REVIEW | Get the festive season feels with the Cape Town City Ballet’s Nutcracker

• The Nutcracker tells the story of a little girl called Clara and her magical journey into the Land of Treats.
  
• Clara saves the Nutcracker Prince from the Mouse King during a fierce battle.
• She is feted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her colourful subjects for her heroic deed.

The Cape Town City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker is gloriously and unabashedly dedicated to children of all ages.

Veronica Paeper’s re-choreographed version is a vibrant and colourful spectacle which contains all the elements that have made The Nutcracker so well loved by generations of audiences. Stunning sets and gorgeous costumes, not to mention Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score, all make for a memorable evening of entertainment.

The auditorium was packed on opening night and an enraptured audience gave the Cape Town City Ballet and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra a well-deserved standing ovation. Soloists and dancers proved their worth by rising to the technical demands of the choreography. Lêusson Muniz is a worthy Nutcracker Prince who is maturing into an assured and competent dancer. Hannah Ward glitters as the Snow Queen, and Kirstél Paterson is a captivating Sugar Plum Fairy whose sparkling duet with Muniz is a delight to watch.

A sextet of older girls, dancing en pointe during the snow scene, deserve special mention for their flawless performance. And of course kudos go to Roxy Levy and her assistants, who coached the three casts which feature 124 children, ranging in age from six to 17.

The ballet tells a story that is the embodiment of a child’s fantasy. It all begins with a lavish Christmas party hosted by the parents of Clara, the ballet’s heroine. Adults mill around while gifts are handed out to excited children, who play games and get up to all sorts of mischief. Drosselmeyer, Clara’s godfather and uncle, played by actor Marcel Meyer on opening night, cuts a commanding figure with his swirling, shiny cloak and mysterious manner. He presents Clara and her brother, Fritz, with intriguing life-like dolls.

Fritz receives a case that opens to reveal the four cutest toy soldiers ever, saluting smartly and dressed in neat red uniforms. Clara’s present is a Fabergé-type egg that opens to reveal two tiny, exquisite singing angels. She also receives an extra gift: a fine Nutcracker doll. In a fit of jealousy, Fritz breaks the doll, but Drosselmeyer quickly repairs it, and Clara’s peace of mind is restored.

Kirstél Paterson and Lêusson Muniz as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince. (Photo: Helena Fagan)

Later in the evening, Clara is too excited to sleep. She sneaks to the living room to take another look at her treasured new doll, only to find herself in the middle of some strange goings-on as soon as the clock strikes midnight. Mice start swarming around her and she is threatened by the formidable Mouse King.

Drosselmeyer brings the Nutcracker and toy soldiers to life. Soon a fierce battle rages between the soldiers and the well-equipped mice army, which has its own unit of combat medics complete with first aid kit, stretcher and flag emblazoned with the Red Cross emblem. With their stiff, doll-like movements, the Nutcracker and toy soldiers are no match for the agile and determined mice. But then, just as it seems that all is lost, Clara saves the day by bravely standing up to the Mouse King.

Drosselmeyer turns the Nutcracker into a prince, and he invites Clara to accompany him to the Land of Treats. She steps on a sleigh and is whisked off on a magical journey. Riding through a snowy landscape, Clara is escorted by the Snow Queen and her entourage.

In the second act it’s all about the grown-ups, as Clara is feted and honoured for her courageous deed by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her colourful subjects. Placed on a fan-like golden throne with Drosselmeyer at her side, the heroine is entertained by a series of dancers from different parts of the world, each group charmingly presenting her with a gift typical of their nationality. Energetic Spanish dancers, an exotic (and very slender) Arab princess and her escorts, Russian dancers, Chinese dancers, dainty dancers called Mirlitons and beautiful flowers all pay tribute to her bravery. As the joyful celebration reaches its climax, the Nutcracker Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy dance a technically demanding duet (Paeper has retained the original nineteenth-century version).

Exhausted by all the excitement, Clara falls asleep and wakes up to find herself back in an armchair in her own living room with her cherished Nutcracker doll in her arms, warmed by the memory of her wonderful visit to a land of fantasy and fun.

Cape Town City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. (Photo: Helena Fagan)

The Nutcracker will be presented at Artscape in the Opera House until 23 December. Bookings can be made at Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 - 421 7695 or through Computicket.