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“The Nutcracker” from the Royal Ballet: Production Credits

daniel ross — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 20:23:07 +0000

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Television Credits

Based on a story by
E.T.A. Hoffman

Music by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Choreography
Lev Ivanov
Peter Wright

Design
Julia Trevelyan Oman

Production
Peter Wright

Directed for Television by
Ross MacGibbon

“The Nutcracker” from the Royal Ballet
The Royal Opera House
Covent Garden

Herr Drosselmeyer
Anthony Dowell

Clara
Alina Cojocaru

The Nutcracker/Hans-Peter
Ivan Putrov

The Sugar Plum Fairy
Miyako Yoshida

The Prince
Jonathan Cope

Drosselmeyer’s Assistant
Justin Meissner

Maiden Aunts
Diane Holland
Pauline Wadsworth

Housekeeper
Romayne Grigorova

Dr. Stahlbaum
David Drew

Mrs. Stahlbaum
Elizabeth McGorian

Fritz
Oliver Till

Clara’s Partner
Giacomo Ciriaci

Grandmother
Genesia Rosato

Grandfather
Luke Heydon

Dancing Mistress
Nicola Tranah

Captain
William Tuckett

The Dolls
Harlequin
Hubert Essakow
Columbine
Jane Burn
Soldier
Ricardo Cervera
Vivandière
Laura Morera
St. Nicholas
Richard Ramsey

Devils
Antoine Jully
Brian Maloney

The Mouse King
Christopher Saunders

The Snowflakes
Artists of the Royal Ballet

Spanish Dance
Vanessa Palmer
Nigel Burley
Julie Lack
Sian Murphy
Ricardo Cervera
Thomas Whitehead

Arabian Dance
Nicola Tranah
Christopher Saunders
Alastair Marriott
Maurice Vodegel-Matzen

Chinese Dance
Giacomo Ciriaci
Martin Harvey
Justin Meissner
Joshua Tuifua

Russian Dance
Bennet Gartside
Tom Sapsford

Dance of the Mirlitons
Jane Burn
Mara Galeazzi
Laura Morera
Leana Palmer

Waltz of the Flowers
Rose Fairy
Zenaida Yanowsky
Her Escorts
Victor Alvarez
Hubert Essakow
Yohei Sasaki
Edward Watson
Leading Flowers
Chloe Davies
Marianela Nunez
Rachel Rawlins
Jaimie Tapper

Artists of the Royal Ballet

Grand Pas de Deux
Miyako Yoshida
Jonathan Cope

Aunts, Uncles, Parents, Maids, Manservants, Revellers
Artists of the Royal Ballet

Children, Toy Soldiers, Mice, Gingerbreads
Rabbit Drummer, Pages, Sentry
Pupils of the Royal Ballet School
White Lodge

Angels
Students of the Royal Ballet Upper School

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Leader
Shirly Laub

Conducted by
Evgenii Svetlanov

For The Royal Opera House

Commercial Director
John Harrison

For The Royal Ballet

Director
Anthony Dowell

Administrative Director
Anthony Russell-Roberts

Artistic Administrator
Jeanetta Laurence

Company Manager
Robert Jude

Senior Stage Manager
Johanna Adams

With thanks to
The production and technical staff of the Royal Opera House

Rehearsal Director
Christopher Carr

Stage Lighting
Mark Henderson

Revival Sponsored by
The Friends of Covent Garden

For BBC Television

Graphic Designer
Steve Bonnett

O.B. Floor Manager
Adrian Bonfield

Production Team
Anna Antoszkiewicz
Sandra Shrago

Makeup Designer
Christine Vidler

Vision Supervisor
Graeme Carter

Camera Supervisor
James Day

VT Editor
Andrew Frampton

Production Assistant
Charlotte Gazzard

Vision Mixer
Priscilla Hoadley

Production Manager
Alison Havell

Engineering Manager
Christopher Bretnall

Television Lighting
Bernie Davis

Sound
Paul Cunliffe

Executive Producer
Bob Lockyer

For THIRTEEN/WNET New York

Host
Julie Andrews

Director
Roger Sherman

Writer
Wendy Wasserstein

Production Manager
Mitch Owgang

For GREAT PERFORMANCES

Senior Counsel
Arlen Appelbaum

Coordinating Producer
Sonoko Aoyagi Bowers

Director, Program Development
Bill O’Donnell

Director of Culture & Arts Documentaries
Margaret Smilow

Executive Producers
Jac Venza

©BBC MM

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“The Nutcracker” from the Royal Ballet: Synopsis

daniel ross — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 20:17:19 +0000

Act I

As conceived by Peter Wright, after the original book by Lev Ivanov. Herr Drosselmeyer (Anthony Dowell), a mysterious magician and creator of mechanical toys and clocks, was once employed at the royal palace, where he invented a trap that killed off half the mouse population. In revenge, the wicked Mouse Queen cast a spell on Drosselmeyer’s nephew, Hans-Peter (Ivan Putrov), which transformed him into an ugly nutcracker doll. The only way to break the spell is for the Nutcracker to slay the Mouse King and for a young girl to love and care for him in spite of his awful appearance.

When Drosselmeyer is invited to entertain the guests at a Christmas party given by his friends, the Stahlbaums, he decides that this could well be the opportunity he has been looking for. The Stahlbaums have a daughter, Clara (Alina Cojocaru), who is a little younger than Hans-Peter. And what better time than Christmas, when the mice are busy stealing the leftovers, for a confrontation between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker? Drosselmeyer decides to put the Nutcracker in the tender care of Clara and makes a special Christmas angel to guide her through her task.

When all the guests have departed and the house is asleep, Clara, in search of the nutcracker doll, creeps downstairs and discovers Drosselmeyer waiting for her. He draws her into his own special world of fantasy, where time is suspended, and exerts all his powers to transform the living room into a great battlefield. Then he summons the Mouse King (Christopher Saunders). In the ensuing fight between the mice and the toy soldiers, the Nutcracker slays the Mouse King, but only through the intervention of Clara, who, out of compassion, saves the Nutcracker’s life.

Act II

Restored to his real self, Hans-Peter dances with Clara, and they find themselves in the Land of Snow. Drosselmeyer then sends them on a magic journey to the Sugar Garden in the Kingdom of Sweets, where they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy (Miyako Yoshida) and her Prince (Jonathan Cope). Freed at last from his imprisonment inside the nutcracker, Hans-Peter recounts to the Sugar Plum Fairy his great adventure and how Clara saved his life. They then join in a magnificent entertainment put on by Drosselmeyer to honor them for their bravery.

Returning to reality, Clara runs out into the street in search of Drosselmeyer and encounters a strangely familiar young man, while back in his workshop Drosselmeyer prays that his efforts will be rewarded. His nephew returns; the spell has indeed been broken.

“The Nutcracker” from the Royal Ballet: Introduction

daniel ross — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 20:12:13 +0000

From London’s beautifully refurbished Covent Garden Opera House comes this elegant new production with one of Tchaikovsky’s most enduring scores for the ballet. Generations of audiences have enjoyed this perennial Christmas favorite, a charming tale of holiday adventure that follows a little girl’s journey through a fantasy world of fairies, princes, toy soldiers, and an army of mice. Revised by Sir Peter Wright with sets designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman, the new Royal Ballet production features an acclaimed cast, including Ivan Putrov as the Nutcracker, Alina Cojocaru as Clara, Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Sir Anthony Dowell as the toy- and clockmaker Herr Drosselmeyer. Conductor Evgenii Svetlanov leads the Royal Opera Orchestra through some of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved music, including “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

The two-act ballet had its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 17, 1892. It was based on Alexander Dumas père’s THE NUTCRACKER OF NUREMBERG, which was an adaptation of an earlier story by E.T.A. Hoffmann called THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING. Read a synopsis of “The Nutcracker” to become more familiar with the holiday classic. You can also print a set and a variety of character cutouts from “The Nutcracker,” which can then be colored and assembled in order to stage your own version of the ballet.

Related Web Sites

The Royal Ballet

The Nutcracker Ballet

NPR: The Enduring Spirit of the Nutcracker

Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky