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Director Carlos Acosta

The Nutcracker at The REP Featuring students of The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School

Laura Day as Clara and Tyrone Singleton as the Prince. © Johan Persson

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA Patron Her Majesty the Queen President HRH The Prince of Wales Vice-President The Lady Sarah Chatto

Director Carlos Acosta cbe Chief Executive Officer Caroline Miller obe

Founded by Dame Ninette de Valois om, ch

Prima Ballerina Assoluta Dame Margot Fonteyn

Founder Choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton om, ch, cbe

Director Laureate Sir Peter Wright cbe

Founder Music Director Constant Lambert

Music Director Laureate Barry Wordsworth

Music Director Koen Kessels

Artists of Birmingham Royal Ballet. © Johan Persson

WELCOME We’re delighted to cheer up a chilly February with the opportunity to watch another cast of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s extraordinary dancers in The Nutcracker.

Carlos Acosta. © Johan Persson

Our dancers train for years to attain their elite standard, and for ballet students, performing with professional companies is vital for their development. Many of our ballets feature students, usually dancing in the corps de ballet. For this special performance, our dancers are joined by three students from The Royal Ballet

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School (taking on roles in the Arabian and Russian Dances) and students from Birmingham-based Elmhurst Ballet School, who performed the entire Land of Snow scene. All performed brilliantly! I would like to thank Sean Foley and all at Birmingham REP for their continued support and look forward to future collaborations. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Linbury Foundation for its support. Thank you for your support.

Director

Samara Downs as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Tyrone Singleton as the Prince. © Johan Persson

Rachele Pizzillo, August Generalli, Miles Gilliver in Spanish Dance

The Nutcracker at The REP Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Arranged by Rowland Lee Original Choreography Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov, Vincent Redmon Adaptation David Bintley Production Carlos Acosta, Sean Foley Designs based on the originals for the Birmingham Royal Ballet stage John Macfarlane Additional props Dick Bird Video and Projection Design Nina Dunn Lighting Design Johnny Westall-Eyre

This performance was made possible thanks to the generous support of

For biographies of the creative team visit brb.org.uk/nutcracker-online

THE STORY

Tom Rogers as Rat King and Tyrone Singleton as the Prince

ACT I

ACT II

It is Christmas Eve and Dr Stahlbaum and his wife are giving a party. They have invited Herr Drosselmeyer, Godfather to their two children, Clara and her younger brother Fritz, to provide a magic show. Drosselmeyer is a gifted toy maker and he brings presents for the young children; a Nutcracker doll for Clara and a Rat King puppet for Fritz. Clara is fascinated by the Nutcracker and her belief that it has magical powers is confirmed when her brother breaks it and the doll strangely mends itself. The party comes to an end, the guests depart and the family goes to bed.

Clara arrives in a fantastic world, conjured up by Godfather Drosselmeyer, where she is greeted by a host of dolls from many different lands who seem familiar from Drosselmeyer’s toy shop. The dolls come to life and dance for her but the festivities are cut short when the Rat King bursts in. The Nutcracker Prince and Drosselmeyer restore order, by banishing him forever.

Unable to sleep, Clara creeps downstairs looking for the Nutcracker doll. As the clock strikes midnight, strange things begin to happen. The Nutcracker springs to life and, summoning the toy soldiers, defends Clara who is attacked by the Rat King. Realising that the Nutcracker is about to be overpowered, Clara hits the Rat King with her shoe and he collapses. The Nutcracker falls exhausted to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Sadly, Clara takes him in her arms and tries to revive him. He gradually comes back to life and, to her amazement, has turned into a handsome Prince. He dances with her, then leads her to the Land of Snow where the Winds transport her into the night sky.

The celebrations continue as the dolls perform their national dances. Finally, the glittering Sugar Plum Fairy dances a sparkling pas de deux with the Nutcracker Prince. Clara grows sleepy. Finding herself back at the foot of the Christmas tree holding the Nutcracker doll, she wonders, ‘Was it all a magical dream?’

THE CAST The Sugar Plum Fairy Samara Downs The Prince Tyrone Singleton

Act I

Danced by students of The Magician’s Assistant Joseph Taylor Clara’s Mother, a former ballerina

Drosselmeyer, a magician Rory Mackay Clara, a ballet student Laura Day

The Land of Snow

Yijing Zhang Clara’s Father Wolfgang Stollwitzer Fritz, Clara’s younger brother Wesley Mpakati Clara’s Dancing Partner Lachlan Monaghan Fritz’s Friend

Elmhurst Ballet School The Snow Fairy Amelia Thompson Her Attendants Hannah Martin, Mary Riley, Libby Rimmer, Leila Wright Winds Ugo Frediani, Bradley Howell, Tim Morgenstern, Ben Randall Snowflakes Students of Elmhurst Ballet School

Samuel Lyons Grandmother Reina Fuchigami

Interval Act II

Grandfather Dominic Antonucci Butler Louis Dobbs The Nutcracker Doll Gus Payne The Sugar Plum Fairy Doll Samara Downs Jack-in-the-Box Hamish Scott Ballet Students, Cadets, Guests, Servants Artists of Birmingham Royal Ballet Laura Day as Clara. © Johan Persson

Louis Dobbs, Thomas Gerhardt

The Rat King Tom Rogers

and Amir Shah appear by kind

Soldiers, Rats

permission of the Director of The

Artists of Birmingham Royal Ballet

Royal Ballet School. Students and children of Elmhurst Ballet School appear by kind permission of the Principal and the Artistic Director.

For biographies of the dancers visit brb.org.uk/dancers

Spanish Dance Rachele Pizzillo, August Generalli, Miles Gilliver Arabian Dance Yijing Zhang, Brandon Lawrence, Louis Dobbs, Lennert Steegen Chinese Dance Lachlan Monaghan, Gus Payne Russian Dance Joseph Taylor, Thomas Gerhardt, Amir Shah Mirlitons Reina Fuchigami, Tessa Hogge, Sofia Linares, Yaoqian Shang Snowflakes and Flowers Students of Elmhurst Ballet School Grand pas de deux Samara Downs, Tyrone Singleton

INSIGHT Samara Downs, Principal SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

We are incredibly lucky to have a landmark production of one of the mainstays of the ballet repertoire, The Nutcracker, choregraphed by our director laureate, Sir Peter Wright. This production is no less brilliant to watch than when it was first gifted to the city of Birmingham after its creation in 1991. One of the highlights of this production is the immersive nature of the epic transformation scenes, from the sumptuous Red Room, through the battle scene, weaving its way beneath the bottom branches of the Christmas tree and the fiery canons of the King Rat, to the magical shimmering soft light of the snow scene, before finally moving through to the gorgeous ‘Land of the Sweets’. I have grown up with this production and have experienced these scenes from the multiple perspectives of the different roles I have performed. Initially I experienced the magic as a small child in the party scene when I was a junior associate of the Royal Ballet School, then went on to dance corps de ballet roles like party guests and a snowflake when I was joined the Company in 2003, through to soloist and principal roles like the Snow Fairy, Rose Fairy and Sugar Plum Fairy as I climbed the ranks.

Bintley to Sir Peter’s original, and the production streamlined by Carlos Acosta, to allow for social distancing. Dick Bird’s props from our acclaimed Royal Albert Hall production are incorporated into John MacFarlane’s glorious original designs to create a cohesive story arc for this shortened, but no less magical version, while the fantastic skills of Ross McGibbon, the acclaimed dance film director, have enabled us to produce this sympathetic film of a great ballet. It has been fascinating to watch this production change and adapt to the current times, and a challenge to acclimatise to the different performance skills required to dance for camera rather than the ‘in the moment’ nature of live theatre. In order to remain safe, we even had to live link our incredible players of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia in from the scene dock next door, so that we could still perform together. Despite the difficulties, everyone at the Birmingham Royal Ballet has pulled together to bring the magic of this production to you safely at home, and hopefully bring inspiration to these darker winter months. It has been a privilege to be involved in such a landmark occasion.

Birmingham Royal Ballet has, despite the immense difficulties thrown up by Covid, united to produce this online version so that we can still share the delight of this production with our audiences. What you will see here, is an historic collaboration between all of the Company’s directors, past and present, with clever adaptions made by Sir David

Samara Downs as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Tyrone Singleton as the Prince. © Johan Persson

ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA Conductor Paul Murphy

Bassoon Llinos Owen

Players for this performance

Horns Andrew Littlemore, Neil Mitchell, Chris Pointon

First Violins Robert Gibbs Leader, Vanessa David, Amanda Brown, Deborah Schlenther

Trumpets Michael Allen, Julie Ryan

Second Violins Mary Martin, Robert Simmons, Philip Aird Violas Errika Horsley, Chris Pitsillides Cellos António Novais, Jane Rainey Double Basses Vera Pereira, Alan Taylor Flutes Joanna Shaw, Sandra Skipper Piccolo Oboes Alaster Bentley, Maxwell Spiers Cor anglais Clarinets Ian Scott, Harry Penny Bass clarinet

Bass Trombone David Gordon Harp Sue Blair Timpani Grahame King Percussion Kevin Earley Celeste Jonathan Higgins Orchestra Director John Beadle Orchestra Manager Andrew Bentley

FOR BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET Company Manager Will Mauchline

Senior Costume Technician Samantha Priest

Assistant Company Manager Tristan Rusdale

Costume Technicians Rosie Armitage

Production Assistant Leanne Ward

Costume Technician Anna Willetts

Technical Director Paul Grace

Shoe Supervisor Michael Clifford

Senior Stage Manager Diana Childs

Dresser Roanne Bray

Deputy Stage Manager Eliska Robenn

Dresser Helen Reeve

Head of Stage Ben Leveson

Head of Wigs Lauren Fitzgerald

Stage Technician Paul Fisher-Bazan

Wigs Assistant Lizzie Neary

Head of Scenic Presentation Doug Nicholson

Chaperone Barbara Bryan

Head of Lighting Johnny Westall-Eyre

Lead Video Engineer / Video Programmer Harrison Cooke

Deputy Head of Lighting Andy Wilson

Video Engineer Matt Somerville

Senior Lighting Technician Alastair Phillips

Video Engineer Sammy Emmins

Senior Lighting Technician Andy Rumble Head of Costume/Costume Supervisor Elaine Garlick Deputy Head of Costume Vanda Hewston

For a full staff list visit brb.org.uk/staff and for Sinfonia visit brb.org.uk/sinfonia

STARS OF THE FUTURE

Above and below: Students of Elmhurst Ballet School, including Amelia Thompson as the Snow Fairy, in the Land of Snow scene. © Johan Persson

Each Nutcracker season the Company is usually joined by graduate students from the Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School, offering them the opportunity to dance with a professional company, which is a key part of all training for ballet students. WIth no live performances at the moment, the opportunities for student dancers were sadly limited, but working within the two covid-safe dancer ‘bubbles’ created for our The Nutcracker at The REP production, we were delighted to be able to welcome three students from The Royal Ballet School (taking on roles in the Arabian and Russian Dances) and students from Birminghambased Elmhurst Ballet School, who performed all the roles in the Land of Snow scene.

For an interview with students of Elmhurst Ballet School visit brb.org.uk/elmhurst-snowflakes

INSIGHT Errika Horsley, Viola, Royal Ballet Sinfonia

To me, Tchaikovsky’s incredible score plays a huge part in the joy of The Nutcracker and Christmas. It includes some of ballet’s most recognisable pieces of music; ‘The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, ‘Trepak – the Russian Dance’ and ‘The Dance of the Mirlitons’. This will be my seventh season as a member of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and I will never forget my first Nutcracker rehearsal. Everyone knew the music so well. I’m sure that several people could even play it from memory. It’s the small nuances that aren’t in our parts, the subtle changes to tempo for different dancers – all of this comes so naturally when you play the piece 40 times every Christmas. I’ve often been asked if I ever get bored playing the same music over and over, but how could I get bored when playing the wonderfully colourful score from Tchaikovsky!

“This year we will be seen across the globe, even my grandmother in Cyprus will be able to tune in. And believe it or not, I have never seen the show as I’m always in the pit – so even I’ll be able to watch it for the first time!”

Of course, this year will be a different experience for us all. I was so looking forward to the live performances but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, for our special online show, we’re playing an adapted version by Rowland Lee for a slightly reduced orchestra due to social distancing rules. It’s still Tchaikovsky’s music, but in this score we are often doubling up on other instrument’s parts. We all need to pay extra special attention this year as there are extra notes we’re not expecting. All of these challenges are nothing in comparison to what Birmingham Royal Ballet and the performing arts have had to overcome. We are all just so delighted to be able to bring you The Nutcracker, even if it is not in person. There are of course positives to our show being streamed. Normally only performing to Birmingham and London audiences, we will be seen across the globe. Even my grandmother in Cyprus will be able to tune in. And believe it or not, I have never seen the show as I’m always in the pit – so even I’ll be able to watch it for the first time!

# SundaySoundtrack Members of the Company, including dancers and musicians, have selected their favourite soundtracks to entertain you in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s #Sunday Soundtrack series.

For Errika’s Sunday Soundtrack visit brb.org.uk/sunday-soundtrack-errika

GET CLOSER The Dancers’ Circle and BRB Friends

Becoming part of our Dancers’ Circle or BRB Friends is a hugely rewarding and engaging way to support the work of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Your support will help us deliver our extraordinary work, on stage and in communities, and will help ensure the future success of the Company. As a thank you we offer our supporters a programme of benefits which include:

• Priority booking or a concierge-style ticket booking service* • Exclusive online events • Invitations to rehearsals, insight events and pre-show receptions* • Our annual supporters’ magazine • Regular e-newsletters * Dependent on level of support

BECOME A SUPPORTER For more information and to become a Supporter visit brb.org.uk/support-us

MEET THE CHARACTERS Clara Our heroine. The Nutcracker is all about Clara and her adventures on a magical Christmas Eve.

Drosselmeyer He is the magician who gives all the children presents at the Christmas party. He uses his magic to take Clara on an adventure she will never forget.

The Rat King The baddie! He and his rat minions try to kidnap Clara. Luckily the toy soldiers save her.

The Prince Clara’s Nutcracker Doll comes to life and is magically turned into a handsome Prince who whisks her off to a magical land.

The Sugar Plum Fairy The beautiful ballerina Clara dreams she will become one day.

NUTCRACKER ACTIVITY SHEETS Finger Puppets How to make your Nutcracker finger puppets of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker doll: 1. Print off this sheet, and colour in the two characters. 2. Glue the sheet face up onto a piece of thin cardboard. The back of an empty cereal box should be perfect. 3. Ask an adult to cut around the dotted line, and make two holes in each puppet where highlighted. 4. Now pop your fingers through the holes to make the characters’ legs, and waggle them about to make them dance!

For more Nutcracker-thesed activity sheets visit brb.org.uk/nutcracker-family

THANK YOU

Major Supporters Carol Barrie The Foyle Foundation The Garfield Weston Foundation Charles Glanville and James Hogan Lord Glendonbrook Aud Jebsen Jerwood Foundation The Kirby Laing Foundation David and Mary Laing The Linbury Trust The Michael Bishop Foundation Tony Newcombe Oak Foundation The Patrick Trust

Dancers’ Circle – Principal Jayne Cadbury and Nigel Goodman Julia and Anthony Glossop Tony Newcombe Sir Michael and Joan Perry Sally & Steve Rowe Dancers’ Circle – Soloist CMP Wealth Management Richard and Jennie Cunis Marian Mulady Teresa Sanminiatelli Gillian Shaw John Weston Dancers’ Circle – Artist Philip Baldwin and Phillip Arnold Jenny Batelen and Rob Brett Roger and Felicity Burman Amanda Carter Jill and Andrew Chapman Dr Jim Clews Guy and Judy Crofts Irving and Olga David Robyn Durie Susan and Frederick Furniss Tessa Gillespie Prof Caroline Gordon P.S. and C.A. Gravestock

Wendy and Gordon Hardy Jill and Malcolm Harris Tom Hotchkiss Dr Sandra Kendall Tessa and Charles King-Farlow Shirley Leaver Hilary Macaulay Chantelle Mackay Robert and Eleanor Nagle Katie Newbon Linda Nicholls David and Win Normington Rosemary Perl Keith Perry Emily Pillinger Chris Relph Ross Roberts Carole Sallnow Barbara Scott Miles Scott and Lucille Roughley Margaret Shand Su and Richard Simkin Carla and Dilys Skinner Nick Makin and Brenda Sumner Ron & Jackie Treverton-Jones and to our many individual supporters who prefer to remain anonymous.

For full lists of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s generous supporters visit www.brb.org.uk/join-and-support