Recently landed: First Snow
Gracia’s written response to The Australian Ballet’s The Nutcracker, especially for Fjord Review.
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There must be snow lightly dusting the shoulders. Mirlitons spinning spritely, a striped, delectable flute. There must be magic and awe, in all its guises, and the reassurance that though the King Rat is nearby, crown askew, all is right in the world. After just shy of three years, the Australian Ballet have returned to the newly renovated and renamed the Ian Potter State Theatre, and Sir Peter Wright’s Nutcracker is the perfect instrument for the whirling of wonder, beneath a cascading ceiling of 75,000 individual brass spheres.[i] All, indeed, is right with the world in the plush confines of the red-walled theatre with golden sconces restored. With costume and set design by John F. Macfarlane, the grand setting on stage could be seen to extend to encompass the whole theatre. There, in the sumptuous red velvet. In the promise of the tinkling of the celesta. This is a seasonal gem that allows me to surrender to the fairy-tale.
Tuesday evening’s unfurling of The Nutcracker with Soloist Aya Watanabe as Clara Stahlbaum, and Senior Artist Cameron Holmes as her painted Nutcracker doll brought to life as a Prince, did not disappoint. Together their musicality spun enchantment, and it is wonderful to see Watanabe[ii] and Holmes in such pivotal and defining roles, long having admired their technique and the depth of character they bring to each role. As Watanabe tiptoes down the stairs at midnight, she is the perfect guide to the land of sweet divertissements. She can wallop a King Rat over his head with her shoe, and though I will always carry a soft spot for the rodents in any ballet, thank heavens for that!
[i] Originally designed by interior designer John Truscott, this is the “first major refurbishment since opening in 1984. …Cultural buildings are complex because every design decision shapes a network of experiences — ranging from how a performer hears the room, to how an audience member reaches their seat and how technical teams support what happens on stage.” ‘Arts Centre Melbourne’s refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre reopens’, Architecture AU, https://architectureau.com/articles/arts-centre-melbournes-refurbished-ian-potter-state-theatre-reopens/, accessed 26th October, 2026.
[ii] Neither Aya Watanabe nor Calmeron Holmes were debuting in these roles. I have seen Watanabe as Clara in a Dance of the Snowflakes excerpt from The Australian Ballet’s Celebration Gala in 2021.
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4th of November, 2026
Sharni Spencer and Maxim Zenin in The Nutcracker by Sir Peter Wright (image credit: Kate Longley)
