By Kathy Valin
Enquirer contributor
Mice and soldiers. Exotic dancing. A touch of magic. Exuberant music under the baton of Carmon DeLeone.
All made an appearance Friday night at historic Music Hall for the opening of Cincinnati Ballet's Nutcracker.
Leads Kristi Capps and Dimitri Trubchanov as Marie and her cherished Nutcracker Prince glittered in a performance that started slowly, but built steadily to a strong climax.
Capps' balances and poses were exemplary, and she smoothly spooled out of multiple turns. By turns girlish and regal, she was a role model in her bravery and loyalty.
Trubchanov was ever attentive as a partner. In his solo leaps, he showed altitude, confidence and nice form, especially in shapes like attitude (one bent leg raised behind).
In a climactic moment, he threw Capps overhead and let go for a moment. In frequent fish dives, as she plunged from ever more precarious positions, the one thing we knew was that her prince would never drop her.
Jay Goodlett as Dr. Stahlbaum was a genial host, and his party guests, especially the children, were animated and well-coached. Colin Larsgaard was a sulky Fritz. Zack Grubbs as King of the Mice and his motley crew were appropriately pretentious and inept, in a battle scene better lighted than last year.
Goodlett reappeared later in the Russian trepak, bounding multiple times in side splits. He left the crowd wanting more. Michael Wardlaw's Chinese doll showed off swift direction changes, precise beats and turns like a top.
Mishic Marie Corn was a serene Rose, as the swirling corps, dressed in pastel hues of yellow, apricot, purple and blue, waltzed around her.
Aaron C. Thayer's Mother Ginger was fabulous, blowing kisses and fussing over the munchkin-like Polichinelles.
Finally, Valentine Liberatore as a lanky Herr Drosselmeier stitched the whole production together. Gangly, magical and bungling, he laughs uncontrollably when Marie wakes up back in her bed, and suddenly points to all of us kids in the audience.
"You could be next," he seemed to say.
