First outing of the year coincided with my daughter, Rachael's 9th Birthday. In actual fact, it was her birthday present, a trip to The Royal Opera House to see The Royal Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. We first went to see it at the beginning of 2012 with Nanny and Grandad and Rachael had thoroughly enjoyed it. So I thought why not make it a yearly tradition?
Booking through the official website is usually straightforward but not so much when booking on the day tickets are released for a new season. The longest I have waited to book was two hours and usually by then, all the good seats have gone. But this time, I went online after the mad rush, but as a result, it took me checking a number of dates to get seats in an area I wanted and at a price I was happy with. We ended up seating front row of the Lower Slips of the Amphitheatre at £10 per ticket. It does come with a restricted view, but it is worth the price because it is still a good view, despite having one side of the stage restricted to you to watch.
We arrived about 40 minutes before curtain up. Plenty of time for Rachael to be indecisive in the shop! She came out happy though, with a CD of well know music and a DVD of a selection of dances from different productions. It is definitely worth looking in the shop, as despite not being cheap, it has a wide variety of products for adults and children and for opera and ballet lovers. The programme, sold within the foyer, is good value, especially compared to those for concerts. It has biographies for the dancers and production team, the story of the ballet and details behind the productions.
The Nutcracker is probably the best ballet to introduce children to. The story follows a young girl named Clara, who is taken on a magical adventure by a magician named Drosselmeyer, after sneaking down to get her favourite toy from under the tree on Christmas Eve. Children will love seeing the toys come to life, watching toy soldiers battle against the mouse king and watch Clara travel to Land of Sweets. Children and adults will gasp as the scenery grows before the eyes, especially at the sight of the stunning Christmas Tree. They will be introduced to Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabian dances mixed with Ballet and the beautiful Pas de Deux danced by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her prince. Both Rachael and I love this ballet. The mix of beautiful costumes, spectacular scenery, recognisable music and stunning dances make this one of the most popular and well known ballets.
We attended on the final night of the current run and it was not without its problems. There was problems with illness and injuries amongst the cast that night, that a change had taken place of whom was to place the Nutcracker Prince, which then had a knock effect throughout the cast, as the dancer was due to dance another role that night. At the start of the second act, it was announced that another dancer had been taken ill during the interval, so another dancer had to step to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy's prince. If it had not been announced, I doubt many people would have noticed the change in cast as the Royal Ballet were professional as always and got on with it like they had been dancing the roles all night.
Seeing this show always brings back memories of my childhood and from my days as a dancer. I had the soundtrack on cassette and had performed to a number of pieces in dance shows and even used one piece for a gymnastics routine when I was in high school. I can sit there and watch the dancers perform so beautifully but I could also sit there and close my eyes and just listen to the music. I am not a fan of classical music but the score for this ballet is one of the few pieces I absolutely adore.
The Nutcracker is performed during every winter season at the Royal Opera House, usually between December and January. This past season, it was also broadcast live to 30 countries worldwide, proving its popularity.
Booking through the official website is usually straightforward but not so much when booking on the day tickets are released for a new season. The longest I have waited to book was two hours and usually by then, all the good seats have gone. But this time, I went online after the mad rush, but as a result, it took me checking a number of dates to get seats in an area I wanted and at a price I was happy with. We ended up seating front row of the Lower Slips of the Amphitheatre at £10 per ticket. It does come with a restricted view, but it is worth the price because it is still a good view, despite having one side of the stage restricted to you to watch.
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