New Nutcracker by Krysztof Pastor for

The Lithuanian National Ballet in Vilnius

Review by Henning Høholt, Fotos Martynas Aleksa, LNOBT. We do regret that not all the photos shown here, are showing the dancers who was on stage the actual evening, when we made the review, but to present the ballet, we use them as illustration photos. 

VILNIUS/LITHUANIA: The balletchief Krysztof Pastor has himself made a new Nutcracker for his Lithuanian National Ballet

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. It is a good renewing to the repertoire, which for shure will be a long time succes for the company
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It includes a lot of dancieng with many succesfull group arrangements from the start to the end, and out of these wellformed groups are coming smaller and larger soloparts for one soloists or a leading couple. It is a Nutcracker full of dance.

 

The famouse divertissement in the end of the second act, with all the famouse music, is full of good, renewed ideas, and is pleasing a critic eye, used to see many different Nutcracker productions in all corners of Europe.

The costumes (and wigs)  in Ludvig 14th style are looking beautiful and it is clear that the costume and wig departement has had, and has made a good job for a long time, and, to my oppinnion has been succesfull.

Allready in the opening sequence I feel pleased to note the elegant idea that letting some dancers enter stage on scates (hidden rollscates) and on kick sledge, esactly as it could be seen in former days in Vilnius, – which is portrayed at the nice picture at the back wall. scenografi Vaclav Okunes. And in fact as they are scating to day at the red Square. However, it is then a bit difficult with all the people walking at the same time at the ice. But a very talented idea with some humoristic details.

The Christmas party starts well, and even father Christmas is entering and handing out presents, however, If I was one of the childrens, I would have been opening the packets imediately, but they wait until they are of stage.

Out of the Christmas party comes, as usual, some dances, i liked specially the two times with the six boys coming in galop out on stage to the trumpet soli in the orchestra, one of the guys on stage has a trumpet and another one a drum, and disturbing the others on stage. – That works very well. I missed The Reel solo, that is often being danced ny Maria in other places, that gives her an extra solo, which is good
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For me it is a bit complicated with all the dolls coming out and in of the cabinet that Drosselmeyer, Marius Miliauskas, has been bringing on stage, to entertain at the party, and that these dolls are so “locked/stiff”, still that some of the dancers are playing with their arms, to let them work. It is great, when they are changed to alive dancers, where specailly the Nutcracker movements were excellent made, he looked like a real doll.

Marius Miliauskas is doing a good job as Drosselmeyer. It is him who is running the show all the way. He has a great stage presence, and his introductions in the second act to all the different soli parts are well made, and understandable for the audience.

For me the opening Christmas party is importent, as it is bringing us in to the history about Maria and telling why we later she what she is dreaming about, therefore all these effects and the details that happens are importent. 

In that,  I am missing a more clear concentration of the family groups. To me it is never clear who of the elderly and who of the children are belonging to what family, they are just dancers from the company at the same party.This could be more clearly staged. As no families in the world are alike, the families, who are participating in this special Christamad party in the Nutcracker, could or even would be prefered to have their differences or variations, as they clearly have in the nice costumes. Furthermore, I dont find out who is mr. and mrs
. Stahlbaum on stage, to me they are invisible, and still they are importent as the father and mother of Maria.

Grand mother, Jelena Lebedeva and Grand father,  Valerijus Fadejevas, on stage, which are doing a good job in their details, are neither clearly focused. Too much is going on, but quite uncontrolled and a bit confusing. Well, I know that is not importent for the children in the audience, but when Nutcracker is build on a wellknown fairytale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, there is in fact a background history to form it on.

The young teen-age dancers playing children, does their best to act ac children, and in fact some of their dancing groups are very good, but I don´t have the feeling that these are children.

When the nice eight small mouses are entering stage, I see that now childrens are entering stage, the do a good job, however they have only a few well formed dancing steps, but it works. Led by the Mouse Queen, Kristina Galalyté.

The fight between the nutcracker army  and the mouses is good, the army is looking very well prepared, and they are clearly having fun, so do the mouses running around.

In the middle of that again some nice dancing with Maria (as Clara is called in Vilnius) and first her brother, later the Prince works well, his demasking from an excellent real Nutcracker doll to human being was discretely and elegant done on stage.  – with the good help of Drosselmeyer, Marius Miliauskas, he is at all time clearly present on stage.

The Lithuanian National Ballet has the problem, as unfortunately many other big companies has, that they don´t have their own ballet school, this don´t give them the easy cooperation for such ballets like the Nutcracker, where for exempel in Oslo, this year nearly 90 children from their own ballet school is participating, and they even has a small Clara (Maria) and Franz (Fritz) on stage, who are then during the way being changed out with adult dancers.

That Vilnius has their great Ciurlionis Academy is good, but that neither the ballet part nor the opera part is directly connected to the Lithuanian National Opera & Ballet, gives them the practical cooperation problem, which only can get to work, when they, as in other houses, are being situated in the same house. Therefore they can´t manage to have the children on their afternoon classes in the same house and after the class, walking on stage and ending up as dancing in a Nutcracker, or in other performances, where childrens are needed, or could be wished.  This situation, I don´t believe will ever be changed in Vilnius. At least not with the present institutions houses and distances between them. But that is an other problem.

The large and very well formed snow flake part, that ends the first act was beautiful formed and danced by the whole group of female dancers, including the two soloists Ruta Juodzeviciute and Oriana Jimenez,

Musically the choreographer has let their movements in some parts deleciously following the music, more than I am used to, that works very well, and was a success. The childrens choir sung well, hidden left in the orchester pit, doing the last part.

I would have liked that the front see through curtain was lifted during this part, after we have seen the snow started falling, as the dancers are doing too god a job on stage, to “hide” them in this way, because of that the snow shall fall on them.

It could have been solved in another way, and we see the snow fall so many times doing this production, so we know that this details exist. Furthermore the two female snowflake soloists, could have been even more clearly shown, to my pleasure , as I noticed, very good choreographic details, well danced.

The second act start is difficult every where, to get loosed up the conflict between the mouses and the army, but here they also managed, but it was very much running around, and in the middle of that some nice dancing parts from Maria and her Prince.

The divertisement presented some realy good details. For each part of it, a matching back carpet,, which gave the right atmosphaere. I liked that the Spanish dance was with female Toreadors, Daria Olefirenko and Aleksandra Ivanova and male Bulls, Igoris Zaripovas and Kipras Chlebinskas, two of the companys best male dancers to day.  that was a new entrance to the Spanish Dance, they danced well.

The Oriental part was beautiful, with two good soloists,  Eligijus Butkus and Marta Rueda. However, to me, the tempo was a bit too slow, and during that I noticed that the children in the audience was loosing the interest.

Furthermore to reduce the side light as it was done, the light didn´t look well. And for the dancers, it needs an even stronger expression to fill up the stage, when the light is so clearly focused on them.

 

The idea for the Chinese pas de trois,  with a Tea pot and two cups was good, with Olga Lopatcenko, Julia Turkina and Lahmis Roslekas, this idea was an amusing  renewing to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Grand Pas de deux between the two leading soloists in the production, tonight Kristina Gudzionaité and Stanislav Semianiura is made, so that it shall be the absolute highlight of the Nutcracker.

Unfortunately that didn’t happend to night with Kristina Gudzionaité and Stanislav Semianiura in the leading roles.

Well, to be honest, – it started quite well, She looks beautiful on stage in the tutu, In the opening part she has the star look.

He is a handsome strong dancer. All his lifts were very good, she was feeling safe, and she looked very beautiful, he took good care of her as partner. He placed her carefully down each time. And her elegant details in the first part of the P.d.d. was looking beautifull. So far good.

However, since this part choreography is a very well known part internationally, and here in Vilnius only with a few details changed. as that they are ending up towards left (seen from the stage side) and not to the right in the very end of the Coda. I have to admit that he didn’t cooperate well in all the other details, where they shall be together. He didn’t stretch his legs, feets, arms and hands so it cooperated with hers. Since he allways is the one behind, he is the one who need to follow her for a good result. This is the only real dancing presentation of the two stars, this is expected to be perfect. To lift the performance, so the audience leave the theater with a WOW feeling.

Then his first solo was average. Not a bravo solo. After that she entered for her first solo, which i hoped would be wonderful. It started well, but unfortunately several details were average in quality, and she didn’t manage to run backwords on too tips, it was only a tripping in the one side. The two parts in the Coda was unfortunately of the same not brilliant quality.
It seems to me. That the lithuanian national ballet company need a coach, eventually guesting some times, who can take care of helping such talented and nice dancers to lift them to the star level. As this great new Nutcracker, with so many good details and good dancers deserve only the best.

Therefore the highlight in the divertisement became the Flower waltz, danced by 18 well prepared dancers of high standard, 16 in corps de ballet, with many beautiful details, and headed by its two soloists Oriana Jimenez and Ignis Armalis.

The Orchestra sounded some of the best I have heard for a long time. It was clear, that they have been playing Nutcracker music before, and now this year have repeated it again, Conducted by Modestas Barkauskas.

The new Lithuanian Nutcracker staged by Kryztof Pastor is a good renewing, it looks beautiful.

Good -beautiful costumes, back carpets matching well the different parts. Very beautiful with the foyer of Palais Garnier for the Flower Waltz.

Scenografy by Vaclav Okunes.

Good luck.

Casting the 7. January 2015 was:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cast 7. January 2015: