Pure Magic
Yesterday afternoon, we attended Boston Ballet’s production of the ‘The Nutcracker’ and my feet has not touched the ground since. Set to Tchaikovsky’s august score, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s popular tale of ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ came to life within the walls of the lavish grandeur of the Boston Opera House. Pure Magic.
As the Christmas tree grew to an enormous height, I followed Clara’s adventures through the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets, transported into a world of make-believe by Mikko Nissinen’s brilliant choreography and Boston Ballet’s powerful orchestra (led by Jonathan McPhee).
During Act I, whilst the Snow Queen swayed enchantingly to the classical tune, specks of snow showered on the set and believe it or not, I felt a chill. So intense was the drama of that scene, it took me far, far away from the plush comfort of the theater.
Apart from the main characters of Clara, the Nutcracker and the slightly eccentric Drosselmeier, we have the Snow Queen and her dancing Snowflakes, frisky lambs, an army of mice, a gingerbread man, toy soldiers, the Sugar Plum Fairy in her pink tutu and glittering tiara (a little girl behind me announced that she was the Sugar Plum Fairy right before the show), a series of themed dances and of course, the adorable Bear. The Bear made quite an entrance during the party scene at the Silberhaus’s…I have no idea how he manages to leap so high and spin so fast in that furry suit. He made his exit amidst deafening applause, waving as he went. As the drama unfurled, I was enthralled by the dancers, adult and child alike, and wondered how talented they were and how hard they must have worked to achieve such levels of perfection.
Boston Ballet’s production of ‘The Nutcracker’ is nothing new to most of us in New England so I will not go into how opulent the set was or how the costumes sparkled, and how the dancers swirled on tiptoe with the utmost grace. All I want to say is that no matter how many times you have seen it, there’s always room for a little more magic in your life.
