San Francisco Ballet’s current "Nutcracker" uses 173 costumes, 42 pairs of pointe shoes, more than 59 pairs of tights and 18 wigs per show. It’s a contrast to 1944, when it made do with rhinestones from Goodwill and rationed fabric in what was the first production of the ballet in America.
Today, the show garners about 40 percent of the company’s ticket revenue each year, for good reason: "Nutcracker" is a crowd-pleasing romp, albeit with some room for improvement.
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Here in The City, where the country’s fascination with the “Nutcracker” began at the 1892 Petipa-Ivanov ballet’s American premiere in 1944, the annual rite of passage has become a major economic and educational force.
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For Elana Altman, a featured soloist in the San Francisco Ballet’s annual “Nutcracker,” her first memory of ballet goes back to age 3, when she attended a performance of the Tchaikovsky classic in the War Memorial Opera House.
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San Francisco Ballet — the country’s oldest professional ballet troupe, founded in 1933 — was also the first to present “Nutcracker,” the holiday classic set to Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music, in the United States.
With the 2010 “Nutcracker” season about to begin Dec. 9, some members of the international company offer comments about their holiday experiences at home, from neighboring Canada to far-away lands.
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Full-length productions of “Nutcracker” can test the patience of small kids and harried parents alike. Mark Foehringer has come up with a beguiling alternative: the choreographer’s family-style version of Tchaikovsky’s ballet runs a brisk 50 minutes without an intermission.
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"Wow!" said 8-year-old Lorenzo Rodriguez, a first-time “Nutcracker” patron.
"Wow!" I said at my 31st San Francisco Ballet “Nutcracker”-season opener.
We weren’t responding to the paper-snow falling on us as we entered the jam-packed Opera House from Van Ness Avenue, although the dislocation was interesting. It was just a few degrees above freezing, and it took a minute to figure out that it wasn't the real stuff.
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