Megaliths nutcracker not top notch
Saw a a ballet performance Manchester Opera House the Nutcracker by the Mergaliyev ballet company.
First time I have seen this ballet.
Overall the performance was good and charming with some magical moments.
The male dancers were very good. The Nutcracker prince was exceptionally graceful and danced beautifully.
The set was ok. The first scene in the house with Xmas tree was lovely. The ice forest was good. I wasn’t keen on the last backdrop which was unrelated to the story in my opinion. A lot more effort to make the backdrop beautiful rather than functional would have been good.
The costumes on the whole were good to average.
Disappointed with the Nutcracker Prince costume. He could have had a beard and hat and be transformed into the prince for dancing.
The mice costumes were unattractive. Mice could have had grey tights and jackets with whiskers or something.
The mouse king costume was very basic. Just a crown added. Not really good enough.
The choreography sadly did match the music in many places. It was repetitive and the moves were basic and lots of poses. I suppose limited by the skills of the dancers maybe. Maybe the more expensive valet companies get the better choreography and performers. The waltz of the flowers was especially disappointing.
Overall the costumes, choreography and set designs were not top notch.
The live orchestra was very good and enjoyable.