Maffre Takes Spotlight in S.F. Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’

The pinks were still plush, the Dancing Bear continued to elicit requisite oohs and aahs, and Drosselmeyer, a swarthy, Telly Savalas-type figure (the previously reviewed Val Caniparoli), stealthily held court in his platform boots at both the afternoon and evening performances of the San Francisco Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” on Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

It was the stellar presence of Sugar Plum Fairy Muriel Maffre on Sunday night, however, that illuminated the stage with her languid beauty, a clean, crisp line and breezy precision. Oozing musicality, Maffre’s was a study in ethereal grace, yet bursting with down-home delight. Her Cavalier, Benjamin Pierce (a guest from American Ballet Theatre), partnered with resolute sure-footedness. The combination produced the only true chemistry of the evening, indeed, the entire day.

On the other hand, Katita Waldo, the afternoon’s Sugar Plum Fairy, made the job look hard. Charmless, she proved a mismatch to Felipe Diaz’s small-statured Cavalier, whose brooding good looks and capable extensions only accentuated the low-sizzle level of the pair. What Diaz lacked in height, however, he made up for in speed, his turns quicksilver and confident.

In what appeared to be a blizzard, with snow blowing horizontally, Yuan Yuan Tan negotiated her Snow Monarch with perfunctory regality, but little zest and a slight wobble in the matinee. Her King, Vadim Solomakha, demonstrated sleek leaps but less than steady partnering.

Tan proved more comfortable as Arabian Coffee that evening. Looking radiant, she was a sinuous presence. Even more exotic in this role was Julie Diana. An amazingly lithe, captivating dancer, with drop-dead model hauteur, her arms wove through the air like filigree as she trailed her wispy turquoise harem garb and brought instant life to the character.

The evening Snow Monarchs, Kathleen Mitchell and the magnetic Jais Zinoun, essayed their roles with crystal certainty, while both Butterflies, saucy Julia Adam in the afternoon and determined Leslie Young in the evening, proved facile but not particularly floaty. Denis de Coteau again conducted the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra with a constant but uninspired hand. The festive audiences, some rising to the occasion, were nevertheless sweetly satisfied.

* Varying casts will appear in the San Francisco Ballet “Nutcracker” through Monday at 7:30 p.m.; also Thursday-Monday at 2 p.m. and Tuesday at 11 a.m. Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St. $21-$61. (213) 480-3232.