LO SCHIACCIANOCI AT TEATRO VERDI
By Joey Parkin (California State University)
“Twas the night before Christmas…” Every year around Christmas I read this poem, and I can’t help but smile as I finish, and savor the memories of Christmases past, as they wash over me. I remember the small traditions my family has for this time of year, like opening one present Christmas Eve (usually pajamas to wear that night) and always starting with the stockings first thing Christmas morning. Another tradition that we have is seeing “The Nutcracker” every year, when possible, at our local theater.
I saw this ballet for the first time when I was nine or so, and I can still clearly remember being in complete awe of the wonder and magic of it. And now, despite being far away from home for the holidays, I can still have a little Christmas magic in the form of “Lo Schiaccianoci”, as it is called here in Italy, at Teatro Verdi on December 21.
This timeless classic, directed by Marian Zaharia, will remain true to the original, with the music written by Tchaikovsky and inspired by ETA Hoffman’s original story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The audience can follow Clara as she receives her new toy, the Nutcracker, and helps him defeat the Mouse King. They can experience the wonder as the Nutcracker turns back into a handsome prince and shows Clara his beautiful fantasy land, where they are crowned King and Queen and live happily ever after.
Bringing this wonderful production to Florence will be some of the best performers in the world, who dance for the private Bulgarian ballet company, Ballet of Sofia. These dancers were drawn from the best companies and premier opera houses across Europe and Bulgaria to perform for the Ballet of Sofia, and represent some of the best talent in the world. Featured soloists include Vessa Tonova, Trifon Mitev, Martha Petkova, Emil Yordanov, Vessela Vasileva, Ovidiu Matei, Nikola Hadjitanev and Kaloyan Boyajidev.
For me, no other ballet brings such beauty and imagination together as flawlessly as “Lo Schiaccianoci.” The costumes, the music, the choreography all combine, resulting in a perfect harmony, creating a moment of pure unadulterated magic unlike any other, and I expect it will be nothing less this coming holiday season. It will be a treat for those seeing it for the first time, or for the hundredth. And after experiencing this, you too can fall asleep to visions of sugar-plums dancing merrily across your dreams.
“Lo Schiaccianoci” will be playing at Teatro Verdi on December 21, 2011 at 8:45 pm.
Disappointing. Unfortunately, this was the word that came into my mind as soon as the curtain fell at the end of the second act. Out of the dozen or so performances of The Nutcracker, this has to have been the most mediocre show I have ever witnessed.
One of the reasons The Nutcracker is so wonderful is thanks to the brilliance and imagery of Tchaikovsky’s music. And while the dancing itself was admittedly beautiful, it did not match the emotional intensity of the music. The scenery was so minimal, it was practically non-existent. The costumes were minimalist as well, but were the only other pleasing images to the eyes of the audience. This performance was also surprisingly short. The ballet lasted only an hour and a half, and parts were missing! This performance completely left out Mother Gingerbread and her children. This was one of my favorite parts in the ballet, and it was simply not there.
While I left the ballet with my expectations not having been met, I also have to say that in the company’s defense, it was an extremely small company. There appeared to be only 20 or so dancers. It must have been difficult to be such a small and relatively new company to take on a classic of such proportions as The Nutcracker. Looking from that perspective, the show did have its moments. For example, the two principle dancers, the characters of Clara and the Nutcracker, had extraordinarily lovely solos toward the very end of the second act. Both dancers were extremely graceful and talented. I would have loved to see them with a bigger cast and better choreography. Overall, I would say that this is not the best ballet performance, but it was a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half right before the craziness of the holidays.