The Nutcracker DVD 2009 P. I. Tchaikovsky / Royal Opera House Ballet & Orchestra / Conducted by Koen Kessels / Directed by Ross MacGibbon / BBC - Opus Arte

UPC 809478010364

MADE IN UK

REGION 0 NTSC DVD (ALL REGIONS)

AUDIO: DTS 5.1  LPCM 2.0

Subtitles: French, Spanish, German

TOTAL RUNTIME: 127 minutes

English Summary:

In 1984, dancer-choreographer Peter Wright created a new production based on the original 1892 production for the Royal Ballet. In doing so, he enlisted the aide of musicologist Roland John Wiley, who had done extensive research on Tchaikovsky's ballets and served as production consultant.Together, they created a production that was closely based on the original by Lev Ivanov. For the Waltz of the Flowers, for instance, Wright utilized the floor patterns designed by Ivanov for the premiere and, unlike many productions, featured a Vivandière doll in Act I as in the original production. Wright departed from the original in the casting of adult dancers in the roles of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, and omitting Mother Gigogne and her Polichinelles. Unlike Vasily Vainonen's 1934 production, however, the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier remain intact. Wright's production, like Balanchine's, incorporates a nephew for Drosselmeyer, named Hans-Peter, but in this production he is actually the Nutcracker Prince, an element featured in the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The sets and costumes were designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman, inspired by the Biedermeier era of 19th century Europe.

This production premiered at the Royal Opera House in December 1984. In 1985, it was recorded by the BBC and televised in the U.S. by A&E, starring Julie Rose as Clara, Guy Niblett as Hans-Peter, Leslie Collier as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Anthony Dowell as her Cavalier. Wright has stated that of all his productions of the ballet, the 1984 one is the closest to the original, although Clara and Hans-Peter are played by adults. Wright even has the dancing dolls at the Christmas party bursting out of pies, as in the 1892 production.

Wright revised the production in 2001 for the newly renovated Royal Opera House to create an ending in which Clara first believes that she was dreaming her adventures; then in the epilogue, after meeting Hans-Peter again in the real world, she realizes that they actually happened. The revised production was videotaped and televised in the U.S. as part of PBS's Great Performances, starring Alina Cojocaru as Clara, Ivan Putrov as the Nutcracker Prince, Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Anthony Dowell (this time as Drosselmeyer). These first two versions of the Wright production are available on DVD.

In 2008, again with a new cast (Iohna Loots as Clara, Ricardo Cervera as Hans-Peter, and Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer), the production was streamed live to movie theatres in England, and was presented as a high-definition film in select theatres throughout the U.S. during the 2009 Christmas season. There exist two different versions of this revival. The first one, with Alexandra Ansanelli as the Sugar Plum Fairy, was filmed in 2008, and another one, also with Loots, Cervera and Avis, but with Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy, was filmed in 2009 and also shown in theatres, and was released on DVD in 2010.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
THE NUTCRACKER

The Sugar Plum Fairy - Miyako Yoshida
Nephew / Nutcracker - Ricardo Cervera
The Prince - Steven McRae
Drosselmeyer - Gary Avis

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Koen Kessels, conductor

Peter Wright, choreographer
Julia Trevelyan Oman, set and costume designer