The Nutcracker
English National Ballet, Coliseum, 11th December 2019
‘Tis the season to be jolly, yet for balletomanes and thousands of wide-eyed children Nutcrackers are thin on the ground in London. The Royal Ballet has gone down another ETA Hoffmann route – reviving its charming Coppélia – while Birmingham Royal Ballet doesn’t pitch up at the Royal Albert Hall until after Christmas. Which leaves us Wayne Eagling’s version for English National Ballet, a Quality Street style confection which has become a fixture in the Coliseum’s Advent calendar. It has problematic storytelling, but there was much to enjoy in the dancing, especially Erina Takahashi’s Clara.
Erina Takahashi (Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy) and Francesco Gabriele Frola (Nephew)
© Laurent Liotardo
Click here to read the full review on Bachtrack.