Sunday, November 13, 2022

San Francisco Ballet Holiday Tradition to Return

WanTing Zhao in the role of the Snow Queen dancing with the snowflakes in the blizzard of 150 pounds of “stage snow” (photograph by Erik Tomasson, courtesy of SFB)

Last year the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) presented a “restricted” and limited run of Helgi Tomasson’s choreography for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 score for The Nutcracker. This year there will be 33 performances of the complete ballet with a full cast that will include 110 SFB School children dancing across the casts as bugs, soldiers, mice, and partygoers. In addition the company of 83 artists will include new dancers in solo roles that include the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Nutcracker Prince, and the Snow Queen and King. Those performers will include Principal Dancers Nikisha Fogo and Isaac Hernández and Soloist Katherine Barkman.

Tomasson’s choreography transplants the setting from the nineteenth-century Germany of E. T. A. Hoffmann to San Francisco in 1915 during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The scenery has been designed by Michael Yeargan, Martin Pakledinaz conceived the rich diversity of costumes, and lighting was designed by James F. Ingalls. In addition there are projections designed by Wendall K. Harrington; and the conclusion of Act I, which takes place in the snow, includes a blizzard of 150 pounds of “stage snow.”

The full list of performance dates and times is as follows:

  • Thursday, December 8, 7 p.m.
  • Friday, December 9, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 10, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, December 11, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 13, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Wednesday, December 14, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Thursday, December 15, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Friday, December 16, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 17, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, December 18, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 20, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Wednesday, December 21, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Thursday, December 22, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Friday, December 23, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 24, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Monday, December 26, 11a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 27, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

All performances will take place in the War Memorial Opera House, which is on the northwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street (across Grove from Davies Symphony Hall). Ticket prices start at $19, and a single Web page has been created for purchasing tickets for all of the above dates and times. There is also a single Web page that provides casting information (which is subject to change) for the leading roles, again for all of the above dates and times. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House or by calling 415-865-2000. The Box Office is open for ticket sales Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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