pherank Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) This year, Nutcracker performances begin on Wednesday, December 13, running through the 30th: https://www.sfballet.org/discover/press-center/press-releases/release/san-francisco-ballets-nutcracker-returns-to-the-war-memorial-opera-house-december-13-30/ Looks like Tamara Rojo decided to reduce the number of dates to gain time for other things in the 2024 season. Edited November 21, 2023 by pherank Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 20 hours ago, pherank said: This year, Nutcracker performances begin on Wednesday, December 13, running through the 30th: https://www.sfballet.org/discover/press-center/press-releases/release/san-francisco-ballets-nutcracker-returns-to-the-war-memorial-opera-house-december-13-30/ Looks like Tamara Rojo decided to reduce the number of dates to gain time for other things in the 2024 season. Actually, part of the reason Nutcracker is starting later than usual is San Francisco Opera. The last performance of the Fall 2023 season for the Opera is on Saturday December 9 - Calendar | SFO (sfopera.com) - a mere 4 days before Nutcracker opens!!! Link to comment
Josette Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 I have tickets for four performances on December 28 and 29. Last season, SFB posted the casting for the principals for the entire run of performances at the outset. Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Principal Casting for the entire run of Nutcracker has been posted: CASTING: NUTCRACKER - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) Here is the principal casting for opening night Wednesday, December 13 at 7 PM: NUTCRACKER COMPOSER: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky CHOREOGRAPHER: Helgi Tomasson Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Casting subject to change I will be attending opening night (and other performances as well). Link to comment
pherank Posted November 29, 2023 Author Share Posted November 29, 2023 (edited) For the sake of posterity (and future searches), here's the official listing - subject to change. The mighty Frances Chung is back! Notable absences: Angelo Greco, Lizzie Powell, Ellen Rose Hummel, Luke Ingham, Myles Thatcher, Lonnie Weeks, WanTing Zhao and Yuan Yuan Tan. Wednesday, December 13, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Thursday, December 14, 11:00 AM Conductor: Brad Hogarth Queen and King of the Snow: Jihyun Choi and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha Mukhamedov Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Thursday, December 14, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Wona Park Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Friday, December 15, 2:00 PM Conductor: Brad Hogarth Queen and King of the Snow: Julia Rowe and Simone Pompignoli Sugar Plum Fairy: Norika Matsuyama Grand Pas de Deux: Katherine Barkman and Esteban Hernández Friday, December 15, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Sasha Mukhamedov and Henry Sidford Sugar Plum Fairy: Jasmine Jimison Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Saturday, December 16, 2:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Steven Morse Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park and Wei Wang Saturday, December 16, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Sugar Plum Fairy: Nikisha Fogo Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola and Isaac Hernández Sunday, December 17, 2:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Norika Matsuyama and Joshua Jack Price Sugar Plum Fairy: Katherine Barkman Grand Pas de Deux: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Sunday, December 17, 7:00 PM Conductor: Brad Hogarth Queen and King of the Snow: Sasha Mukhamedov and Henry Sidford Sugar Plum Fairy: Isabella DeVivo Grand Pas de Deux: Julia Rowe and Cavan Conley Tuesday, December 19, 11:00 AM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Norika Matsuyama and Joshua Jack Price Sugar Plum Fairy: Carmela Mayo Grand Pas de Deux: Julia Rowe and Cavan Conley Tuesday, December 19, 7:00 PM Conductor: Marc Taddei Queen and King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola and Isaac Hernández Wednesday, December 20, 2:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Sasha Mukhamedov and Henry Sidford Sugar Plum Fairy: Jasmine Jimison Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Wednesday, December 20, 7:00 PM Conductor: David LaMarche Queen and King of the Snow: Julia Rowe and Simone Pompignoli Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola Grand Pas de Deux: Katherine Barkman and Esteban Hernández Thursday, December 21, 2:00 PM Conductor: David LaMarche Queen and King of the Snow: Jihyun Choi and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Carmela Mayo Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Thursday, December 21, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Sasha Mukhamedov and Henry Sidford Sugar Plum Fairy: Wona Park Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Friday, December 22, 2:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Norika Matsuyama and Joshua Jack Price Sugar Plum Fairy: Thamires Chuvas Grand Pas de Deux: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Friday, December 22, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Julia Rowe and Simone Pompignoli Sugar Plum Fairy: Norika Matsuyama Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Saturday, December 23, 2:00 PM Conductor: David LaMarche Queen and King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Steven Morse Sugar Plum Fairy: Isabella DeVivo Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Saturday, December 23, 7:00 PM Conductor: David LaMarche Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha Mukhamedov Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park and Wei Wang Sunday, December 24, 11:00 AM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola and Isaac Hernández Sunday, December 24, 4:00 PM Conductor: Marc Taddei Queen and King of the Snow: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Sugar Plum Fairy: Katherine Barkman Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Tuesday, December 26, 2:00 PM Conductor: Marc Taddei Queen and King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Steven Morse Sugar Plum Fairy: Wona Park Grand Pas de Deux: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Tuesday, December 26, 7:00 PM Conductor: Ming Luke Queen and King of the Snow: Sasha Mukhamedov and Henry Sidford Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha De Sola Grand Pas de Deux: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Wednesday, December 27, 2:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Jihyun Choi and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Thamires Chuvas Grand Pas de Deux: Katherine Barkman and Esteban Hernández Wednesday, December 27, 7:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Julia Rowe and Simone Pompignoli Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Thursday, December 28, 2:00 PM Conductor: Ming Luke Queen and King of the Snow: Isabella DeVivo and Nathaniel Remez Sugar Plum Fairy: Jasmine Jimison Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park and Wei Wang Thursday, December 28, 7:00 PM Conductor: Marc Taddei Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Sugar Plum Fairy: Katherine Barkman Grand Pas de Deux: Sasha De Sola and Isaac Hernández Friday, December 29, 2:00 PM Conductor: Marc Taddei Queen and King of the Snow: Norika Matsuyama and Joshua Jack Price Sugar Plum Fairy: Jennifer Stahl Grand Pas de Deux: Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison Friday, December 29, 7:00 PM Conductor: Ming Luke Queen and King of the Snow: Jasmine Jimison and Mingxuan Wang Sugar Plum Fairy: Sasha Mukhamedov Grand Pas de Deux: Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh Saturday, December 30, 11:00 AM Conductor: Martin West Queen and King of the Snow: Thamires Chuvas and Steven Morse Sugar Plum Fairy: Isabella DeVivo Grand Pas de Deux: Katherine Barkman and Esteban Hernández Saturday, December 30, 4:00 PM Conductor: Ming Luke Queen and King of the Snow: Frances Chung and Cavan Conley Sugar Plum Fairy: Nikisha Fogo Grand Pas de Deux: Wona Park and Wei Wang Edited November 29, 2023 by pherank Link to comment
pherank Posted December 12, 2023 Author Share Posted December 12, 2023 SFB Nutcracker Program Book for 2023: https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/2024-season/program-books/ Link to comment
pherank Posted December 15, 2023 Author Share Posted December 15, 2023 SFB is now posting a comprehensive casting for the first 3 days of The Nutcracker: https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ So presumably there will be more updates to come. Link to comment
Phrenchphry11 Posted December 21, 2023 Share Posted December 21, 2023 Just saw tonight's show with Esteban Hernandez and Katherine Barkman as the pas de deux. WOW. Tons of flair, drama, and a spectacular balance by Barkman at the end of the pas. What a great partnership, and I'm excited to see more to come! Overall a great evening, the company looked good all around. Link to comment
Terez Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I saw the Fri 12/29 matinee performance, which was great. There seemed to be many more open seats in premier orchestra, but maybe that was "late in the run but not the last performance" vibe I was experiencing. The cast and orchestra were as great as ever; no one seemed to be displaying "Nut fatigue". Sasha Mukhamedov (sp?) replaced the originally cast Jen Stahl as Sugarplum Fairy. While I was really looking forward to seeing Jen in that role, I loved the surprise pleasure of watching Sasha M. dance it. She did a great job of dancing assertively (like she always does) but with delicate little nuances and flairs, reminding me (perhaps curiously) of Sofiane Sylve. Aaron Robison was a delight as the Nut Prince. Just can't get enough of that post-battle scene where Drosselmeyer lifts the big ugly Nut head off of him and he transforms into this hottie prince who's slavishly devoted to Clara. Danielle Hillman was a darling Clara through that performance. Lots of new/young faces in new roles. Case in point: easily 10 names in both Snow and Waltz that I didn't recognize; I assume they are top-level students from the school. Really impressive, the unity the ensemble showed, both times, given the number of new dancers. Lots of rehearsing, I imagine, and it paid off. Loved seeing Norika M and Joshua Jack Price as Snow Queen/King. They did very well; I'm seeing a promotion in Price's future. And Norika is just such a giving performer with this infectious happiness that pours out -- I've always loved that about watching her dance. Nikisha Fogo was reliably excellent as the adult Clara although I wish she could have stretched out her entrance a millisecond, showing a little more astonishment and awe at her transformation. I remember relishing that moment, when dancers like Maria Kochetkova, in particular, would be stunned and overcome, so believably that I'd get prickles just watching. All in all, a great show that continues to move very fast. Link to comment
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