NYCB 2009 NUTCRACKER #1

Friday November 27, 2009 - First NUTCRACKER of the New York City Ballet's 2009-2010 season. Sara Krulwich photo from the NY TIMES above.

It was a nice performance in every respect; Maestro Karoui and the orchestra kept things moving forward briskly but without any sense of rushing the dancers. The production remains attractive; Kokyat, who was seeing his first NUTCRACKER was particularly taken with the Snow scene and remarked how much fun it would be to photograph the production.

 

Our evening was somewhat spoilt by some unpleasant audience behavior - not from the many kids present (who were quiet as mice) but from adults sitting behind us, spending much of the first act devouring M & M's. These candies (favorites of mine under normal circumstances) are as annoying when being consumed in a theatre as Tic-Tacs or Altoids. If the ballet's concession counters are selling the melt-in-your-mouth treats they should be asked to stop. The candies click together as you pour them into your palm and the bags make a crinkling noise which is very annoying. Why people feel a compulsion to eat during a ballet or opera remains the $64,000 question. They'll be wanting popcorn next thing you know.

But, on to pleasanter matters: 

There are lots of new faces in the Company; apparently a full complement of Apprentices were recently taken on board and though I recognized a couple of them from seeing them at SAB it is going to take some time to match names to faces.

Meanwhile Ellen Bar looked fine as the kindly Frau Stahlbaum and Christian Tworzyanski was her dapper spouse. Likolani Brown, Jenelle Manzi and Giovanni Villalobos were the delightful dolls though interestingly Jenelle was also listed among the parents...an impossible doubling of roles. Robert LaFosse was a rather subdued Drosselmeyer.

In the Act II divertissement, a very tall Spanish couple - Gwyneth Muller and Ask LaCour - kicked off the festivities with a spacious rendering of Hot Chocolate. Rebecca Krohn looked vividly dramatic in Arabian and her lithe figure made a sinuous impression. She also performed the pirouette-to-arabesque combination in the finale, earning extra roses from me. Daniel Ulbricht's high-springing Tea was an audience favorite as were Sean Suozzi's hoop-accomplishments as Candy Cane. Justin Peck was fun as Mother Ginger though in recent seasons the boys seem to be toning it down a bit in this cross-dressing characterization.

 

A big delight of the night was the totally charming and precise Marzipan of Erica Pereira, seen above in the studio. This petite ballerina is big on talent and heart; her dancing always has a joyful quality. In the past two seasons I have loved Erica's brilliantly mercurial Dewdrop (described here) and her youthful elegance as Sugar Plum (described here). I'm hoping she'll be cast in both those roles as the current NUTCRACKER season progresses.

Ashley Laracey and Lauren King were the lead Flowers in Balanchine's architecturally splendid Waltz. This is always a highlight of NUTCRACKER for me. Unfortunately Sara Mearns as Dewdrop fell during her opening solo and slipped again in the second passage. Thereafter she danced flawlessly but seemed very tense and without her usual fluidity of motion. She's just returned from an absence due to injury and maybe this very demanding role was not the best way to make a comeback. 

Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz put just the right regal gleam on their performances tonight, evoking a delighted response from the packed house. Kokyat was especially taken with Megan and I recounted to him the story of how I started out not liking her very much when she was first promoted and how - over a very short period of time - she managed to win my admiration and devotion. Tonight she showed all the facets of her talent which have made me come to enjoy her dancing so, from the gracious lyricism of the opening solo to the full-scale ballerina-in-tiara glamour of the adagio. Joaquin was superb also, especially his silky spinning turns in the coda. As the adagio nears its end, Joaquin slowly promenades Megan who is poised in arabesque. As he gently sinks to his knee, Megan releases his hand and lingers on a beautifully steady balance. The audience drowned out the rest of their music with applause.

Headshots by Paul Kolnik.

Comments

[Andrea]

We had M and M eaters near us too. Really annoying. Are they selling them at the snack counter? BAD idea.

[Marisa]

Sadly, going to the ballet is getting to be like going to the movies. People don't know how to behave. This creates problems for serious dance-goers.

[Philip]

It would be almost impossible for the ushers to police something like a bag of M & Ms and by the time intermission hits the damage is done.

Last year the concessions were selling plastic containers of nuts and candies, which were noisy also. Now they seem to just sell them in their regular packaging. It seems inappropriate to me that the theatre should be providing audience members with the means of annoying their fellow patrons.

It's too bad that people feel they can't go 45 minutes to an hour without snacking. Newcomers to the ballet and opera have no concept of how to behave: to them it's the same as a movie or a sports event.

It's up to the theatre management to instruct the public on how to behave since obviously the days when simple common courtesy was passed on from one generation to the next seem to have vanished.

[Susan]

Oh dear...we were in the second ring and a large family group had Mr. Mom passing out CRACKERS! And asking "what kind would you like??" He had a small bag filled with treats. Was it the same group? It was too much. I paid $100 to see this special show, and I could almost smell the Ritz.

[Philip]

People are so thoughtless and self-absorbed. Have they no clue how to behave?

Having spent that much on your tickets you should certainly be entitled to have an evening free of such nonsense.

Overall I think this is a sad commentary on the times we live in when respect for others has simply declined to near non-existence.

[Max]

I think the only foods that should be sold are cookies, bagels or brownies, not wrapped but simply handed to the patron on a napkin. Eat it during the break, wipe your mouth off with the napkin, go back to your seat and STFU.

[Philip]

Someone once suggested that bananas are the ideal 'quiet' food for theatrical consumption but what do you do with the peel?

Your idea is good, Max...esp the STFU part!

[Karen McCabe]

I spent $240 to take my niece to "Nutcracker" and the people behind us talked, ate and squirmed throughout the show. And they were adults.

[Terri]

Thank you for raising an issue that has been annoying me for years! I agree: why is it that people cannot abstain from feeding their faces for a few hours (not even, if they indulge during intermission)? And while I am on my little soapbox here, let me add that it seems to have become the norm to talk during overtures at musicals. I once turned to the offending party behind me and politely said that I would like to hear the music. Her reply was, "You're not deaf!" No, but she was certainly rude and her numbers are legion.

[tonya]

I had the same problem. Family behind me bought Twizzlers M&Ms, gummy bears -- one of everything they had at the concession stand, which they passed around, not opening any of the bags until after the music began. AND, most offensive -- the water bottle, which they kept passing around, and it would make a horrible noise with the plastic when it got about half empty. I felt like I was definitely in the movies. Couldn't hear anything in the first act. I didn't meet you during intermission because I was frantically running around trying to find an usher. Poor family had NO IDEA they weren't supposed to eat the food in the concession area during the performance. It wasn't their fault at all. I felt horrible because it was obviously the first time they'd ever got their little girls decked out and splurged on orchestra tickets. When we left and I saw all those candies at the concession stand immediately on the way to the seats I realized no one who'd never been to the ballet before could possibly know they weren't supposed to eat that food inside during the performance. To make a massive understatement, NYCB needs to make it more clear it's only for consumption in the lobby. I have to say the noise completely ruined the Tchaikovsky for me -- completely ruined the first act. Then I felt badly all throughout the second act.

[Philip]

Sounds like a nightmare, Tonya. In addition to the comments here I have received e-mails about things people have had to endure at recent performances. It seems to be a fairly new trend, really. I don't recall it being this bad even a couple of years ago.

Hopefully the people in charge of the ballet will take a look at what's being sold at their concession counters and make changes or - better yet - eliminate wrapped candies and foods altogether.

And I agree with Terri: why can't people go for two hours without having to have a treat?

It's no wonder so many serious ballet and opera fans have stopped going to performances.

[Anne]

Here in France, nobody eats anything during a concert or a ballet, maybe out of habit or maybe simply because there is no shop in the lobby.
Last month I went to a concert that the Orchestre de Pau gave for schoolchildren - Faycal Karoui visited their school in the afternoon and answered their questions and talked to them about the concert. They were all spellbound during the concert and there was NO candy!

[Philip]

That is so good to hear, Anne. Here in America it often seems people can't do anything unless there is food available as an accompaniment!

[British K]

I have to say this is one of the most shocking things about living in America. I have been to ballet, pop concerts and the like and it seems acceptable to eat and drink vast quantities of coke. At first I thought how odd, now I think it's just plain bad manners to the other patrons and the artists.