Leaping Russians and a Sugar Plum Fairy

Last night I attended Ballet West's production of The Nutcracker. This is such a beautiful production (in fact, it is so amazing that Ballet West recently performed five sold-out shows in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts) and it is one of my very favorite Christmas traditions. I look forward to it every year! No matter how many times I see it, I always feel like a child again anticipating those well-known opening notes of Tchaikovsky's magnificent Overture. I am just as excited as the children in the party scene as they await the unveiling of the Christmas tree and I marvel as the toy nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince in the first act.  In the second act, Clara and her prince travel to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy and I definitely enjoy the divertissements she arranges for their pleasure.  I love the Arabian dance, but my favorite is the Russian dance for the sheer athleticism of it!  The Grand Pas de Deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier gives me goosebumps every time and, tonight, Emily Adams and Beau Pearson danced it beautifully.  I absolutely love Tchaikovsky's score for this dance!  I think it is one of the most romantic pieces of music in the classical cannon and William Christensen's original choreography really complements it!  I love everything about this ballet and it was such a wonderful way to start my Christmas vacation.  The Nutcracker will be performed at Capitol Theatre until Dec. 31 (with matinee and evening performances excluding Christmas Day) and I highly recommend it. Go here for information and to purchase tickets.  Whether it is your first time or, like me, you've been going for years, you're sure to be enchanted by this holiday classic!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony New Year's Eve weekend.

Utah Symphony Giveaway!

Vienna is traditionally the place to be on New Year's Eve with its many opulent balls and concerts featuring stirring waltzes and marches but, if you can't afford the airfare, I have the next best thing!  How would you like to win a pair of tickets to see the Utah Symphony perform its version?  I have been given two pair of tickets for the New Years in Vienna concerts to give to my readers.  You can choose Friday Jan. 2 or Saturday Jan. 3 at Abravanel Hall in SLC at 8:00pm.  (Go here for more information about the pieces the orchestra will be performing).  I will be attending the Friday concert and I am so excited!  If you would like a pair of tickets, follow Phaedra's Adventures via Google Friend Connect (located in the sidebar) and enter the Rafflecopter below (you can enter every day until the giveaway closes on Dec. 28).  I will notify the winners by email on Monday Dec. 29 and tickets will be held in Will Call at Abravanel Hall.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!

The Hobbit

I fell in love with all things Tolkien when I was in Jr. High and watching the movies adapted from my favorite Tolkien book, The Hobbit, has been quite an adventure!  I arranged for a private screening of An Unexpected Journey for my students (a new theater had just opened near my school and they had a great promotion for private screenings) two years ago and it was so much fun.  I don't know what my students liked more:  the actual movie or the fact that they were missing school!  I was completely enchanted by it, especially Radagast the Brown...and his rabbits!  I was so excited for The Desolation of Smaug so I saw it last year at midnight right before an early morning flight to Denver!  Hmmm.  While I really liked the sequences with the spiders and the Dwarves' escape from the Elves in wine barrels, this installment was my least favorite because it didn't really advance the plot very much.  Last night I saw the first screening of The Battle of the Five Armies  in IMAX 3D and I thought it a fitting end to the trilogy.  The story begins with the the death of Smaug after the dramatic destruction of Laketown (which, in my opinion, is where The Desolation of Smaug should have ended).  The Dwarves then return to Erebor to look for the Arkenstone and Thorin descends into madness over lust for the treasure left by Smaug.  The inhabitants of the decimated Laketown, having been promised a share of the treasure for helping the Dwarves, also travel to Ereborn, as do the Elves seeking to reclaim valuable heirlooms stolen by Smaug.  Dwarves, Humans, and Elves begin battling with each other, until a threat from Azog and his army of Orcs unite them against a common enemy.  The battle sequences are epic, if somewhat repetitive, especially when Tauriel fights Bolg (girl power), when Thorin pushes Azog under the ice, and when the Eagles drive off the rest of the Orcs.  I really liked the resolution between Bilbo Baggins and Thorin and I think this movie does a great job of bridging the gap between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I definitely recommend it but, honestly, if you haven't seen the previous movies, you may be a bit confused.  If, however, you are a fan of the franchise, I suspect you will love it!

Note:  I really think that men should wear their hair long.  Just my opinion.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Last December Marilyn and I took Sean and Tashena to see Elf: The Musical at PTC.  They enjoyed it so much we decided to take them to another Christmas performance this year (a little culture never hurt anybody).  Every year the Utah Symphony performs Here Comes Santa Claus as part of its Family Series and we went to this concert yesterday afternoon.  It was only one hour long (the perfect length for children) and the orchestra played well-known Christmas songs such as "Joy to the World," "O Christmas Tree," "Here Comes Santa Claus," and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."  For the finale, a visitor from the North Pole came and conducted the orchestra (and the audience) in a sing-along featuring "Deck the Halls," Jingle Bells," and "Frosty the Snowman."  These concerts in the Family Series are a great way to introduce classical music to children (see the Halloween concert here) because they are a lot of fun and the music is accessible for all ages.  Tashena loved it and Sean did a really good job sitting through the whole thing (of course, we did a full pat-down before entering Abravanel Hall and confiscated several toys with lasers).  I loved every minute of it and so did Marilyn (she thinks that Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic is adorable).  I am so glad that the Utah Symphony performs concerts that are geared for the whole family.  I derive a great deal of pleasure from the performing arts (as you know if you read my blog regularly) and it makes me very happy to give Sean and Tashena opportunities like this concert.  Afterwards, we went out to lunch and Sean told us that this was the best day ever!

Lights at Temple Square

Every year millions of lights are illuminated around the LDS Temple in downtown Salt Lake.  About that many people, from all over the world, come to visit the spectacular display beginning the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve.  Marilyn and I were among the crowd last night.  Actually, it wasn't too crowded and, more importantly, it wasn't too cold (we are having a very mild winter so far).  It is quite a sight to see.

There are also free Christmas concerts every night on Temple Square.  I was able to see the Hunter High School Concert Choir and Madrigals perform last night and I thought they were amazing!  The Madrigals sang one of my very favorite Christmas songs, "Lo How a Rose 'Ere Blooming."  You can go here for more information about all of the events on Temple Square.