I was an adult, but probably just barely, when I first saw the Nutcracker ballet at the San Francisco Opera House. I’ve been smitten ever since and try to go to a performance every few years. I cannot speak to the dancing or the venue, but I have to say that the sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak for the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle are the best!
For one thing, I’ve been a huge Sendak fan from the very first time I read Where the Wild Things Are to my (then) seven-year-old son when the book came out in 1963. And then, twenty-some years later, to see the gigantic fantasy-sized sets for the Mouse King and for Herr Drosselmeyer’s nutcracker, so reminiscent of the wild things and Max… I was transported.
This year we are going with a friend on this very night. I feel just like that little girl on the television commercial who trip-traps her way down the aisle to peek under the curtain. No matter how many times she does it, she is absolutely delighted. So will I be.
Have the very best time, Sydney! The weather is not bad, which will add greatly to the pleasure of your trip.