Monday 22 December 2014

Review: The Nutcracker, St David's Hall, Cardiff

Christmas stories don’t come much more traditional than The Nutcracker currently presented by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia at St David’s Hall as part of their ballet season.

The ballet, set in the 19th Century Germany focuses on the magical events surrounding a Christmas party at the Drosselmeyer House on Christmas Eve and how an eccentric inventor and toymaker gives the gift of a toy called The Nutcracker to the party host’s young daughter, Marie.

As the clock strikes midnight, Marie goes to the living room to look in on her new toy but the inventor appears Marie is whisked away into a magical land which sees her doing battle with an army of mice and fighting alongside her Nutcracker who has transformed into a handsome prince.

It was not to difficult for audience members of all ages to be pulled into the action  of this  dramatic presentation with Tchaikovsky’s music provided with plenty of  charisma by The Russian State Ballet Orchestra.

Vasily Vainonen and Sergei Bobrov’s exciting choreography is brought to life by a magnificent cast of dancers lead by Maria Kuimova as Marie,  Kiril  Litveinenko as The Prince and Alexey Zevin as Dr Stahlbaum. The chemistry created between Kuimova and Litveinenko on stage is as elegant and magical as the characters they portray. The production is further enhanced by Christina Fyodorova’s colourful and vibrant costumes including flowing gowns, dresses, uniforms and mouse costumes.

As traditional as the tale is, The Nutcracker still remains very contemporary, its story displaying elements of heroic battles and fantastical escapism. A production for all the family to enjoy The Nutcracker runs until December 24.

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