CityLife

Moldovan ballet is a real masterpiece

Irrepressible opera and ballet producer Ellen Kent is bringing a rarely-performed classic ballet back to the Opera House.

Speaking on Grigorovich's Nutcracker, Ken said: ''I suppose you could say it was rather an oddity to find this ballet in Moldova.''

This ballet was first produced by Yuri Grigorovich for the Bolshoi Ballet in 1966 and, before Ellen toured with it last year, it hadn't been seen in its entirety in the UK since the early seventies.

''What happened was that, two or three years ago, my production manager and I were with some of our contacts from the Chisinau National Opera. I'm not really a ballet buff but they insisted that we had to see this performance.

''Then we realised that they were putting it on just for the two of us, so we could hardly refuse! So there we were in this fantastically opulent old opera house in Moldova and we were the only people in it, watching this fantastic ballet!

''I was just amazed by what we were seeing. It was nothing remotely like usual ballet fare, with these remarkable sets, reproducing the original Moscow sets, and all sorts of startling spectacle like flying boats and all sorts.

''It was also a very in-your-face production, almost like something Ralph Steadman might put on.

''Straightaway I wanted to bring it here but I never thought we'd be able to, that it was bound to be far too expensive.''

But it then turned out that the production was available because Grigorovich had given it to the Chisinau National Opera 'as a gift to the Moldovan people'.

Grigorovich's Nutcracker from Ellen Kent and Ballet International is at Manchester Opera House from Monday, January 28, until Saturday, February 2.