Montreal Gazette ePaper

Nutcracker is reimagined with new scenes and seams

With the usual child participants out of the question this year, Les Grands Ballets reinvents its Christmas spectacular The Nutcracker

JIM BURKE

Les Grands Ballets' much-loved super-spectacular The Nutcracker is coming back to Place des Arts after a year's absence, playing from Dec. 9 to 28 at Salle Wilfrid-pelletier.

More accurately, the second half of The Nutcracker, Clara's Journey, is back, with Les Grands Ballets Orchestra serving up Tchaikovsky's familiar score as Clara and her prince travel to the Land of Sweets. A whole new first half, The Enchanted Gift, has been created by the company's artistic director, Ivan Cavallari, and set to the music of South America's most famous classical composer, Heitor Villa-lobos.

The reason for such a drastic change, you won't be surprised to hear, is the logistical challenge that the pandemic still presents to public performances. The party scenes and mouse wars of the first half of the ballet traditionally involve child participants. But this year, because those under 12 aren't yet fully vaccinated and can't join the grown-ups on stage, Cavallari has had to do some radical rethinking.

The Enchanted Gift is recognizably part of the Nutcracker universe, in that it involves one Professor Christmas creating the kind of living, dancing toys that are usually delivered by Herr Drosselmeyer. So the absence of children makes sense in narrative terms, too — after all, they wouldn't want to have their Christmas spoiled by peeking at their presents, would they?

Head of wardrobe Mélanie Ferrero and her army of seamstresses have a battle on their hands at the best of times, with hundreds of costumes going through major repairs and adjustments. Whereas the core design of the company's Nutcracker has remained the same since the show was reimagined in 1987 (23 years after Fernand Nault first choreographed it), this year's changes have added a new front to the battle.

For the first act, Ferrero says, “we went through (Les Grands Ballets') warehouse with the artistic director. We worked really closely with him and built around his ideas. There are lots of nice, amusing characters, like Pinocchio with his nose extension.”

Ferrero is reluctant to give too much away about these extra characters, many of whom are from existing ballets (hence the rummaging through the company's warehouse). But she does promise it will be “fantastic and fun.”

Another major challenge is that the upheavals associated with the COVID crisis have resulted in a loss of 30 per cent of Ferrero's team.

“That meant we lost all that experience of doing The Nutcracker year after year after year,” Ferrero says. “So now, with new people, it's about being more alert and aware of who is doing what. Because we were a solid team and now we have to rebuild it. It's more challenging, but I'm really happy with the way things are going.”

Returning to The Nutcracker every year, Ferrero says, “was always like going back into our old slippers. Now our old slippers are not quite the same as they were ... but it's just another kind of adrenalin, right?”

Ferrero, who joined the company in 2004 after a two-year stint with Cirque du Soleil, worked for more than a decade alongside legendary costume designer François Barbeau, the man behind that 1987 reimagining of The Nutcracker.

“Every year we would sit together at a dress rehearsal and look at every character, and we would do a few designs,” says Ferrero. “This was something that François really enjoyed doing, because he never had the chance to do that in other theatre productions or in movies.

“In 1987, when he did the design for The Nutcracker, they had nine months to create these costumes. It was a nightmare, having a big, big production to produce in such a short time. So, of course, some things were not made to his satisfaction. After 30 years, you can't redo things with the same fabrics as before, because things have evolved. You go with the wave of evolution.”

Barbeau died in 2016, but Ferrero insists that, when it comes to the unending business of decking The Nutcracker, his spirit lives on. She doesn't mean that literally, of course. Or does she? Ferrero closes with an anecdote that would make for a delightful holiday ballet in itself.

“For the first years (after Barbeau's passing), we'd be in the basement, getting the costumes ready, and suddenly there's a fly. This was in mid-october, in November. It was constantly there, coming to every fitting. So we'd say to each other: `That must have been François.' “

AT A GLANCE

The Nutcracker: Clara’s Journey is presented from Dec. 9 to 28 at Salle Wilfrid-pelletier of Place des Arts. Tickets: $50 to $149. Call 514-8422112 or visit placedesarts.com.

The Danse Danse season continues this week with Vancouver's Ballet BC presenting a trio of pieces through Saturday at Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts. They include Garden, by the company's artistic director Medhi Walerski; the techno rave-style Bedroom Folk from choreographer Sharon Eyal and musician Gai Behar, which has proved to be one of Ballet BC'S most successful touring productions; and The Statement, a Kafka-esque blend of drama and dance from the remarkable, multi-award-winning Crystal Pite. Call 514-842-2112 or visit placedesarts.com.

Montreal's very own dance legend Marie Chouinard revives her typically unique take on Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps from Dec. 7 to 11 at Usine C, 1345 Lalonde Ave. First presented in 1993, it dispenses with the original's narrative of a sacrificial Chosen One dancing herself to death and dreams up its own creation myth of sexual, animalistic energy bursting into being. Call 514-5214493 or visit usine-c.com.

Postponed twice due to the pandemic, Heather Mah's Pomegranate finally makes it to the MAI centre, 3680 Jeanne-mance St., from Thursday to Saturday. Mah dances a solo piece that evokes her grandmother's arduous journey from China to Canada. The 2 p.m. presentation on Saturday includes an audio description service for the visually impaired. Call 514-982-1812 or visit m-a-i.qc.ca.

Award-winning choreographer Mélanie Demers continues her exploration of dance and spoken word with Confession publique, playing through Saturday at La Chapelle, 3700 St-dominique St. The bilingual production features Angélique Willkie delivering a raw, intimate confessional. Call 514-843-7738 or visit lachapelle.org.

So now, with new people, it's about being more alert and aware of who is doing what. Because we were a solid team and now we have to rebuild it.

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2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://montrealgazette.pressreader.com/article/283248806222734

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