ballet's production of The Nutcracker on Friday had a Russian flavor, never mind the German names of Stahlbaum and Drosselmeyer. But more significant was the charming conceit of wind-up dolls for all the characters inhabiting the Magical Enchanted Kingdom.

Even Clara's nutcracker turns into a life-size doll, with exaggerated red lips, Napoleon hat and boots. Stiff-limbed Alexandria Loy, 13, dances with Clara as Fritz, 8-year-old Roman Mejia, impatiently watches. At his first opportunity, Fritz grabs the Nutcracker, spins him around a little bit too energetically, and the Nutcracker falls into a heap, limbs at all angles.

Most of the drama of the first act comes in spurts: the menacing appearance of the Mouse King, the whimsical Nutcracker's sweet dance and collapse, and Drosselmeyer's surprise entrance in a bird-beak mask. The long-legged Yevgeni Anfinogenov soars through space, cape flying, like a giant loon, before resting to take off his mask and turn children's fright into delight.

.

  

 

 



Olga Pavlova as the Fairy Doll
Image byMarty Sohl

As Clara, 16-year-old Ema Watanabe dances effortlessly, but conveys little childlike wonder.

The deserted ballroom turns dark and forbidding as midnight looms. Giant flickering shadows cast behind the leaping figure of Drosselmeyer, his cape flapping like wings. Mice swarm in and, from behind the Christmas tree, Dolls tiptoe, cowering with trepidation.

In the Magical Enchanted Kingdom, Dolls stand splayed out and still. With a magic wand, Clara brings them to life. In each divertissement, from Spanish to French, they remain doll-like, moving with bent arms and flexed feet. Only the Fairy Doll (the Sugar Plum Fairy in most versions) moves like spun sugar, delicate, precise and graceful. Olga Pavlova is perfection.

Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra gives Tchaikovsky's magical music only serviceable treatment, while Tony Tucci's lighting is inventive. The big ensemble pieces, Snowflakes and Waltz of the Flowers, show off the company's strength in long, easy leaps and, most impressive, absolutely silent landings.

Repeats at 2 p.m. today, Texas Hall, University of Texas at Arlington, 701 Nedderman, Arlington.

Margaret Putnam is a Richardson-based writer who covers dance.

© Copyright 2007 The Dallas Morning News Co.

 
We thank our Season Sponsors