Submitted by Mindy Aloff, Nov 23, 2007 11:31

This is such a valuable essay to run for the ballet. Balanchine, himself, once said something to the effect that, in his production of "The Nutcracker," the [ascending Christmas] tree *is* the ballerina — just as it is in the music. Also, Mr. Loomis didn't mention the landmark study of the score (and those of "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty"): Roland John Wiley's "Tschaikovsky's Ballets"; but surely he knows that book? Your dance critic Joel Lobenthal does, without a doubt. The seriousness with which Dr. Wiley analyzed the ballets proved something of a turning point for the musicological world's appreciation of T[s]chaikovsky's work for the ballet theater; and even when Dr. Wiley's comments invited dissent, the standard of discussion was elevated far beyond what it had been for decades. Also, the performances by Valery Gergiev and the Maryinsky orchestra in recent years of the complete score, both live (I heard the one at Carnegie Hall) and on CD have made a wonderful case for the theatrical power of the music for "The Nutcracker." My one wish here is that — given the turmoil in NYCB's orchestra after the death of Robert Irving and the renovations in NYCB's contract with the musicians' union a few years back — Mr. Loomis had bitten the bullet and actually critiqued how the NYCB orchestra is now playing the Tchaikovsky. Next year, perhaps?

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