There are dozens of traditions associated with Christmas - eating turkey, watching elderly relatives drink too much, watching the film “Home Alone”…. In fact, child actor Macauley Culkin has become such a part of our family Christmas that it’s difficult to imagine it without him (we’ve stopped short of inviting him to dinner, however…!)
They have similar traditions in New York, of course, but to this you can add the annual staging of ‘The Nutcracker’ by the esteemed New York Ballet, which has performed Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece every year since 1954 and is now an essential part of the Big Apple’s festive season.
This year, The Sage Gateshead offered the chance to watch the New York Ballet dance ‘The Nutcracker’, starring Macauley Culkin of all people, and with a score performed by the Northern Sinfonia. Had all my Christmases come at once, I asked!
Any confusion about how a full ballet could be staged in The Sage Gateshead’s Hall 1 was quickly explained by the projection screen hanging above the orchestra. This was not to be a live ballet performance, but a screening of the 1993 film of the New York Ballet’s The Nutcracker, which indeed starred Macauley Culkin. Although the film has its own soundtrack, this was turned off and the full might of the Northern Sinfonia was assembled on stage to perform Tchaikovsky’s lyrical soundtrack instead - a surprisingly simple way of bringing the New York Ballet, with a live orchestra, to Gateshead.
Did I say simple? Forget it. This was certainly no picnic for conductor Carl Davis, who not only had a full orchestra to control, he also had to synchronise their music with a film screened 6 metres above their heads – no easy task, but one he generally managed with some aplomb.
The film itself is visually stunning, but this is very much a film of a stage production and as a result can sometimes look a little stagey and constricted, especially to eyes more used to watching cinema. And, at first, you can feel confused as to whether you should be watching the orchestra or the film. But confusion quickly dissipates in the second half of the performance as your eyes are drawn completely by the ballet’s series of spectacular dancing set pieces.
Not that you are never less than totally aware of the orchestra. With Carl Davis at the helm, the Northern Sinfonia - joined briefly by the Girls Choir singing from the balcony - perform Tchaikovsky’s score with joy and panache.
So did this work as a ballet performance? Well, yes and no - but mostly no. The film is a little stagey, the screen rather small and light from the stage makes its projection difficult. It’s also impossible to engage with the dancers as you would with a live performance.
But what you do get is the one of the UK’s finest orchestra’s in full cry and that’s worth the price of the ticket. The film is a bonus which, as well as giving you a glimpse of one the world’s great ballets, provides a captivating visual storyline to the music.