Review: The Nutcracker by Paul Chalmer with Rome Opera Ballet – alternate cast – magic that illuminates social and gender conflicts

The great Christmas classic, The Nutcracker, returns to the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome in the Art Nouveau version by Canadian choreographer Paul Chalmer and with a new cast of performers. The production enchanted us last year, when we had the pleasure of noticing the intelligent modernisation of the plot thanks to the emphasis on social contrasts, as well as the complex relationship between genders, and finally the element of dream and fantasy.

Paul Chalmer, who first appeared on stage at the National Ballet of Canada in Tchaikovsky‘s symphonic ballet, has examined in depth the psychological ideas deriving from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, reworked through the transposition of Alexandre Dumas père, which were unfortunately lost in the dramaturgical elaboration of the original ballet and in the course of its long history. In reviving them, however, Chalmer has been able to rework them in a compelling way, also thanks to the support of Andrea Miglio’s sets and Gianluca Falaschi’s costumes.

It is immediately clear that the story of the Nutcracker and his gifts is a dream dedicated to a wealthy and elevated context that stands out from the surrounding poverty. But Christmas should be a celebration for everyone, and the gifts offered at the Stahlbaum house only highlight the joys and sufferings of a broader social reality, visible in the world of the fair and Christmas markets, where children hit each other with snowballs. The three central characters are revealed for a moment by the stage lights that isolate them in a timeless photograph – Clara, the Nutcracker Prince, and the godfather Drosselmeyer. The ballet is therefore also the story of an interior formation, of an opening to feelings and love through the charm of the mysterious and the unknown. But above all, the guiding element is Tchaikovsky’s music, which this year resonated in all its power thanks to the energetic, vibrant and sensitive baton of Andrea Quinn, former conductor of the Royal Ballet in London (1998-2001) and of the New York City Ballet (2001-2006). Thanks to her musical direction, the dramaturgical construction of the ballet was appreciated even more. It initially associates the military references of the music with the definition of the masculine thanks to the figure of Fritz, played on 20 December by corps de ballet dancer Alessandro Vinci. In the snappy precision of his movements there is an element of order and rationality giving substance to the surrounding reality, becoming a model for the other children, as well as inspiring the form of the intertwining stage groups.

Nutcracker – with Elena Bidini and Walter Maimone, choreography by Paul Chalmer, photo by Fabrizio Sansoni, Rome Opera Ballet 2023 – 09

Nutcracker – with Elena Bidini and Mattia Tortora, choreography by Paul Chalmer, photo by Fabrizio Sansoni, Rome Opera Ballet 2023 – 07

The costumes are colourful, ample and floaty, and among the children there is no shortage of rocking horses and other toys. The music resonates calmly, but the lines flow with rigor in the formation of rows and circles that condense the space into a very precise logical architecture. The large windows in the background, the golden tree and the clock on one side, as well as the brief irruptions of Drosselmeyer, danced by Mattia Tortora in sequins, suggest that there is much more…

Clara’s grandfather, Manuel Zappacosta, arrives in a wheelchair and the cheerfulness spreads to the surrounding environment, bringing flashes of vitalising confusion. But it is above all the mysteriousness of Drosselmeyer that gives rise to the true story of the ballet – intriguing the children, allowing the evolution of Clara’s capricious femininity in the form of maternal care for the dolls, as well as making the Stahlbaum family participate in the technological conquests of the time, and immortalizing it in a group photo.

The night finally allows the imagination to be freed, and between the ringing of bells, pillow fights and the appearance of not-so-monstrous mice, Elena Bidini (Clara) lets herself go in soft leaps into the arms of Drosselmeyer who invites her to glimpse in the gradual humanisation of the Nutcracker, a door to her own future. So, yes to the grand waving of flags, to warlike battles interspersed with the humour of the appearance of a large piece of cheese, but not only to that… When Clara, after some hesitation, dances with the steadfast Prince Nutcracker, danced by Walter Maimone, the lines become long and dreamy, the lifts reveal the aspiration to a higher world that is embodied in the Waltz of the Snowflakes with its classical flavour although enriched by sophisticated port de bras and lively stage compositions.

The flight of a hot air balloon links the two acts of the current ballet, transporting us definitively into the magical kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy where the masters are three very funny monkeys – Sebastiano Morino, Mike Derrua, and Antonello Mastrangelo – who emerge from the mechanism of a music box. It is the time of divertissement. We can now admire the lively evolutions of the Spanish dance, the sensuality of the Arab dance, the aestheticizing oriental appeal of the dragon in the Chinese dance, the boldness of the Russian dance, the exquisite delicacy of the Mirlitons [a mirliton is a type of flue], and the fluidity of the Waltz of the Flowers in which Clara and our Nutcracker Prince participate.

Nutcracker – with Rebecca Bianchi, choreography by Paul Chalmer, photo by Fabrizio Sansoni, Rome Opera Ballet 2023 – 12

Nutcracker – with Rebecca Bianchi, choreography by Paul Chalmer, photo by Fabrizio Sansoni, Rome Opera Ballet 2023 – 04

But the heart of the whole ballet is the final pas de deux. It is performed by Rebecca Bianchi in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Michele Satriano in the role of her Knight. The company’s étoile reveals an incredibly romantic and elegant aura. Her long lines are accurate and precise. Her arms perfectly frame her steps, giving them a formal completeness, but sometimes also opening up to a softer fluctuation. Satriano, a primo ballerino, is regal and precise in his technical accuracy, distinguishing himself by a virile firmness. The ballet is certainly an abstraction, but it is clear that Clara, lying on the sofa in the final scene, will wake up and find new determination in facing life, remembering her beloved Nutcracker Prince and that bit of folly given to her by Drosselmeyer.

Marta Mele

Graduating with honours in “Literary and Linguistic Studies” at La Sapienza University of Rome with a thesis on ballets inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s works, Marta Mele subsequently specialised in “History and Theory of Choreographic Art” at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg.

She translated from Russian the autobiography of the dancer Natalia Makarova for Gremese publishing house, and edited the Italian edition of the book Swans of the Kremlin by the scholar Christina Ezrahi.

After participating in two conferences dedicated to the bicentenary of the birth of Marius Petipa, she won the La Sapienza University’s PhD competition in Music and Performing Arts, and in 2022 received her doctorate with ‘eccellente’, her thesis entitled Ballet in Leningrad between avant-garde and ideology.

Marta participates in national and international conferences in performing arts research and writes for scientific reviews such as Danza e Ricerca, Biblioteca Teatrale and SigMa. As a dance journalist, she began by collaborating with the Russian dance magazine PROTanec, and she also writes for GBOpera.