"Nutcracker"
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial House
San Francisco, CA
December 11, 2013"
by Rita Felciano
Copyright © Rita Felciano, 2013
In its tenth year, Helgi Tomasson's "Nutcracker" has acquired a burnt gold sheen which warms a production that initially looked overly cool. The parts have melded into a convincing whole that made watching this particular return just about pure pleasure. All of it happened without relinquishing the reserve and elegance that characterize Tomasson's approach to this story about family, love and growing up. Even the scenery -- Edwardian and solid in the first act, luminous and spare in the second -- appeared to dance. After intermission James Ingalls' luminous and transparent lighting brought the spare prop-like sets to life. The stage looked as if kissed by the fog. Major credit also belongs to Martin West's calm, unhurried, yet never sluggish interpretation, particularly in which he teased out Tchaikovsky's brilliant orchestration. No wonder that in the opening scene, Rubén Martin Cintas, in his first Drosselmeyer, responded so strongly to the music's sweep.