Review: The Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker – the most elaborate and grandiose of all UK stagings – with Sasaki, Rovero, Zambon, Junker, and Hay
Jonathan Gray finds much to enjoy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker with an impressive young cast.
| Title | The Nutcracker |
| Company | The Royal Ballet |
| Venue | Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden, London |
| Date | 22 December 2025 |
| Reviewer | Jonathan Gray |
It’s December, and London is awash with productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Not only is The Royal Ballet presenting Peter Wright’s 1984 seasonal favourite at Covent Garden, but English National Ballet is performing its newish version of The Nutcracker down the road at the London Coliseum. Last week, New English Ballet Theatre unveiled a new chamber version of The Nutcracker choreographed by Valentino Zucchetti at LAMDA’s Sainsbury Theatre, and, very soon, Birmingham Royal Ballet will be dancing another production, also choreographed by Wright, at the Royal Albert Hall. Talk about overkill.
With so much choice on offer, and with rising ticket prices (the Royal Ballet and Opera recently announced – as if it were a Broadway theatre – that it would be introducing a dynamic ticketing scheme, which will surely result in performances becoming even more elitist and out of reach for all but the very wealthy), sometimes you simply need to make a decision about what to see and what to miss. So, for 2025, I elected to stick with The Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker.
Wright’s production, designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman, continues to be the most elaborate and grandiose of all UK stagings of the ballet, with a magnificent Christmas tree that grows to huge proportions, hovering Christmas Angels that accompany Clara and The Nutcracker on their travels through clouds and the Land of Snow, to the sugar-icing rococo garden of the Kingdom of Sweets. It looks and feels very cosy, and The Royal Ballet perform it like clockwork, although I wish Trevelyan Oman had introduced more colour into her costumes, which look a little pallid. I also wish Wright’s choreography was more distinguished than it is but I appreciate the fact that he has at least retained the Grand Pas de Deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince that Lev Ivanov created for the original Russian production back in 1892, which cannot be bettered.
At the matinée on 22 December, a “Family Friendly Performance”, nearly all the cast in the leading roles were new to me. As Clara, Ginevra Zambon was charming and bright-eyed with wonder, her dancing fleet and musical, and I especially admired the way she developed a convincing sibling relationship with Rafferty Smale, who appeared as her brother, Fritz. Later, Zambon projected beautifully her growing love for The Nutcracker, performed by the gallant Joshua Junker, who was particularly good in his mime scene in the second act where he describes to the Sugar Plum Fairy his battle with the Mouse King, and how Clara saved him. Zambon also had an exemplary partner during the opening party scene, dancing with Harrison Lee, whose beautifully pointed feet, buoyant jumps and ardent attention made one a little sad that, at the end of the ballet, he would not be winning Clara’s hand for himself.
First soloist Mariko Sasaki, who also has Swan Lake‘s Odette/Odile under her belt, danced the Sugar Plum Fairy at this performance. She is beautifully neat and precise in the role, with filigree footwork, and she dances with a spun-sugar quality that is almost immaculate. She gives an extremely accomplished performance, and all that Sasaki lacks, at present, is the grandeur of a true ballerina, which she can, surely, attain in the future. Joining Sasaki as The Prince was young Giacomo Rovero in his first danseur noble role. He made a very favourable impression, partnering his ballerina with chivalrous care, and dancing with flair. I was particularly impressed by Rovero’s high, confident jumps, which he landed almost silently, and the simple warmth and appeal of his personality. It was a highly promising debut.
Elsewhere in this performance there was much to enjoy, from Julia Roscoe’s elegant Dancing Mistress in the party scene to Mica Bradbury’s Rose Fairy, leading the corps de ballet in the Waltz of the Flowers with alacrity. James Hay made a strong early attempt as Herr Drosselmeyer, a crucial role in Wright’s production, although he doesn’t yet bring the command and magnetism to the role as did Gary Avis, who recently retired from The Royal Ballet. Avis is a hard act to follow, and he is also someone who will be much missed.
Jonathan Gray was editor of Dancing Times from 2008 to 2022.
He studied at The Royal Ballet School, Leicester Polytechnic, and Wimbledon School of Art where he graduated with a BA Hons in Theatre Design. He was on the Curatorial Staff of the Theatre Museum, London, from 1989 to 2005, assisting on a number of dance-related exhibitions, and helping with the recreation of original designs for a number of The Royal Ballet’s productions including Danses concertantes, Daphnis and Chloë, and The Sleeping Beauty.
Jonathan Gray has also contributed to the Financial Times and The Guardian, written programme articles for The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, and is co-author of the book Unleashing Britain: Theatre gets real 1955-64, published in 2005. He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
Thank you, Jon. I wish I had seen this cast – Rovero is someone we have had our eye on for quite a while … Avis? What happened? We do wonder. Big shoes to fill, but many opportunities created. Happy Christmas!