‘Nutcracker’ Is Breathtakingly Beautiful

“The Nutcracker” By Alberta Ballet and the Spokane Symphony, Thursday, Opera House

If “The Nutcracker” is visually beautiful, almost everything else is secondary or scarcely even matters. On the aesthetic front, Alberta Ballet’s “Nutcracker” is a stunning success.

It would be difficult to imagine costumes that could exceed the gorgeous flowing gowns of the dancers at the party scenes, the soft pink dresses of the Snowflakes or the formal and sumptuous tutu worn by the Snow Queen.

The audience Thursday night gasped as the sets for the Land of Snow gracefully unfolded even as the dancing continued. This new aspect was simply breathtaking in its beauty.

When the snow fell softly over the Land and the music quieted as the Snowflakes spun about the stage en pointe, it was, well, magic.

And, where some “Nutcrackers” seem to drag on through the evening, even as the ballet Thursday approached the three-hour mark, it clipped along with smooth transitions from the Land of Snow into the Kingdom of Magic and back to the parlor where the party scene opened the show. It seemed a fast-paced parade of dancers in lively costumes and interesting characters. The action continued nonstop and appeared to keep even the youngest children in the audience rapt throughout.

The Spokane Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Jung-Ho Pak, also seemed to be caught up in the spirit of the Christmas ballet. In all the years I’ve been reviewing “Nutcrackers” here, I’ve not heard the symphony turn in such a fine performance.

Pak maintained a spicy tempo that challenged the dancers at times but which lent an exciting urgency to the story and propelled it along through the evening. At several points during the ballet, the music was so rich and had such great depth, I became so caught up in the auditory experience I wanted to close my eyes and breathe in the orchestral outpourings.

I didn’t, of course, because “The Nutcracker” is about dancing. And, if this production fell short on any front, it was in the dancing. Perhaps because the sets are wonderful, the costumes beautiful, the choreography smooth and complex and the orchestral performance first-rate, I so wanted the evening to be perfect. And it nearly was. The dozens of children who danced the parts of angels and sheep and party children performed with aplomb. Whitney Cover was especially good in the demanding role of Clara.

But “The Nutcracker” calls for dancing in the second half, especially by the Russian, Arabian, Chinese and Spanish dancers that can wow the audience. Thursday night it did not. Oh, there were moments of polite applause following these passages. But I have seen them performed with such energy and technical skill it nearly brings the audience to its feet mid-dance, whistling and cheering following each passage (although we won’t debate the appropriateness of whistling at the ballet here).

Is this lapse so marked it flaws the entire production? No. But in so many other ways the ballet attains the high standard set by Alberta Ballet; it’s only a small disappointment when one aspect falls short of perfection.

, DataTimes MEMO: “The Nutcracker” continues today at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Opera House.