The Ballet of Santiago de Chile, led by Marcia Haydee, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Chile, conducted by maestro José Luis Dominguez, presented on Saturday, December 12, a version of the traditional ballet by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. With image mapping on the fronts of Chile´s presidential palace, known as “La Moneda,” grandiose light effects covered the historic building with images and videos in high definition. Almost 120 dancers performed on a significantly larger than conventional stage.
In the main roles, the character of Nutcracker was performed with skill and aplomb by Colombian dancer Jose Manuel Ghiso. The Sugar Plum Fairy, played by consecrated first Cuban ballerina Maite Ramirez, captivated with her stylish elegance. The Snow Queen was interpreted by Romina Contreras, who created a beautiful and delicate character.
The perfect alignment of the images with the windows, doors and pillars of the Palace revealed the hard work of design and coordination with the action of the play. The presentation featured four digital image projectors that illuminated the front of the government palace with colourful drawings that accompanied the ballet. This allowed seeing mice scurrying through the cornices of the large heritage building.
The Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is regularly performed by ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. In this occasion, about 20,000 people had the opportunity to witness a free, high-tech presentation of the timeless Christmas classic.
