SFB's Nutcracker

[volcanohunter]

The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, which will be airing on PBS starting December 17, can now be pre-ordered at Amazon. The release date is November 18. Product code: B001HBX918.

Uncle Drosselmeyer: Damian Smith

Clara: Elizabeth Powell

Dream Clara: Maria Kochetkova

The Nutcracker Prince: Davit Karapetyan

Mouse King: David Arce

Snow Queen: Yuan Yuan Tan

Snow King: Pierre-François Vilanoba

Sugar Plum Fairy: Vanessa Zahorian

Genie: Sarah Van Patten

Chinese: Nicolas Blanc

Russian lead: Pascal Molat

San Francisco Ballet

San Francisco Ballet Orchestra

Conductor: Martin West

Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson

http://www.opusarte.com/pages/product.asp?ProductID=265

[volcanohunter]

I'm sure that regular patrons of San Francisco Ballet can help me out with this one. I'm trying to match the "soloists" listed in the final credits with their roles. The booklet to the DVD states that David Arce performed the Mouse King, but the order in which he's listed among the soloists suggests that it was actually Garrett Anderson. Could any of you offer some clarification?

You'll pardon me if I don't give the characters their proper names.

Ricardo Bustamante - Clara's father

Anita Paciotti - Clara's mother

Pascale Leroy - Clara's grandmother

Jim Sohm - Clara's grandfather

Rory Hohenstein - Harlequin

Clara Blanco - Ballerina Doll

Garrett Anderson - ?

David Arce - ?

Dores Andre - Spanish

Frances Chung - Spanish

Jaime Garcia Castilla - Spanish

Hansuke Yamamoto - Spanish

Anthony Spaulding - Arabian

Brett Bauer - Arabian

Mariellen Olson - Mirlitons

Elana Altman - Mirlitons

Jennifer Stahl - Mirlitons

James Sofranko - Russian

Louis Schilling - Russian

Matthew Stewart - Madame du Cirque

Your corrections would be appreciated.

[Paul Parish]

Not SURE of this volcanohunter, but there are TWO Nutcracker dancers in Tomasson'[s Nutcracker, and it looks like Garrett Anderson danced the doll that came with Harlequin and the ballerina at the party scene; Anderson (who's moved with his wife Courtney Wright to Belgium and dances there now and was much loved here) certainly had the bravura technique for that role. Arce is more of a partner; he's probably the mouse king.

The SFB production features two different dancers as Clara -- a child for the first act and most of the second, and then a magical transformation happens just before the grand pas which brings in the ballerina to finish out the role. You don't say who dances the adult Clara, nor the Nutcracker prince -- but then, they'd be principals, not soloists.

[volcanohunter]

The SFB production features two different dancers as Clara -- a child for the first act and most of the second, and then a magical transformation happens just before the grand pas which brings in the ballerina to finish out the role. You don't say who dances the adult Clara, nor the Nutcracker prince -- but then, they'd be principals, not soloists.

Sorry for the confusion. The principals are listed in the first entry.

Your explanation makes sense. I wonder who the fifth dancer in the Spanish dance is then. For that matter, I wonder who danced the Bear.

[volcanohunter]

WNET has all the answers. Here is a detailed cast list for the performance.

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET’S NUTCRACKER

The Cast

(In order of appearance)

Uncle Drosselmeyer

DAMIAN SMITH

Clara

ELIZABETH POWELL

Fritz

DIEGO HYNDMAN

Housekeeper and Maid

COURTNEY ELIZABETH,

DANA GENSHAFT

Dr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum

RICARDO BUSTAMANTE,

ANITA PACIOTTI

Grandparents

JIM SOHM,

PASCALE LEROY

Dancing Dolls

RORY HOHENSTEIN,

CLARA BLANCO,

GARRETT ANDERSON

The Nutcracker Prince

DAVIT KARAPETYAN

Mouse King

DAVID ARCE

Snow Queen and Snow King

YUAN YUAN TAN,

PIERRE-FRANÇOIS VILANOBA

The Sugar Plum Fairy

VANESSA ZAHORIAN

Spanish Dance

DORES ANDRE,

FRANCES CHUNG,

JAIME GARCIA CASTILLA,

RORY HOHENSTEIN,

HANSUKE YAMAMOTO

Arabian Dance

SARAH VAN PATTEN with BRETT BAUER, ANTHONY SPAULDING

Chinese Dance

NICOLAS BLANC with Students and Members of San Francisco Ballet

French Dance

ELANA ALTMAN,

MARIELLEN OLSON,

JENNIFER STAHL

Russian Dance

PASCAL MOLAT with GARRETT ANDERSON,

JAMES SOFRANKO

Madame Du Cirque

LOUIS SCHILLING

Dancing Bear

MATTHEW STEWART

Grand Pas de Deux

MARIA KOCHETKOVA,

DAVIT KARAPETYAN

Party Guests, Snowflakes and Waltzing Flowers

Members of San Francisco Ballet

All children featured in the production are students

of the San Francisco Ballet School

http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=3041

Photos of the production: http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/photo.php?get=3043

[Natalia]

I received my copy of the DVD this past week. While it is a very pleasant production with fabulous dancers -- most notably Yuan-Yuan Tan's Snow Queen and Rory Hohenstein's Pierrot Doll in Act I -- I was disappointed by the very sparse, almost 'cheap looking' set of Act II. So many bells-and-whistles about the act being set in the 1915 Worlds Fair...only to have plain background with the slightest trace of panels in a conservatory dome. Where is the richness of color and magic of detail? It's as if the producers ran out of money after staging the sumptuous Act II.

It is the poorest, most sparsely-staged NUTCRACKER Act II by a major ballet company that I've ever seen. A shame, because everything else in this DVD is first rate.

[volcanohunter]

I was disappointed by the very sparse, almost 'cheap looking' set of Act II. So many bells-and-whistles about the act being set in the 1915 Worlds Fair...only to have plain background with the slightest trace of panels in a conservatory dome.

As I recall, those of us who saw this performance in cinemas last year were similarly surprised. I wonder whether the set loses something in translation to a two-dimensional screen.

Having seen the performance on both movie and TV screen, I've reconciled myself to the set because the quality of the dancing compensates for it. But that's multiple viewings talking.

[PeggyR]

As I recall, those of us who saw this performance in cinemas last year were similarly surprised. I wonder whether the set loses something in translation to a two-dimensional screen.

No, it loses nothing in translation; 'sparse' describes very well how it looked in the Opera House, too.

[volcanohunter]

The broadcast has certainly helped DVD sales. The DVD was selling well to begin with, but now on Amazon it's leapfrogged over Balanchine and is giving Baryshnikov a run for his money.

I first saw the performance on a movie screen a year ago, or at least three-quarters of it before the digital transmission stalled, and I've since watched it on DVD and television. I liked it immediately, but it's really grown on me since, especially in comparison with two other productions I've seen this year, James Kudelka's for the National Ballet of Canada and Edmund Stripe's for Alberta Ballet, neither of which I like in the slightest and both of which make Helgi Tomasson look like an unqualified genius in comparison. I'm usually wary of productions that alter the choreography of the grand pas de deux, but when it's danced as well as it is here, I can't complain. The whole company dances beautifully, but I tip my hat especially to Maria Kochetkova, Davit Karapetyan, Yuan Yuan Tan, Pierre-Francois Vilanoba, Nicolas Blanc and Pascal Molat. The only thing I'd rap the knucles of the SFB for would be its faux choir in the snow scene. My parents, former San Franciscans, were both mildly scandalized by this. ("Honestly, in a city like San Francisco, couldn't they find a real choir?")

I'd like to pose a question to those who watched it on WGBH Boston. I admit that I don't always have a complete grasp of my television settings, but I had the impression that the initial showing was formatted in a 4:3 configuration and not the 16:9 ratio in which it was shot, whereas the second showing, which would have been after midnight Eastern Time, had the proper widescreen formatting. Was I imagining this?

[Mel Johnson]

Here's my initial analysis from our sister board:

I have to agree with Hans about the spotty choreography. Sometimes, it had that look of inevitability and absolute rightness that characterizes good choreographic choice, and sometimes it just looked like steps that were being done while music was playing - it could have been ANY music. That's a mark of bad choreographic choice. Many of the dances lacked a sense of structure.

LOVED the street scene!

I'm not sure that I agree with all the musical cuts in the parlor scene, but then, it's not my production, is it?

Drosselmeyer is firmly established early on as kindly, generous and good. That's fine, and it still sets up a logic/magic interplay which is essential to a successful Nutcracker, but my standard objection to having him around after the transformation of the Nutcracker into a real young man still stands. And where does the young man go during most of Act II, leaving Clara and Drosselmeyer to preside over the divertissement (a slight eeww factor)? Does he run out to Sausalito for a short beer?

I still don't like Snow Kings and Queens. Pavlova's been gone a long time, and I don't see any good reason to preserve her vaudeville act. This setting was better than most,though. . The stage transformation into the fir forest was designed to be slow and rather visible, to allow the audience to revel in "stage magic". Productions that can do these kinds of transformations should allow it to do its work for the audience.

Corps work was well-executed by a very well-matched ensemble, but the groupings were so open that it looked as if there were fewer dancers than there actually were. That's not necessarily bad, but it loses the force made by massed dancers.

I still say that nobody shoots ballet the way Emile Ardolino did. I think that a lot of the force of some acting scenes and even some of the dances was lost by cutting close to an individual dancer while other things in the total stage picture were going on. Shooting ballet is a specialized art in itself.

Gorgeous sets and costumes! I just wonder if the "San Francisco fog" motif were a bit more in the design concept than should have been. Both the snow scene and Act II were kind of grey-beige throughout. Of course, this effect could have been from a translation of stage lighting to a different medium.

On the whole, though, a pretty good version.

Followed by:

QUOTE(Mobadt @ Dec 18 2008, 11:56 AM)

I do have one question however...we were worried about the dancers for the snow scene. Did anyone think that there was WAY TOO MUCH coming down?? We were concerned someone might slip and fall!!! It really looked like A LOT of snow to us. Did anyone else feel that?

Mobadt

(and then I replied:)

That was one thing about the snow scene that I most admired -- it had ENOUGH snow! Ballets-féeries (enchantment ballets) are all about opulence, and that even extends to the snow! It's a blizzard, a near white-out, a natural wonder that people can see in Petersburg (and elsewhere) that is recreated in a theater. It's part of the stage magic. Although I did agree with the design concept of modeling the Act II set after a conservatory/orangerie, I found it visually displeasing that it was so vacant! It didn't have to be full of confectionery, but plenty of exotic plants would have been nice. Ah well. The Stahlbaum/Silberhaus's house was nice from an opulence point of view. And I have to repeat that I loved the streetscape and the establishing action.

And lastly:

I did notice some things about the "Madame de Cirque" number which I found rather droll. The teddy bear's material seemed to be a "theme and variations" on the bear from scene IV of "Petrouchka". Also, the children were actually dressed as Pulcinellas, who is a black-and-white commedia dell'arte character.

[PeggyR]

I do have one question however...we were worried about the dancers for the snow scene. Did anyone think that there was WAY TOO MUCH coming down?? We were concerned someone might slip and fall!!! It really looked like A LOT of snow to us. Did anyone else feel that?

Mobadt

During the blizzard at the 12/17 matinee, one of the snowflakes took a spill (she kept going though, so no apparent damage done, thank goodness). It wasn't really visible on screen, but at the live performances I've seen there had to be at least two inches of the stuff on the floor. Despite the hazards, that scene is spectacular in the theater; it's blunted on screen because you can't see the sparkle and glitter.

[Mel Johnson]

I suspected as much; it just kind of read from the small screen as rather beige, and I hate beige ballets, no matter what color the sets are.

[nijinsky1979]

The only thing I'd rap the knucles of the SFB for would be its faux choir in the snow scene. My parents, former San Franciscans, were both mildly scandalized by this. ("Honestly, in a city like San Francisco, couldn't they find a real choir?")

Ha! I saw "The Nutcracker" in New York two weeks ago, and they had a synthesized choir, too!

[Mel Johnson]

This was sometime back in the 60s, and NYCB was still at City Center. There was a full blizzard going on outside, but "the show must go on". They had contracted with a boychoir from New Jersey to supply the choir line in the snow scene. Well, things were pretty hairy getting to 55th St. from Carnegie Hall, let alone Jersey! The boys didn't arrive, and Mr. Irving gave the choir line to two trumpets, which is apparently cued in the part. Worked OK as an emergency measure.

[carbro]

The only thing I'd rap the knucles of the SFB for would be its faux choir in the snow scene. My parents, former San Franciscans, were both mildly scandalized by this. ("Honestly, in a city like San Francisco, couldn't they find a real choir?")

Ha! I saw "The Nutcracker" in New York two weeks ago, and they had a synthesized choir, too!

I don't remember a choir at City Ballet's Nut, at least since the early '70s. That includes such special Nuts as the 1000th, where Robbins took on Drosselmeyer. Interesting that they may have used one in the small, famously cramped City Center but not in the much more spacious NYST David H. Koch Theater. I don't know how they cue the recording so precisely (although once or twice I've heard it quite off). It must be highly scientific.

I agree that a conspicuously canned choir detracts from the Snow scene.

[Mel Johnson]

Actually, it's astonishingly easy, even with reel-to-reel tape, but if the recorded choir is at a different tempo from what the orchestra is currently playing, there's hell to pay for a few measures!

[PeggyR]

I do have one question however...we were worried about the dancers for the snow scene. Did anyone think that there was WAY TOO MUCH coming down?? We were concerned someone might slip and fall!!! It really looked like A LOT of snow to us. Did anyone else feel that?

Mobadt

During the blizzard at the 12/17 matinee, one of the snowflakes took a spill (she kept going though, so no apparent damage done, thank goodness). It wasn't really visible on screen, but at the live performances I've seen there had to be at least two inches of the stuff on the floor. Despite the hazards, that scene is spectacular in the theater; it's blunted on screen because you can't see the sparkle and glitter.

I found this funny picture of the SFB website (scroll down to the 'Pic of the Week': http://www.sfballetblog.org/

Here's the photo as a standalone, in case it disappears from the website: Captioned: Dancers take cover from the "snow" after the curtain comes down on the first act of Nutcracker (2006 © Erik Tomasson) http://www.sfballetblog.org/wp-content/upl...et006_small.jpg

[volcanohunter]

I love the photo, and I love the vast quantity of snow. I wouldn't care to dance on it, but as a viewer, I think it's worth every flake.

[Hans]

I remember back when Washington Ballet still performed Mary Day's Nutcracker, during the last performance at the end of Act I, the stage crew would dump all the remaining snow on us, and we'd have a 'snow' ball fight.

[4mrdncr]

I agree with all Mel's comments. I was also surprised by the bland, empty sets, but loved the street scene and all the snow. (However, I could do with less of the real stuff here in New England after shoveling my drive 7x in one day.) And yes, I greatly miss Ardolino too. (I thought Diamond did ok directing the PBS/ABT Swan Lake, but not this.)

[Gina Ness]

Well, when you compare this Nutcracker with Lew Christensen's version (especially the Robert O'Hearn production...1967-1985), well...I will just say that this current production seems sterile to me and less "magical" and imaginative. Mr. Christensen's Nutcracker is one of the best I have ever seen. San Francisco Ballet should bring it back, eventually. After all, NYCB still performs Balanchine's Nutcracker. Why not Lew's Nutcracker?

[Memo]

I have to say that seeing it live is so much better than seeing the PBS version. However the stage in the TV version looked somewhat empty during act II which did not strike me when I saw the performance live this season. I dont think the explanation of Clara turning into the ballerina to dance with the prince is told clearly either. (especially in the version I saw with a dark haired Clara, turning into a red haired ballerina for the pas de deux) it just did not provide the "magic" it could and should have.

I love the Chinese the concept with the dragon is really good, and the Russian dance is very vibrant and fun.

I do particularly like the first act with the San Francisco Worlds Fair theme, it was really a nice way to present it. I never saw Lew Christensens so I dont have that to compare it to.