The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Shopping
    • Stores
    • Coupons
    • Daily Double
    • Promotion
    • How It Works
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • Commentary

    Suicide pact

  • World

    Italian arrests tied to '08 Mumbai attacks

  • Culture

    DESIGN: Exhibits traces decades-old fashion, fabric trends

  • Investigation

    Anglers serve time for black-market rockfish trade

  • World

    Islamic center in Maryland keeps ties to Iran

  • Politics

    ANALYSIS: Obama takes a bow, but applause is weak

  • Politics

    Republican governors: 'Opt out' unworkable

Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Beautiful 'Swan'

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • Iran: Missiles ready for Israel, U.S. bases if attacked
  • Massive bill steals show in health care debate
  • Coal mine blast kills 42 in China; 66 trapped
  • Obama: Asia trip a boost to U.S. economy

By

The Kirov Ballet, the birthplace of Tchaikovsky ballets, is dancing two of them here this fortnight: "The Nutcracker," which concluded Sunday, and "Swan Lake," which opened last night.

These two Russian productions stand in stark contrast to each other. "Swan Lake" has been performed here in the past and follows traditional staging. "The Nutcracker," on the other hand, is iconoclastic and controversial.

This well-known Christmas ballet -- which ended a five-day engagement Sunday at the Kennedy Center's Opera House -- was given a massive and quite ugly staging by the designer Mikhail Chemiakin, who also created the sets and costumes and rewrote the libretto, making it murkier and sardonic in tone.

This was a "Nutcracker" in which the designer was king, and the choreographer, a young and inexperienced Kirill Simonov, was faced with the daunting task of trying to make a meaningful contribution through dance. Not surprisingly, he seldom succeeded.

"The Nutcracker" has always been more popular in this country than abroad, perhaps because this relatively young nation is comfortable with a story that tells not of princes or swan queens, but of a middle-class family gathered for a holiday party.

In Europe and in Russia, where it was first seen, this was viewed as a boring locus for a ballet. During its 1892 premiere in St. Petersburg, the artist and balletomane Alexandre Benois wrote, "We were obliged to contemplate during a whole hour the salon of some rich parvenu banker in the Friedrichstrasse style. It was stupid, coarse, heavy and dark."

Some might call that an accurate description of the Kirov's "Nutcracker." Herr and Frau Stahlbaum, the parents of the ballet's young heroine (called Masha in this production) are preening caricatures ... and the house in which they live resembles a dark hunting lodge, with gigantic heads of animals ringing the walls.

The principal appeal of "The Nutcracker" in this country is its two key elements: Tchaikovsky's radiant score and George Balanchine's magical staging of the ballet, the inspiration for many of the hundreds of "Nutcrackers" seen in America each year. Mr. Balanchine danced in the ballet when he was a student at the Mariinsky Ballet School in St. Petersburg and obviously tried to recapture the feeling of wonder it inspired in him as a child.

Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, the last ballet he composed, is central to the ballet's success. But here, it is Mr. Chemiakin who usurps the central role.

123Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. Health bill could get 34-hour reading in Senate
  2. Work site arrests of illegals fall dramatically
  3. Senate health care bill creates new marriage penalty
  4. Massive bill steals show in health care debate
  5. KELLNER: New Apple mouse really is 'Magic'
More Top Stories »
  1. Report: D.C. schools chief Rhee mishandled sexual misconduct scandal
  2. 19 gang members face racketeering charges
  3. EXCLUSIVE: Taliban chief hides in Pakistan
  4. EXCLUSIVE: Hoffman considering recount claim
  5. PRUDEN: Obama bows, the nation cringes

Most Shared

  1. Religious leaders vow civil disobedience on anti-life issues
  2. Report: D.C. schools chief Rhee mishandled sexual misconduct scandal
  3. PRUDEN: Obama bows, the nation cringes
  4. Faint Shroud of Turin text proves artifact real, book says
  5. EDITORIAL: Chicago, Afghan-style
More Top Stories »
  1. Massive bill steals show in health care debate
  2. Socialist or vast expansion?
  3. Senate health care bill creates new marriage penalty
  4. PRUDEN: The Third World and Obama
  5. EDITORIAL: Gunning for Sarah Palin

Most Commented

  1. Religious leaders vow civil disobedience on anti-life issues
  2. PRUDEN: The Third World and Obama
  3. Army lacks guidelines to deal with jihadists in ranks
  4. Work site arrests of illegals fall dramatically
  5. Senate health care bill creates new marriage penalty
More Top Stories »
  1. EDITORIAL: Get ready to bomb Iran
  2. Dems up pressure on health bill's holdouts
  3. EXCLUSIVE: Taliban chief hides in Pakistan
  4. Obama's approval rating falls below 50%
  5. Unforeseen climate 'crisis'

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • Hot Button Blog

    RNC: Breast cancer recommendations may lead to 'rationing'

  • Belief Blog

    Evangelicals OK civil disobedience

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • Redskins 360

    Rookie Williams hurts ankle

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.