Photo from the Dutch National Ballet production
The San Francisco Ballet's production of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella has true boffo box office for the second time, selling out the 3,146-seat War Memorial Opera House the second year for every single performance, even with 10 shows this season.
That's the bad news for those still without a ticket; here's the good new news: A performance has been added on March 21, and — at this writing — there are still seats for that.
Why the great popularity, even in face of some hefty prices? First, it's the attraction of spectacular full-length ballets; in fact, before last year's premiere, sight unseen, the entire run sold out. More importantly, the excellence of the work, the production, the music, the performances all justify what might have appeared mere hype.
This is a marvelously imaginative and entertaining ballet every way. Wheeldon’s new take on the ancient fairy tale soars on the wings of Prokofiev's appealingly dissonant and yearning score, played superbly by the Ballet Orchestra, under the baton of Martin West.
Exceptional dancing, a complex libretto by Craig Lucas, Daniel Brodie's projections, and Julian Crouch's magical scenery and costumes add up to a spectacle with substance, deserving rave reviews on the company's tour to New York's Lincoln Center last year.
Photo by Erik Tomasson
Long before Charles Perrault's 1697 treatment of the story, and the Grimm Brothers' subsequent fairy tales, there have been many instances of the legend about a girl's rags-to-riches journey, and the Wheeldon treatment imbues it with new characters, humor, and lyricism.
It's hard to imagine anyone who can become Cinderella as convincingly as Maria Kochetkova in the title role on the first night of the run, on March 11. At 30, Kochetkova combines the maturity and steely certainty of a prima ballerina in her prime with a willowy, ethereal presence of girlish purity, believably triumphing over adversity.
She was partnered convincingly with grace and elegance by Joan Boada. The Prince's sidekick/servant/friend was Taras Domitro, offering a funny character, whose speed and virtuoso dancing was breathtaking.
The stepsisters in this version are not the cruel caricatures of other versions, but are more human; and in case of Clementine — the one with glasses, in a side-splitting performance by Frances Chung — even showed some warmth. Edwina, the other stepsister, is less sympathetic, but as danced by Sasha De Sola, eminently impressive.
Even the usually pure-evil stepmother is different here, Shannon Rugani portraying brilliantly a bungling, confused drunk, both amusing and pitiable.
Nameless and their faces masked, the four Fates who protect and carry Cinderella, deserve credit: Gaetano Amico, Daniel Deivision-Oliveira, Steven Morse, and Luke Willis work long and hard, getting a difficult job done.
The cast is huge, and while the many minor roles get first-class treatment, the corps de ballet had some moments of less than crisp ensemble dancing.
The less said about the Crouch-Brodie stage magic the better, so that you may better enjoy the many surprises and moments of ooh's and aah's. Even if described in detail, the gigantic, "alive" tree — representing the spirit of Cinderella's mother — must be seen to be believed. What choreographer and designer do with grimacing portraits, a row of flying chairs, a carriage of living parts, and so on — they all demand in-person inspection.