Sometimes Reviewers Don't Always Get it Right
Merry Christmas! Hope you're having a magical day.
As a lifelong ballet fan, a huge part of my holiday season is the Nutcracker. As you can see from last year's gift opening, I received a Clara-with-a-Nutcracker-doll ornament from my sister (hanging this year on the tree) and a Nutcracker mug from my husband.
Over the years, I've collected many Nutcracker-themed ornaments and will keep up my search. There's never enough Nutcracker for me.
One of my dance-lover friends sent me a link to this article which looks back at the initial reviewers' responses to this seasonal favorite:
My top two misguided observations:
"It has too little action and machines [for a vaudeville-type show] whereas for a ballet there aren't enough dances."
As for the music of the...pas de deux...it is not interesting in any respect and is quite simply boring, and most important, it is unsuitable for dancing."
(article by Arika Okrent)
As my Christmas gift to you, I'd like to share the final part of the grand pas de deux from the Mariinsky's version of the Nutcracker (the Mariinsky was formerly named the Kirov during the Soviet era.)
Featuring Alina Somova as Maria/Clara and Vladimir Shklyarov as the Nutcracker Prince
Evidently, Tchaikovsky hated the Nutcracker Ballet. Yet, it is one of his best loved and enduring works. Sometimes it's not only the reviewers that get it wrong. :)
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