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A horse danced. A bear rollerbladed. A menagerie of vermin battled to the death. Snow fell in copious quantities as unicorns and icicles danced. Finally, to the enchantment of a capacity Four Seasons Centre audience, disproportionately populated by children on booster seats, the Sugar Plum Fairy emerged from her supersized Faberg茅-style egg.

Yes, the National Ballet of Canada has launched into its annual run of that indispensable holiday season favourite, 鈥淭he Nutcracker.鈥� Almost the full company was on its toes, supplemented by a battalion of National Ballet School students, a brace of local notables in honorary walk-on 鈥淐annon Doll鈥� roles 鈥� Canadian romance fiction author Carley Fortune and Emma Ingram, marketing lead from Penguin Random House Canada, were at Friday night鈥檚 opening show听鈥� and a symphony orchestra in the pit under maestro David Briskin鈥檚 baton to bring Tchaikovsky鈥檚 earworm melodies to life.

With so much to offer, including designer Santo Loquasto鈥檚 sumptuous sets and costumes 鈥� the production would cost almost $5 million to build in today鈥檚 money 鈥� it鈥檚 little wonder that former artistic director James Kudelka鈥檚 version of the Russian classic, first staged in 1995 and now in its 28th live 海角社区官网season (2021 was scratched because of the pandemic) is the biggest draw in the National Ballet鈥檚 entire repertoire.

Cumulatively, it鈥檚 played to an audience of more than 1.3 million people. Just days into this year鈥檚 run, there鈥檚 only a smattering of single tickets and standing room available; effectively a sold-out run, even with the addition of a New Year鈥檚 Eve matin茅e. Despite its initial cost, it鈥檚 a cash cow that keeps on giving: total box office revenue of $76.7 million to date.

With such a large cast and with more performances than anything in the National Ballet鈥檚 regular subscription season, 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� is a boon for younger dancers eager for a shot at a featured role. The ballet鈥檚 subscriber audience can get quite particular about casting whereas 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� crowd mostly doesn鈥檛 know one dancer from another. They just want a good time.

Usually, for those who do like to follow dancers鈥� careers, 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� can be counted on for a few significant debuts, although this year there are only a handful and none in the biggest dancing roles other than fast-rising corps member Isabella Kinch, who will perform the Snow Queen later in the month.

Opening-night honours this year fell to principal dancer Harrison James in the big through role of Peter/The Nutcracker, first soloist Chelsy Meiss as the Snow Queen and principal ballerina Genevieve Penn Nabity in the Plum role.

Fans will recall that Nabity was unexpectedly called on to open last year鈥檚 Nutcracker season when the scheduled cast was sidelined because of injury. Her prince in 2022 was Larkin Miller, then also making his role debut. The two were magical together and, although James will continue to partner Nabity in several future performances, she and Miller will be reunited for four of 10 scheduled Sugar Plum Fairy appearances.

Among the younger principals, Nabity is generally considered the one to watch. She inhabits a magically luminous energy field of her own making and dances with a naturalness and grace that surmount the codified strictures of classical ballet.鈥傗�傗�傗�傗��

Harrison James is a natural for the central male lead; good looks, charm, great partnering skills and dancing chops in abundance. Added to this, James understands that the role of Peter/The Nutcracker is nuanced, evolving from a humble stable boy 鈥� not beyond the lascivious eye of the mother of the quarrelsome siblings who vie for his attention 鈥� to a manly cavalier who wins the hand of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Each requires a particular bearing and style of dancing. 鈥傗�傗��

As a choreographer, Kudelka has always been aware of the value of dancers who have a gift for bringing characters to life and in 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� he made two such memorable roles. The most onerous in terms of dancing is Uncle Nikolai, Kudelka鈥檚 substitute for the Drosselmeyer character found in more traditional versions, who in different guises appears in almost every scene. At Friday鈥檚 opening, Donald Thom aptly captured the character鈥檚 faintly dangerous persona while spinning like a top in a greatcoat seemingly tailored to make it more difficult.

Nikolai鈥檚 female equivalent is the loving nanny, Baba, who like him graduates to become royalty in the final act. On Friday, Stephanie Hutchison鈥檚 vivid and dramatically detailed performance 鈥� a role debut 鈥� was stellar proof of Konstantin Stanislavski鈥檚 famous small roles/small actors dictum.

The juvenile leads, Marie and Misha, as usual performed by National Ballet School students, are roles that demand both dancing and acting skills. It is to the credit of Cecilia Campbell-Cotter and Owen Whitehead respectively that, as Kudelka鈥檚 reading of the characters requires 鈥� and doubtless going against their own sweet natures 鈥� the two youngsters were annoyingly brattish for most of the ballet. Thankfully, by the closing moments their relationship appeared to have become more harmonious. All they need now is to learn proper table manners.