Nutcracker and the Mouse King ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky. Choreographed and directed by Christian Spuck. Performed 2018 by the Ballett Zürich and the Junior Ballett at the Opernhaus Zürich. Stars Dominik Slavkovský (Godfather Drosselmeier), Michelle Willems (Marie [instead of Clara or Masha]), Daniel Mulligan (Fritz), William Moore (The Nutcracker/Prince), Ina Callejas (Clown with accordion), Yen Han (Lady Clown), Matthew Knight (Gent Clown), Giulia Tonelli (Princess Pirlipat) , Gustavo Chalub (Pirlipat’s father, the Human King), Mélissa Ligurgo (Mouse Queen), Cohen Aitchison-Dugas (Mouse King), Filipe Portugal (Granddfather), Galina Mihaylova (Grandmother), Elena Vostrotina (Aunt Snowflake) , Jan Casier (Snowflake Partner), Anna Khamzina (Aunt Flower), Alexander Jones (Flower Partner), and Victorina Kapitonava (Aunt Sugar Fairy). Paul Connelly conducts the Philharmonia Zürich and the Children’s Choir and SoprAlti of the Opernhaus Zürich (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set design by Rufus Didwiszus; costume design by Buki Shiff; lighting design by Martin Gebhardt; dramaturgy by Michael Küster and Claus Spahn. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: A+
Special note: Accentus includes a handsome keepcase booklet with (1) a life-saving synopsis explaining the libretto scene by scene and (2) notes about the mashed-up music used in each scene. But Accentus doesn’t identify any dancer by name in the keepcase art or in the booklet. We pieced together the credits above from various sources found on the Internet, so we probably made mistakes in pinpointing the dancers actually in the video. Corrections welcome! In case you were wondering, the SoprAlti is a female chorus of sopranos and altos.
Spuck’s production, more complicated than the classic Nutcracker line that everyone else has overdosed on, adheres more or less to the original E.T.A. Hoffman novella called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. In addition, Spuck adds a superlayer to his show by presenting everything in the context of a vaudeville show in a dilapidated review hall populated by three clowns who are, we think, automatons (a favorite subject in 19th century fantasy literature). The male acrobat clown (Matthew Knight) and the lady acrobat clown (Yen Han) are shown in our first screenshot:
And next below is the old review theater set which mounts a frame around a deep field of black. With no scenery and few props, the emphasis is on intensely-directed acting by the dancers supported by strikingly colorful costumes. We are reminded of our Anna Bolena opera, a Don Pasquale, and the Siddharta ballet, which all use a black backdrop to set off jewel-like images in the foreground. In our next screenshot below we show the whole theater set (with an image from the Act II Waltz of the Flowers):
Next below meet Marie (not Clara or Masha) played by Michelle Willems and Marie’s brother Fritz, played by Daniel Mulligan:
And here’s Dominik Slavkovský as Godfather Drosselmeier:
Ina Callejas is the always-morose musical clown and accordion-playing automaton. Below we see her in Drosselmeyer’s workshop next to a tiny stage within a stage within a video. Drosselmeyer has invented tiny puppets that will inhabit the tiny stage and act out the drama of Princess Pirlipat. (This image is by still photographer Gregory Batardon and doesn’t appear in the video):
Now below we see Clara and Fritz visiting Drosselmeier in his workshop. The siblings are lying down on the raised platform watching the Princess Pirlipat drama unfolding on the tiny stage (you can only see a corner of the box). Front center on our review stage we see also see the show being played out life-sized by more automatons. Princess Pirlipat is sitting on the floor surrounded by the king, the queen, 4 suitors for her hand, and other members of the court. To the left is the musical clown playing Tchaikovsky on the accordion:
The Mouse King crashes the tiny party. Princess Pirlipat gleefully watches her father (the human King) kill the Mouse King:
This wanton rodent regicide was a huge diplomatic blunder. Now the Mouse Queen (Mélissa Ligurgo) seeks revenge!
The mouse queen turns Princess Pirlipat into an ugly monster who spends all her days sitting in a terrarium eating nuts:
All the doctors and knights of the realm fail as they seek to cure Marie’s delirium. Finally, a strange knight appears with the Krakatuk nut, which contains a sweetmeat that will be the antidote to curse of the Mouse Queen:
Furious, the tenacious Rat Queen curses the strange knight and turns him into a nutcracker doll:
Now the scene shifts to the Christmas party at Marie’s house. Below we see Marie’s parents, grandparents, Fritz, and cousins watching the dancing. Front center are three aunts: Aunt Sugar Fairy (Victorina Kapitonava), Aunt Flower (Anna Khamzina), and Aunt Snowflake (Elena Vostrotina). Aunt Snowflake dresses in black representing the snowstorm. From time to time she showers people with white snowflake glitter. The three aunts will appear later in Marie’s dream:
Drosselmeyer arrives and gives Marie a nutcracker doll, which she instantly adores. (Fritz gets a platoon of toy Hussar soldiers):
Marie falls asleep and the Nutcracker doll comes to life in her dream:
At first our new friends are awkward, but soon they start catching on:
The mice have elected a new King, who has recruited a fresh army. The new Mouse King marches for revenge. This time brother Fritz boldly comes to the aid of his sister. And the toy Hussars Drosselmeyer gave him spring to life and gird for battle!
The Nutcracker is not a seasoned warrior, but Marie guides his sword in a lethal blow to the new Mouse King:
Now the Nutcracker is revealed to be a nice-looking young chap who is ready for his first kiss. But Drosselmeyer is dubious about any PDA (public display of affection) at this point:
The new sweethearts are rewarded with a trip to the Land of Snow, and when they arrive, it’s night and there’s a storm!
You will recall that Aunt Snowfall always dressed in black. Here we see her leading the dancers. We identify her by the red hair!
Here’s another still photo by Gregory Batardon of the storm scene:
Aunt Sugar has become the Sugar Plum Fairy:
And now below a close-up from the Waltz of the Flowers. Spuck likes to use both men and women in all the corps scenes:
The men get equal treatment in the corps scenes, perhaps inspired in part by this hero:
An incredibly rich and beautiful image from the finale:
And a beautiful, intimate shot from the final grand pas de deux:
The orchestral music in this recording is exceptionally fresh, vibrant, rich, detailed, and closely recorded. We were astonished to see how small the orchestra was. As noted earlier, Spuck moved practically every bar of music in the score to some new place in the libretto. This seems to have kept the musicians sitting on the edge of their chairs as old habits had to be ruthlessly suppressed. Remixing all the familiar music keeps everybody on their musical toes!
We first watched this cold and found it baffling. But after reading the synopsis in the keepcase booklet, everything quickly fell into place. It’s now one of our top favorites among the many Nutcrackers on Blu-ray and is highly recommended for anyone who loves great music, great dancing, great acting, and clever puzzles. A+
Here’s a short YouTube clip:
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