I have no single word to describe Rio's Ballet do Theatro Municipal's Nutcracker other than lovely.
Eli and I got all dressed up and went to the theater, undoubtedly one of my favorite places in the city (though it's currently under construction in some parts) and as I expected, though I was really dressed up I wasn't overdressed--Brazilians go all out, especially for a special occasion. There were tons and tons of kids who were pretty annoying, but I guess that is true of any Nutcracker.
The production itself was really geared towards kids, I thought, but it was a really beautiful production with great sets and stunning costumes (I don't think I've ever seen such elaborate gowns for the party scene in any other production. Even in pretend life Brazilians have to go all out with their clothes). The staging was based on the original choreography, albeit with a few tweaks (the Snow Queen danced a pas de deux with some dubious lifts that showed her crotch far too often to the audience. It's kind of an unspoken rule in ballet that female crotch display should be kept to a minimum).
Anyway, it wasn't New York City Ballet but it was really really lovely. Clara was played by this super carioca morena, who was probably no older than 14 with the most incredible extension in the world. I believe the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavelier were played by two guest performers, who are Brazilian but dance for the Royal Ballet in London (the cast changes every day and you have to buy programs which don't list casts by dates). As in soccer, ballet dancers tend to go abroad to be able to make a living. Anyway, if they were in fact who we saw they were gorgeous; the Sugar Plum was the most amazing turner and did these insane foutees without opening and closing her arms. Also, a lot of the soloists had ridiculously beautiful feet, and even the men, like the Cavelier, had incredible feet.
I spent the whole time in a happy daze, and Eliseu seemed to enjoy it to (he discovered that the drummer from "Brazil's most famous rock band" was sitting next to him and made friends).
I especially liked how they used the children from the professional school in the production, though I was a little dubious of putting the 12 and 13 year-olds on pointe for the party scene, but OK. The mice were the cutest ones I've ever seen and were absolutely tiny and Eliseu giggled through the entire battle scene. Mother Ginger had a huge scary fake head but was pretty fun-looking and her Polischenells (?) were dressed like gumdrops, which were possibly the cutest costumes ever.
I was also a big fan of the Russian dance, which had a huge cast dressed in actual Russian peasant costumes with--wait for it--fluorescent blue and orange character BOOTS. Oh Brazilians.
The ballet was really true to the original production and I loved them for that, since I hate productions that mess with the story (even ABT's version is a little annoying). It was a real, amazing, traditional Nutcracker.
To me, the Nutcracker never gets old. It was the perfect night.
