A Note on the Nutcracker

Although music and ballet lovers today may find it difficult to believe, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a relative newcomer to the American holiday tradition. Although it had its premiere in St. Petersburg in December of 1892, its first American performance did not occur until 1944, when a wartime San Francisco Ballet staged a production choreographed by William Christensen. Ten years later in 1954, George Balanchine choreographed his historic New York City Ballet version that is still performed. A version for the American Ballet Theatre by Mikhail Baryshnikov premiered in 1976, and was subsequently filmed with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.

While I have attended the New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre productions in years past, not to mention several Nutcrackers by regional companies, there is no finer interpretation, performance, and staging than the current San Francisco Ballet production choreographed by SF Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson. This production was taped last December by KQED and aired on PBS on December 18th. See pbs.org for future air dates.

There are a couple of reasons for the success of this production in my view. First, the sets by Michael Yeargan, and the costumes by Martin Pakledinaz are stunning, theatrical, and entertaining. Yeargan used the San Francisco 1915 Panama Pacific International Exhibition as his visual model and it works beautifully. However, what I found most intriguing was its theatrically logical scenario—unlike the Balanchine and Baryshnikov versions, Clara remains a little girl instead of the casting of a major ballerina costumed in a child’s dress. Also, Clara re-awakens at the end of Act II back in her living room, believing it to be just a dream…but not quite sure. The New York City Ballet version never returns her to her home; Act II ends with Clara exiting on a magical sleigh—an interpretation that always left me cold.

The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Martin West, is excellent. Try to view this one if you can.

This Week: KSO Holiday Concerts

My preview of the KSO Holiday Concert appears in the December 18th issue of Metro Pulse.
And…the review of the concert is online here.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!

UT Holiday Choral Concert: No Room in the Inn

If you managed to find a seat in the Cox Auditorium for the University of Tennessee Holiday Choral Concert on Tuesday evening, you were one of the lucky ones. But more on that later.

Four UT music ensembles took part in the concert: the Women’s Chorale, the Men’s Chorale, the Chamber Singers, and the Concert Choir. Although the very entertaining concert covered a broad range of holiday music—traditional carols to P.D.Q. Bach—I will mention a few of the highlights. Frank La Rocca’s 2003 work, O magnum mysterium, was beautifully sung by the Chamber Singers under Angela Batey. The most interesting piece of the evening was an intriguing arrangement of Silent Night performed with the addition of sign language by the Concert Choir. After the familiar verse was established with a solo by Cody Boling, the choir dispersed across the risers and the stage. The arrangement then turned into the appearance of random polyphony, still with each choir member continuing the signing of their own part. Hard to describe, really.

It was obvious as attendees arrived for the concert, that there was not enough room in the Cox Auditorium to accommodate both the choir members (who must sit in the audience prior to their time to perform) and the audience of students and the vast number of non-student visitors. Prior to starting, Dr. Batey, noting the unexpected turnout, had to encourage the audience to free-up untaken seats so that some of the standees could find seats. The key word here is expectations.

While academic performance programs will continue whether ten people show up—or hundreds—there are obvious benefits to achieving as large a following as possible. Obviously, it motivates the performers. But of equal importance, it expands the sense of the vitality of the local cultural scene. If properly positioned, UT Music with its quality performances, should have no reason not to expect substantial audiences from now on.