The Snow Queen
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
THIS festive season Edinburgh is first to enjoy Scottish Ballet’s touring Christmas show. A carefully honed revival of Christopher Hampson’s 2019 ballet The Snow Queen – cleverly set to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and inspired by the great tale by Hans Christian Andersen – the production is an inventive, opulent delight.
From very early in the piece – when Zach, the colourful ringmaster, (danced with delicious gusto by Bruno Micchiardi on Friday evening) and his circus come into town – the show sparks with an engaging creative dynamism. Hampson has given the travelling circus folk an even greater prominence in this slightly revised production, a choice that enhances an already winning festive ballet.
READ MORE: Popularity Contest: Scotland's national theatre aims to broaden appeal in 2023
The compelling energy of Hampson’s choreography is expressed wonderfully in the early scene in which Lexi (the disguised Summer Princess, danced by the spirited Anna Williams) picks pockets in the town square. The movement interplays beautifully with Rimsky-Korsakov’s music, not least when the famous Flight of the Bumblebee (from the composer’s opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan) accompanies the moment when the Snow Queen blows glass dust into the eyes of poor Kai, rendering ugly in his sight all that is beautiful.
The spine of the musical score is Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Snow Maiden. So rich and diverse is that music that it embraces the uplifting group dances for the corps de ballet as perfectly as it does the competitive pas de deux in which the entranced Kai dances, by turns, with his formerly beloved Gerda (Roseanna Leney on excellent form) and his supernatural seducer the Snow Queen.
The great musical traditions of Europe’s Roma and traveller communities are given charming recognition by the integration into the action of the ballet of violinist Gillian Risi, who appears on stage as a member of the circus troupe. Playing pieces from the composer’s Capriccio Espagnol (which are rooted in Spanish folk tunes), the musician is a wonderful addition to the stage company.
As in 2019, Lez Brotherston’s designs are a gorgeous highlight of the show. From the ringmaster’s gloriously ostentatious costume to the genuinely spooky masks for the Jackfrosts (the Snow Queen’s frightening minions), the designer’s skill and visual imagination are ideally suited to the demands of such a luxurious winter ballet.
Nowhere does Hampson’s production require more of Brotherston than in the great scene in Act II when the circus folk dance around their camp fire. From the flames themselves to the splendid wooden caravans (all illuminated in lovely half-light by lighting designer Paul Pyant), the scene is as captivating
as it is convincing. The designer’s attention to detail is exemplified in the character of the troupe’s strongman, who sports more tattoos than a World Cup footballer.
The dancing is never less than fabulous throughout. Indeed, the moment in which Kai (the fine Jerome Barnes) has to spin and hold Constance Devernay’s exquisite Snow Queen four times in quick succession is marvellous.
At Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until December 10, then touring until February 4: scottishballet.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here