THE NUTCRACKER

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com

YOU WOULD THINK FOR 2 MILLION DOLLARS THEY WOULD START ON TIME....NO !

8 MINUTES LATE...!

OK...
......NOW...

THIS THE NEVADA BALLET THEATRES FINEST HOUR AND THIS RIGHT ON TOP OF THEIR PREVIOUS FINEST HOUR WITH JEWELS.....THAT JUST TWO MONTHS AGO.

THE THEME OF THE NEVADA BALLET THEATRE SEEMS TO BE TO CONSTANTLY  TOP THEMSELVES AND DO EVER INCREASINGLY BRILLIANT BALLET PRODUCTIONS......THEY ARE SUCCEEDING IN THIS EFFORT.  BELIEVE ME THIS IS WORLD CLASS STUFF AS GOOD AS ANYTHING IN THE WORLD !

WHAT AN INDESCRIBABLY  MAMMOTH EFFORT HERE !

IN 1891-1892 PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY WROTE THE MUSIC FOR THIS BALLET....IT REMAINS AS MY COLLEAGUE FROM THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL WROTE...."IMPERISHABLE".   GREAT DESCRIPTION..........THIS MUSIC FROM THE WORLDS SECOND GREATEST COMPOSER (OBVIOUSLY LENNON-MCCARTNEY) ....TCHAIKOVSKY'S WORK HERE ALSO " FOR THE AGES" AND ENOUGH IN ITSELF FOR A HALL OF FAME CONCERT....THEN WE PUT THE BALLET OVER THE SCORE.....36 OF LAS VEGAS FINEST MUSICIANS UNDER THE DIRECTON (ONLY PERFECT) OF JACK GAUGHAN.   GUAGHAN JUST FINISHED 5 YEARS WITH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA AT THE VENETIAN....WHAT A LUCKY AND SKILLED GUY...HE GETS BACK TO BACK WORLD ENDURING SCORES....HE WAS MORE THAN ABLE.

OH YAH THE LATE BALLET.....!

HOW COULD YOU EVER SEE A BETTER ONE THAN THIS....THE STAGE OPENED WITH A 4 STORY HOUSE...TO INCLUDE THE STAIRCASE THAT THEY USED AND FOR ALL FOUR FLOORS...ALMOST TOO MUCH....REALLY..... THE FIRST HALF, LOTS OF PAGENTRY WITH THE ALWAYS EXQUISITE COSTUMES AND DANCING IN THE SNOW....CAME OFF PERFECTLY.  I WONDERED IF THE SNOW ON THE STAGE WOULD BE A DISTRACTION OR DANGER FOR THE DANCERS...THE ANSWERE OBVIOUSLY NOT... THEY WERE PERFECT.

TRYING TO THINK HOW UNFAIR IT IS TO TRY AND CAPTURE WHAT I SAW AND PUT IT ON PAGE HERE...JUST AN ON GOING MEGA VISUAL,.....  CONSTANT EYE CANDY OVER THE SCORE.

THE STRUCTURE OF THIS PRODUCTION VARIED SOME FROM THE 30 NUTCRACKERS I HAVE SEEN, BUT NOT IN A BAD WAY AND THE CONSTANT TCHIAKOVSKY BACKGROUND THE ULTIMATE MARRIAGE FOR ANY PRODUCTION.

THERE WERE SOME SPECIALLY TOUCHING SEQUENCES THAT I REALLY LIKED...THE TOY SOLDERS...TALLER....EXTREMELY VERTICAL IN THEIR WORK AND PERFECTLY PLACED.

ONE DANCER COMPLETED HIS DUO AND SPREAD HIS WINGS TO A GORGEOUS PEACOCK  TAILFEATHER SPREAD....A DESIGN WE WERE ABLE TO COAX OUT OF A REAL PEACOCK IN AUSTRALIA....THE DANCER HERE MORE WILLING TO SPREAD HIS WINGS THAN THE ONE IN AUSTRALIA....ALTHO THE DESIGN WAS EXACLTY THE SAME AND BROUGHT A STUNNING REACTION FROM THE SOLD OUT CROWD.   IF THERE WAS A HIGHLITE TO THE PRODUCTION...THIS WAS IT !

I LIKED THE DISASSEMGLING OF THE GINGERSNAPS ENTRANCE...SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND DRAWING ANOTHER AMAZING GASP FROM THE CROWD.

MORE DANCING IN THE SECOND HALF AND THE DANCING ITSELF PERFECT...EQUAL TO THE TOTAL PRODUCTION .....IT LOOKED LIKE THEY REHEARSED A LOT....YES !

TOUCHES TO THE PRODUCTION LIKE THIS NOT LOST ON THIS PATRON AND THE CREATIVE ARTS ABLE TO CONTINUALLY GROW HERE ....SOME ONE HAS TO DREAM THESE IDEAS UP AND IMPLIMENT THEM....CHOREOGRAPHER JAMES CANFIELD...YOU REMAIN ONE OF MY HEROES AND I HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE TO IMPRESS ME THROUGH THE YEARS.

THERE WERE A COUPLE OF FLIGHT SLED SEQUENCES THAT IMPRESSED WITH THEIR TIMING AND VERTICALITY....LOTS OF ROOM FOR UP ON THE STAGE AND THEY USED IT WELL....OH YAH THIS AT THE SMITH CENTER DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS....ANOTHER PERFECT MARRIAGE BETWEEN THEATRE AND PRODUCTION.....SOMEONE ASKED ME ABOUT THE SOUND HERE AND WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN  PERFECT IN THE PAST....IT WAS OVERLY PERFECT FOR THE OVERLY PERFECT TCHAIKOVSKY THIS NIGHT.

SEEMED KIND OF BRIEF...TWO 44 MINUTE SEQUENCES BETWEEN A 22 MINUTE INTERMISSION BUT TIME FLIES WHEN MELDED TO TCHAIKOVSKY.......I MANAGED TO SEE SWAN LAKE AND VISIT TCHAIKOVSKY'S GRAVE ON THE SAME DAY ON MY TRIP TO ST PETERSBERG....AND THIS ALLOWED ME TO ACCENT THE GENIUS THEREIN......JESUS..... THIS MUSIC IS OVERLY PERFECT AND I APPRECIATE IT MORE EACH YEAR...THANKS TO THE LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC'S 36 AND THE NEVADA BALLET THEATRE FOR BRINGING IT TO ME EACH YEAR.

NBT HAS LOTS OF SPONSERSHIP FOR THIS..... IT REALLY WENT OVER WELL THIS SEASON...THEY PUT THEM SELVES IN PRECARIOUS POSITION BY TRYING TO TOP IT OR EVEN EQUAL IT IN 2013....WHATEVER THEY DO I HOPE  I AM ALIVE TO SEE IT ONE MORE TIME.

PEOPLE WERE SEATED DURING THE PERFORMANCE....HOW DUMB COULD YOU BE TO COME LATE TO THIS.....OF COURSE I DO NOT APPOROVE OF LATE SEATING....AND PUTZS.....NO CELL PHONES TRIGGERED ON MY NIGHT ...THANK YOU PATRONS....THE AUDIENCE ACTUALLY GAVE THE PRODUCTION THE FULL ATTENTION IT DESERVED.

IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THIS YOU DON'T LIKE CHICKEN ON SUNDAY !

I WOULD SAY...NOW IS THE TIME TO GET YOUR TICKETS FOR 2013...THEY GO FAST.

SAD I CAN'T SCORE THIS PERFECTLY BUT THE 8 MINUTES LATE DELETE FROM THE 105 I GAVE IT....

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