“The Nutcracker”
Perm Ballet
Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre
Perm, Russia
December 31, 2024 (live stream)
by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf
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Like all Russian ballet companies, Perm Ballet, one of the country’s leading troupes, presented The Nutcracker during the Christmas season. Their version is by Alexey Miroshnichenko, artistic director of the Perm Ballet since 2009, and premiered in December 2017. I watched the live stream of the performance on New Year’s Eve. Miroshnichenko relocated the fairy tale to the St. Petersburg of 1892 (where Petipa’s The Nutcracker had its world premiere at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre) where the dusky streets were bustling. Traders with vendors’ trays offered hot drinks and sweets, sleighs crossed pedestrians’ paths, and anticipation put a spring in everyone’s step. |
Many headed to the Stahlbaums where the Christmas hurly-burly was in full swing. The finishing touches had just been put on the tree when presents were dispersed and the jaunty youth took to the floor.
Together with Uncle Drosselmeyer (Marat Fadeev), magic found its way into the house, which was perhaps why Marie (Polina Lantseva) suddenly noticed a young officer who had appeared on a painting on the wall. He seemed to be addressing her, but his face quickly vanished. The huge snake that Drosselmeyer conjured and threw at the baffled young men lasted longer. He also directed a play (instead of the traditional puppet dance) for which he recruited members of the Stahlbaum family. They played an abridged scene of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in which two mice—Madam Mouserings (played by grandfather Stahlbaum) and the Mouse King (Artyom Mishakov)—nibbled Princess Pirlipat (played by Marie’s sister Louise/Ekaterina Zenkovich) whereby her head turned into an ugly mask. Drosselmeyer and the kitchen boy (played by Drosselmeyer’s nephew, Sergei Ugryumov) restored her beauty with the help of the giant nut, Krakatuk. Unfortunately, the mice cast a spell on the kitchen boy before they fled, turning him into a wooden nutcracker.
This nutcracker became Marie’s favorite present and the object of her brother Fritz’s (Alexander Taranov) envy. It broke during their quarrel but was repaired by Drosselmeyer’s hands, and Fritz continued to disturb the party one way or the other. That didn’t prevent the three officers among the guests from cutting a mean rug, which was so polished that it made the company’s high standards obvious.
| Once Marie had fallen asleep, her uncle’s play continued in her dream. Louise, still dressed as Pirlipat, tried in vain to prevent the detention of the kitchen boy for stealing sweets. The Mouse King reappeared as well, but just as he threateningly positioned himself next to Marie’s bed, Drosselmeyer turned up. Upon the twelfth stroke of his pocket watch, he took Marie back to the parlor where the Christmas tree had grown to a mountainous height (set design by Alyona Pikalova). At its feet, the Mouse King and his army—cute-looking plush rodents with hand-like paws—marched against the Nutcracker (Sergei Ugryumov) and his toy soldiers but eventually succumbed to their opponents’ superior tactics. |
The Nutcracker recovered consciousness after his ferocious duel with the Mouse King, transformed into a Prince, and became enamored with Marie at first sight. Both sailed with such ease through the challenging choreography of their romantic pas de deux that I sat back, happy for the opportunity to watch prowess that has become rare on Western stages.
Before the lovers set off to their pre-honeymoon, they found themselves in the wintry arena of an ice dome. The whirl of spiky, silver-gray snowflakes around them (costumes by Tatiana Noginova) was less enchanting than freeze-inducing. But the carol of eight gold-winged angels (played by children) called two cuddly polar bears on the scene who collected the couple in their huge basket and carried them to warmer realms.
Guarded by the angels, Marie and the Prince arrived at Blumenburg in Act II, a meeting place for lovers from all over the world. Its reigning King and Queen (who wore voluminous robes reminiscent of fancy paper outfits for toy royals) bore a striking resemblance to Marie’s parents. Once watered, their garden of lotuses, lilies, roses, and peonies came magically to life and, together with the court society, listened to the Prince’s account of his and Marie’s adventures. In the following merrymaking, the performance of the Spanish guests (Ekaterina Poleshchuk and Vladimir Tsymbalyuk) sparked, the supple Arabians (Albina Rangulova and Klim Krein) hypnotized their audience with an acrobatic pas de deux, and the Chinese (Lyaisan Gisatullina and Arnai Omarbaev) scurried and jumped tirelessly like wind-up toys. The Russians (Elena Khvatova and Artyom Mishakov) had a blast cavorting like dervishes, the Italian couple (Anne Jullieth Pinheiro, whose muslin skirt was gorgeously fluffy, and Nathan Fernandes) finished their decorous dance with a kiss on the hand, and the enamored Mirlitons (Marina Shutova and Nikolay Lantsev) kidded each other with broad grins.
The unpretentious grace and clarity of Marie’s and the Prince’s pas de deux bore witness to the depth of their feelings, but when the Prince asked to stay at Blumenburg forever and Marie hesitated, the fairy world suddenly collapsed.
Upon waking at Fritz’s blaring trumpet, Marie rushed out of bed and onto St.Petersburg’s streets to search for the Prince from her dream. She found him next to a circus whose artists looked strikingly similar to the couples that Marie encountered at Blumenburg. It was Drosselmeyer’s nephew, and he too recognized her.
At the stand of the Perm Symphony Orchestra stood Ivan Khudyakov-Vedenyapin, twenty-six years old and conductor in Perm since 2021. Under his baton, Tchaikovsky’s score (which was extended by an epilogue) sounded vibrant and colorful.
| Links: | Website of the Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre | |
| Editing: | Kayla Kauffman |
