Nutcracker 2023

[BalanchineFan]

21 hours ago, Fernie M said:

You could create a posting on Cash or Trade (App). It’s very easy to use. Not only could you see if someone wants to trade, but you could see if somebody was selling their tickets. We had tickets to PNB Nutcracker and ended up not going to Seattle. I put tickets on the day of and got rid of them very easily.

Thank you, @Fernie M and all the others who posted ideas. I chose the date very carefully with friends, so I can't change it. It's a wonderful production, I go almost every year and I'm sure we'll have a great time regardless of casting.

Edited December 7, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[canbelto]

I saw Mira Nadon in Dewdrop last Friday and SPF last Saturday. She was magnificent in both roles. Just so majestic with such a beautiful upper body.

[FauxPas]

I'm beyond shocked that on Christmas Eve, Emma Von Enck is finally debuting as the Dewdrop - with her turning, jumping and allegro skills it seems a no-brainer role for her...

On 12/5/2023 at 5:11 PM, abatt said:

Interesting debuts.  I'm surprised Miriam Miller is only now debuting Sugarplum.  Emma gets her debut Dewdrop  in the final show.  

 

[abatt]

I saw Emma V. E. last night as Sugarplum, with Mejia as Cavalier and Tiler Peck as Dewdrop. The ticket was a fortune, but all of the leads were spectacular.  I've seen so many wonderful Sugarplums and Dewdrops over the years at NYCB.  However, I'm not sure I've seen such a brilliant technician in the Cavalier role since Damian Woetzel retired.   Full house.

 

Trying to get in to see Emma's Dewdrop, but tickets are scarce. Hopefully they will give her one more Dewdrop during the post-X-Mas week.

Are we all praying to the casting deities to see Emma in Ballo this winter.

 

[nysusan]

21 minutes ago, abatt said:

I saw Emma V. E. last night as Sugarplum, with Mejia as Cavalier and Tiler Peck as Dewdrop. The ticket was a fortune, but all of the leads were spectacular.  I've seen so many wonderful Sugarplums and Dewdrops over the years at NYCB.  However, I'm not sure I've seen such a brilliant technician in the Cavalier role since Damian Woetzel retired.   Full house.

Yes, the tickets cost a fortune and yes the cast was fabulous so they were well worth it! My one and only Nutcracker splurge.

The only sour note was the violin solo (the one interpolated from the Sleeping Beauty). The program listed Delmoni as the soloist but there was a substitution announcement at the start of the performance. I didn't recognize the name so I don't remember it. To my ear it was shrill and screetchy, something I've never heard from the NYCB orchestra before. It was a terrible thing to do to a beautiful piece of music.

[abatt]

Agreed, NYSusan.  That violin solo performance was terrible.  The orchestra should be embarrassed by it.

[cobweb]

I went for standing room last night. $44, so the price is right, even if it's a mile from the stage. Emma Von Enck was absolutely lovely, radiant and authoritative. Roman Mejia looked fabulous also, technically brilliant of course and I loved his restrained but proud nobility. Tiler Peck was spectacular. Also Miriam Miller went for all-out sultriness as Coffee, using those long long limbs to mesmerizing effect. KJ Takahashi was excellent as the Soldier. I notice they have altered the part where he mock-shoots towards the kids and they all laughingly tumble over -- instead, he shoots up into the air. Agree the violin solo was screechy. In addition, they use that time for late seating. There was a LOT of people coming in late, it was very very distracting. I usually really love that plaintive, wintery solo -- the effect was completely lost last night. 

[matilda]

I usually get my Nutcracker tickets for a single show in the summer when they go on sale, so casting is always a gamble! I ended up with the Phelan/Furlan/Jones show last night (missing Von Enck/Mejia/Peck by one day, grr), and it was mostly solid.

I've seen Phelan as Sugarplum three times over the past five years and she's gotten better and better. Her pas de deux was everything -- lines for days, grandeur, musicality, technique, sturdy balances, speed, and power. Definitely one of her best roles right now. She and Furlan really brought the magic and I feel lucky to have seen them. 

Baily Jones delivered a crisp and technically clean Dewdrop but the magic wasn't really there. She's a fine dancer and does well in soloist soubrette roles but isn't someone who draws you in and transforms the space around her. To be honest I was a bit disappointed to not be seeing one of the company's top artists, but at the same time I'm glad that lower-ranking dancers occasionally get to do this part. 

I was really impressed by Alston MacGill as Marzipan. Despite one little bobble and not-very-defined gargouillades, she was a burst of joy and energy. Very unfortunate that injury sidelined her career for so long. 

I always think while watching this how lucky the company is to have such a stunning Nutcracker--one that appeals to the balletomanes as much as the general public. The party scene is a little boring but then that growing Christmas tree and the transformation of the Nutcracker prince make me choke up every time. 

[cobweb]

14 hours ago, matilda said:

The party scene is a little boring but then that growing Christmas tree and the transformation of the Nutcracker prince make me choke up every time

Me too! The whole section from the end of the party through the waltz of the snowflakes is just my favorite. The beautiful violin solo, the dark wintery house, the grand transformation scene, the battle (I love that the heroine saves her own prince!), the bed sailing along through the snow, and finally the mesmerizing snowflakes. Magical storytelling, beautiful grand music, and surprisingly deeply moving. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by cobweb
ETA: oh, and the pathos of the Mouse King being carried off by his fellows

[cobweb]

I guess many of us here are NOT attending multiple Nutcrackers. But, if anyone was there tonight, I would love a report on Ashley Laracey's Surgarplum and Davide Riccardo's Cavalier debut. 

[canbelto]

I also attended the von Enck/Mejia/Peck Nutcracker. Of the three performances I attended, I thought this was the best overall. Tiler Peck's Dewdrop remains the gold standard, and Emma von Enck is well on her way to being a great SPF. She's dainty, warm, with a lovely upper body. Roman Mejia was an excellent partner and great in the coda. If I have ONE quibble with Emma it's that as of now she's still slightly small scale. 

Miriam Miller was a sultry, spectacular Coffee and I am not usually a big fan of hers. Also really enjoyed Victor Abreu's Mother Ginger.

[BalanchineFan]

Unity Phelan posted an IG story congratulating Alexa Maxwell on her Dewdrop debut! Yay!

There was a picture of Alexa in costume in a dressing room.

Here's a link for as long as it lasts. Alexa Maxwell sharing the news

https://www.instagram.com/stories/alexamax/3254803558801023006/

Edited December 10, 2023 by BalanchineFan

[FauxPas]

After seeing the casting, I decided to go hardcore and do a double header on Saturday getting standing room in the morning for both the matinee and evening shows...  (needed some extra time in bed this morning)

So I saw the Ashley Laracey-Davide Riccardo evening performance.  

First of all, both performances were excellent with strong casting throughout.

On Saturday night, Ashley Laracey looks like a seasoned, commanding principal ballerina - not an aging soloist.  Balances were secure, port de bras was finished and lovely and she was technically in command throughout.  Nothing extra - just beautiful line and aristocratic elegance.  Laracey projected a mature, queenly presence that radiated serenity and grace.

Davide Riccardo looked every inch the romantic prince and he was an attentive and strong partner in the tricky pas de deux - no gaffes or iffy moments.  The jumps to the shoulder went off without a hitch.

His solo was quite fine but only suffered in comparison with Roman Mejia's aerial jumps with beats that seemed to rise in the air and whiplash tours a la seconde.

Riccardo needed to get onstage faster to reach center stage for his series of tours which he danced a little stage left - those things that come with more stage experience.

Indiana Woodward was a scintillating Dewdrop.

In that performance I enjoyed Lars Nelson and Mary Elizabeth Sell as Dr. and Frau Stahlbaum with Adam Hendrickson as Herr Drosselmeier.

I was impressed by the young corps dancer David Gabriel as the Candy Cane.  I think he has done Harlequin (?) in "La Sonnambula" and impressed me there too.  I liked him better than K.J. Takahashi in the afternoon performance, Gabriel was smoother and had more ease.

Miriam Miller was a lithe long-limbed Coffee but had an iffy landing from a turn - I preferred the langourous Olivia Boisson at the matinee.

Baily Jones was a very spritely and animated Marzipan lead.  The role fits her just right.

In the afternoon, Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia were the Sugarplum and her Cavalier.  Mejia used his strength to see that Peck came down slowly from every lift light as a feather.   The balances were held long, the arabesque on the sliding device was silky smooth and the jumps up on the shoulder were impressive.  Peck did some swirling upward arm motion during a supported pirouette that made her port de bras look like a fountain.  (Laracey just did an elegant classic en couronne pose). Tiler was both girlish and spritely while projecting good fairy authority as the Sugarplum.  Lovely arms and quick turns in the coda.  Mejia seemed to float upward in his turns and cabrioles and made the Cavalier a bravura role, though brief.

Miriam Miller was the Dewdrop and had a very good afternoon.  She is tall and long-limbed so created a slightly slower but lusher plastique in the role.  Technically it was fine and she maintained speed but never looked brittle.  The jetées where one leg does a little articulated movement while the rear leg goes upward were excellent.  Miller is quite glamorous onstage and looks sensual.  I sometimes have found Miller bland or tentative, lacking core strength and technically uneven - not so here.  She had authority and strength.

The strong casting extended to Emma Van Enck as a vivacious, technically impeccable Marzipan.  I loved Olivia Boisson as Coffee and also Preston Chamblee as a sassy, befuddled and vain Mother Ginger with RuPaul attitude. 

Gilbert Bolden III had an interesting double act doing a very paternal and gracious host Dr. Stahlbaum in the matinee and returning for a very bouncy, flouncy Mother Ginger in the evening.  He was more motherly than Chamblee.

The children (same in the morning and evening shows) were good.  The dark-haired Marie was feisty in the Mouse King Battle but the Prince mimed well but was walking in a very dance-ey way - self-consciously turning out and pointing his toes even when crossing the stage.  The Fritz was cute but needed clearer facial expressions to project brattiness.

The casting looked great and delivered what it promised.  Wish I could see Emma Van Enck as the Dewdrop and Sugarplum and India Bradley and others.  The social media photos of Alexa Maxwell as the Dewdrop were from a guest performance at the Eastern Connecticut Ballet.  (Unity Phelan was also guesting, former NYCB dancer Gloria Govrin is the director).  Hope Maxwell gets to debut the Dewdrop at her home company.

Something to look forward too in 2024!

Edited December 10, 2023 by FauxPas

[Susu_nyc]

On 12/8/2023 at 11:59 AM, cobweb said:

I went for standing room last night. $44, so the price is right, even if it's a mile from the stage. 

How does one obtain a standing ticket?  NIght off at the box office and only if they are sold out?

[cobweb]

1 hour ago, Susu_nyc said:

How does one obtain a standing ticket?  NIght off at the box office and only if they are sold out?

That's right. If it's a sellout, and you buy them in person, day of the performance, at the box office. It makes sense to call first and see if standing room is open. I found that even when it looked online like there were a few random partial-view seats left, it was considered a sellout and they opened standing room. 

6 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

Unity Phelan posted an IG story congratulating Alexa Maxwell on her Dewdrop debut! Yay!

There was a picture of Alexa in costume in a dressing room.

Terrific to hear! Did it say which performance? She wasn't on the casting sheet, so I wonder who she replaced. 

[cobweb]

6 hours ago, FauxPas said:

On Saturday night, Ashley Laracey looks like a seasoned, commanding principal ballerina - not an aging soloist.  Balances were secure, port de bras was finished and lovely and she was technically in command throughout.  Nothing extra - just beautiful line and aristocratic elegance.  Laracey projected a mature, queenly presence that radiated serenity and grace.

Thank you for this report! As Ashley Laracey's #1 fan (in my own mind, anyway), I was tempted to do another standing room visit to see Laracey and Riccardo. Sorry I missed it!

[Helene]

Are the partial-view seats the ones in the Fifth Ring -- if they're still calling it that -- the top-most section on the sides?

[cobweb]

2 minutes ago, Helene said:

 

Are the partial-view seats the ones in the Fifth Ring -- if they're still calling it that -- the top-most section on the sides?

 

There are partial-view seats on all the balconies, running along the sides of the house. In other words, just like the Fifth Ring, on every level except Orchestra. 

[Helene]

Thank you, @cobweb!

[BalanchineFan]

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

That's right. If it's a sellout, and you buy them in person, day of the performance, at the box office. It makes sense to call first and see if standing room is open. I found that even when it looked online like there were a few random partial-view seats left, it was considered a sellout and they opened standing room. 

Terrific to hear! Did it say which performance? She wasn't on the casting sheet, so I wonder who she replaced. 

Neither post mentioned when Alexa Maxwell performed Dewdrop. I'd think Friday or Saturday. Did they have a student matinee? That casting might not be publicized on the digital board. Just guessing.

I called regarding standing room today, and was told they are well enough sold out that standing room should be open for the rest of Nutcracker. I had also looked for seats, and there are just a few single seats here and there throughout the entire theater for the remaining weeks. Practically nothing (though there could be returns, I suppose, if people get sick or their plans change.).

[mille-feuille]

2 hours ago, cobweb said:

Terrific to hear! Did it say which performance? She wasn't on the casting sheet, so I wonder who she replaced. 

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

Neither post mentioned when Alexa Maxwell performed Dewdrop. I'd think Friday or Saturday. Did they have a student matinee? That casting might not be publicized on the digital board. Just guessing.

She mentioned on her story that she was guesting at Eastern Connecticut Ballet. She hasn’t yet done Dew with NYCB. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by mille-feuille

[vipa]

10 hours ago, FauxPas said:

On Saturday night, Ashley Laracey looks like a seasoned, commanding principal ballerina - not an aging soloist.  Balances were secure, port de bras was finished and lovely and she was technically in command throughout.  Nothing extra - just beautiful line and aristocratic elegance.  Laracey projected a mature, queenly presence that radiated serenity and grace.

Thank you for this report. I've been a fan of Laracey's for a long time. She is amazingly consistant it the radiance, grace and beauty she brings to every role she does. IMO she should have been promoted to principal with the last batch.

[DPell]

On 12/8/2023 at 11:59 AM, cobweb said:

I went for standing room last night. $44, so the price is right, even if it's a mile from the stage. Emma Von Enck was absolutely lovely, radiant and authoritative. Roman Mejia looked fabulous also, technically brilliant of course and I loved his restrained but proud nobility. Tiler Peck was spectacular. Also Miriam Miller went for all-out sultriness as Coffee, using those long long limbs to mesmerizing effect. KJ Takahashi was excellent as the Soldier. I notice they have altered the part where he mock-shoots towards the kids and they all laughingly tumble over -- instead, he shoots up into the air. Agree the violin solo was screechy. In addition, they use that time for late seating. There was a LOT of people coming in late, it was very very distracting. I usually really love that plaintive, wintery solo -- the effect was completely lost last night. 

Are standing room tickets available before a performance or the day of?

[vipa]

Wendy Whelan gave quite a shout out to India Bradley on instagram after her dewdrop performance. "the Nutcracker just birthed an exciting new #dewdrop"

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0r8a8hpLcW/?img_index=1

Edited December 11, 2023 by vipa

[BalanchineFan]

9 hours ago, DPell said:

Are standing room tickets available before a performance or the day of?

Standing room is sold day of and only in person at the box office.

Edited December 11, 2023 by BalanchineFan