Cork Opera House gets ready for a cracker of a show

“IT has to be everybody’s favourite Christmas ballet, and we’re thrilled that we can at last stage it as we wanted to, after those challenging two years of Covid.”

So says Alan Foley, relaxing briefly in his tiny crowded office at the Firkin Crane, surrounded by posters, pictures, piles of costumes in velvet and muslin on every surface.

But there is a lot more to presenting a new production of The Nutcracker than simply booking the Opera House, and bringing in the dancers. And that’s what has been occupying his every waking moment all through the summer.

“For a start, what are you going to include, and what are you going to leave out?” says Foley.

“The original ballet, first staged back in 1892, would easily have run for four hours of more, and people expected that back then, simply ordering their carriages for midnight or whenever.

“A Cork audience these days wants to be out in time for the last bus. I always go for 10.30pm if at all possible. You have to be ruthless really,” adds Alan, leaning back and looking anything but ruthless. He is, though, with The Nutcracker plot.

“Yuri and I [Yuri Demakov, Cork City Ballet’s much-loved ballet master] sit down and decide what definitely has to go in and what can be left out without damaging the story.

“Some scenes are at the heart of the production - the battle between the Rats and the Toy Soldiers for example, which children absolutely love - and the wonderful snow scene where the flakes fall, slowly at first, and then thicker and thicker. That part gets to everybody in the audience, the sheer magic of it.

“And you couldn’t exactly stage the ballet without the Sugar Plum Fairy, could you? Generations of little girls in Cork have grown up dreaming of dancing that role.”

There are, however, other divertissements and set dances which can be removed without altering the progress of the plot, and others which can be shortened to fit The Nutcracker into an acceptable length, and that is what Alan and Yuri have been working on for the past few months. Then, once they know the whole sequence, it’s time to fit dancers to roles, to see who is best suited to playing which part.

It’s a break in rehearsal when we are talking, but out there on the polished boards of the practice room, unbelievably thin and whippy young men and women, more muscle than flesh, are bending and stretching, pulling their bodies in all directions, keeping themselves warmed up and ready to snap into action when Yuri comes soft-footedly back into the room to restart the music and give instructions which must be interpreted instantly and beautifully if they are to have a hope of getting a feature role.

The children who are such an important part of the opening party scene are supplied by Cork School of Dance.

“Sinead Murphy is an excellent children’s teacher, and true to the traditions of classical ballet. Any time we need children in a production, we use hers,” Alan says.

Clara, however, the little girl at the centre of the story, is not played by a child, but by an experienced dancer who looks young enough to fit in with the junior team but has the knowledge and expertise to carry off this quite demanding role.

“She is on stage a lot throughout, from that first party scene and the battle with the rats, right through the Kingdom of Sweets and back to the final scene where she wakes up at home, still clutching her beloved nutcracker.”

And the principals? That legendary Sugar Plum Fairy and her enchanted Nutcracker Prince?

“We were really lucky with that. We’ve got Katerina Petrova and Tsetso Ivanov from the National Ballet of Sofia in Bulgaria, and they are flying over to rehearse with the company before opening night,” adds Alan.

“They’re a husband and wife team, and she’s prima ballerina with the company, so our audiences are going to have a real treat.”

Once rehearsal is over, it’s down to the Opera House to talk with the special effects staff about the magical scenes which occur throughout the ballet.

“We work very closely with the technical team right from the beginning, so they know what is wanted, and tell us how it can be achieved.

“That snow scene takes some working, but it’s so wonderful - you can hear the audible gasps as the flakes fall, covering the whole stage.”

And all the while, the glorious costumes, silks and velvets and lace (but still needing to be designed to cope with strenuous and energetic movement) are being worked on by the wardrobe department.

“Yuri brings over the King Rat costume from the Bristol Ballet School, though. That’s a very specialised piece of work and it looks so dramatic on stage!”

The Nutcracker, Cork Opera House, November 3-5, 8pm. Also matinee, Saturdays, November 5 at 2pm. See https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/