Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker (The Royal Ballet) (DVD, 2001)

This is a good example of classical ballet as the originators saw it. Sir Peter Wright usually sticks to tradition in his productions, and you won't see "gimmicks" used that distract from the original. It is a live stage production from the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, with a real audience, but it is not a "noisy" stage. By that, I mean the pointe shoes are not noisy, but you do hear them. The British audiences are very restrained in their enthusiasm, and do not interrupt the dances with applause.

Clara is danced by Alina Cojocaru, an adult and capable dancer who is able to dance in the final act with her Nutcracker Prince, Ivan Petrov, and is not just a spectator guest in the magic Kingdom of Sweets. The toymaker Drosselmeyer, is acted by Anthony Dowell. The Sugar Plum Fairy was danced by Meyako Yoshida, who is absolutely beautiful in the role. Her partner was Jonathan Cope, who partnered with Leanne Benjamen in the BBC production of Firebird, another must have DVD. Cope is very tall, and Yoshida is quite short, so she is a diminutive little doll next to him. I can't begin to tell you how much I liked her as the Sugar Plum Fairy. It may or may not disappoint you to know that there is no Mother Gigogne and her little Clowns.

The sets and costuming in this ballet are spectacular. The lighting perfect and the music magnificent. Need any more superlatives? My copy came from China, so since I can't read Chinese, I had to view the ballet just to get some of this information. The running time is 107 minutes, including credits, which is about right for a complete "Nutcracker". There is a good bit (about 25 minutes) of bonus material, which you will enjoy, telling about this production. How they caused the Christmas tree to grow was very interesting, among other things. I highly recommend this "Nutcracker".

The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden is excellent, and the production of this ballet in 2000 was first-rate. I have three Royal Ballet DVDs, and they are all wonderful. Even the 1969 production of Cinderella was very good, although not technically as good as the Nutcracker. They also did Peter and the Wolf (also first-rate), and my 4 year old grand daughter loves it. I bought all of these for my grand daughter, but I like them too. I will probably buy more of the Royal Ballet's DVDs.