And so… let the magic begin!
In character as Drosselmeyer, those were the words that launched me into the first painting-to-music for the Nutcracker and the Mouse King concert yesterday. And Magic was in the air – Tchaikovsky’s magic, wonderfully performed by the fabulous de Havilland Philharmonic, conducted, as always, with passion and precision by Robin Browning.
This was the sixth year I have worked with this orchestra at the Weston Auditorium in Hatfield, and I feel so lucky! Mind you, each year is new repertoire, and each concert has it’s worries and difficulties. Would the gun fire at the right moment? Would Robin take the Chinese dance too fast for me to paint a picture? Would I remember my words (I did…most of them; I muddled coffee and tea!)
But of course all went well in the end… the long rehearsals paid off, and the audience were on our side. There were nine pictures raffled off – for London Music Masters, a charity that gets classical music to children in schools in even the most deprived places; we raised over £600 for them, which is wonderful.
But my main purpose of the day was to be Drosselmeyer and tell much more of Hoffmann’s tale than people are familiar with, making a more rounded story than the ballet scenario – and to illustrate it too! I nearly had an emergency when an ebay costume was lost in the post… but another costume was put together with the help of a few friends and… I WAS Drosselmeyer after all, complete with the “glass wig” and eye patch described in the original book. Armed with pastels and paints, a giant sugar cane walking stick, and with buckles on my shoes… I was ready!
The orchestra performed extended scenes from Tchaikovsky’s score, not just the famous “suite”. This meant we were able to include the extraordinary transformation scene and – my favourite part – the dazzling waltz of the snowflakes. We ended with the highly emotive grand Pas de Deux, which made a splendid finale.
There were illustrations of toy soldiers and snowy forests; the wicked Mouse King; Mirliton flutes and of course the Sugar Plum Fairy!
And there was even an encore: the Trepak, during which (in one minute!), I sketched Ella Bella Ballerina – a fun way to end an afternoon filled with sweets and treats for all: indeed there were sweets scattered all over the stage which children fell upon at the end of the day! I fleetingly wished I was 6 years old and in the audience… but happily one little girl gave me a perfect gift: A sugar mouse!
And on the subject of gifts (and indeed “flutes”), I was thrilled to see the Davidson family from Glasgow. Two years ago they came all the way from Scotland for the Swan Lake/Sleeping Beauty concert. I was overwhelmed that they had travelled so far; we became good friends. Indeed Ella Bella and the Nutcracker is dedicated to their daughters Charlotte and Madison. I wanted to express my gratitude for their kindness. But they beat me at THAT game: with these extraordinary gifts… crystal glasses (champagne “flutes”) engraved with characters from the Ella Bella books. Mr. Davidson’s company, Glencairn Crystal, created these exquisite things (click on their name to see their website!). Did the sugar plum fairy ever look more sparkling?
As always, huge thanks to the St Alban’s Children’s Book Group, the UH Arts team at the University, all of the de Havilland Philharmonic, Robin Browning who is the best colleague I could hope for, everyone who supported the concert in any way and especially the audiences: without them, there would be no concert. So many kind friends made the effort to come. I was especially honoured that the great Romanian soprano Nelly Miricioiu was there – an extraordinary woman and a very dear friend. And so many others too. Thank you one and all … see you next year!
And if you missed it… come along to St Anne’s in Limehouse on November 30th for another Nutcracker with Dockland’s Sinfonia!
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