Tuesday, November 30, 2004
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The Cincinnati Ballet presents The Nutcracker
Sponsored by Frisch's
By
Alison Momeyer
Several years ago, the Cincinnati Ballet Company gave its most popular production, The Nutcracker, an “Extreme Makeover.” With a total re-conception of the set by designer Alain Vaes, along with new staging by choreographer Val Caniparoli, the Ballet’s changes are a good example of how to tinker with a classic and still come up a success.
The latest production of the Cincinnati Ballet’s Nutcracker uses 180 costumes for 34 dancers; over 80 children from the Ballet’s Academy; 170 light cues; over 150 pounds of artificial snow; and of course, a 60-foot high illuminated fabric Christmas tree. According to a behind-the-scenes story in the Cincinnati Post, most of the new sets were built in St. Petersburg, Russia. Shipping it all to Cincinnati required 20 wardrobe crates with the set and props weighing in at over 2,000 pounds!
Throughout its history, the core of the story, a tale about a little girl’s magical adventures with her larger-than-life Nutcracker doll, remains consistent, although in many modern-day productions her name has changed from Clara to Marie. The story is an adaptation of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” written by ETA Hoffman and published in 1819. First performed in Russia in 1892, the Cincinnati Ballet Company has mounted five distinct versions of the ballet since initially bringing the Nutcracker to the stage in 1974.
This year’s production of the Nutcracker, “captures the spirit and magic of this favorite holiday story,” according to Executive Director, Susan Redman-Rengstorf. The production has just finished touring Anchorage, Alaska where the sets and costumes traveled with the dancers to captivate and entertain northern audiences.
Tickets are still available for matinee and evening performances. Afternoon performances tend to feature nutcracker-clutching, aspiring ballerinas in the audience, but the velvet dresses and fanciful ribbons make it a no-less formal affair.
For tickets contact the Cincinnati Ballet box office: (513) 621-5282 or online at http://www.cincinnatiballet.com.
Alison Momeyer is a freelance writer working amidst the chaos produced by
her five-year-old daughter and three-year-old twin boys.
