The stateliness of the opening scene on the most part, the dark atmosphere of the scene with the mice and the enchanting colour of Act 2 are very well evoked. Visually, it's sumptuous and colourful while pleasingly simple. Particularly good was Mrs Stahlbaum's snubbing of the Dancing Mistress and Clara's treatment of the Mouse King in the aftermath of the battle, touches that could have been unintentionally funny in the wrong hands, or lesser hands, but really gives the production a freshness that was necessary. It remains true to the spirit of the ballet while adding fresh touches of its own that actually enhance the drama and give it nuance, it's actually fresher than the production it's revived from from personal opinion. A revival of Peter Wright's production, one expects any production of 'The Nutcracker' to be fun, magical and enchanting with a festive charm, wonderful dancing and choreography and appealing at least production values. The opening scene is occasionally a little crowded, which to me wasn't a problem in the 2016 production and the lighting at times in Act 1 was a touch drab. It is not quite as good as that production but still captures the ballet's festive charm, magic, fun and enchantment. Royal Opera House's 2017 production of 'The Nutcracker' is the same as their previous year's production, with differences, hence the review reiteration. The Maurice Bejart version is self-indulgent and strange, the 2008 Mariinsky one is ugly and incoherent and not even the musical values save it and the 2012 Mariinsky production despite capable dancing and good musical values lacks joy and has a far too cold older Masha.
Although most productions of 'The Nutcracker' available on DVD/video are good to outstanding, that is not to say that all the productions available are good (am not that biased to say that there isn't a bad, or shall we say disappointing, production of 'The Nutcracker' in existence, there is although the ballet still remains wonderful).
'The Nutcracker' is one of my all time favourite ballets, stories and pieces of classical music, the story has such a timeless charm, that still entertains and enchants, and Tchaikovsky's score contains some of his best-known music for good reason.
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