I spoke with Solymosi at the Opera House before, as he memorably described it, the “‘Nutcracker’ tsunami” began. In the rehearsal studio across the corridor from his office, as we talked, a ballet dancer practiced alone in a world of her own.
For the uninitiated, the story of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” begins on Christmas Eve and tells the story of the Stahlbaum family Christmas. After Uncle Drosselmeier puts on a show telling the story of the battle between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King, he gives a nutcracker doll to Marie, one of the smaller children, which her brother Fritz promptly breaks. Drosselmeier mends it.
At midnight, while Marie sleeps with the nutcracker doll beside her, she dreams that the Christmas tree, gifts and furniture grow to an enormous size. A Mouse King leads mice and rats to attack the Stahlbaum house and Christmas tree. Nutcracker comes to life, leads an animated army of toy soldiers in battle against the Mouse King and defeats him and his army.
The Stahlbaum house then transforms into a forest winter wonderland, and Marie and Nutcracker, accompanied by Drosselmeier, take a fantastic journey to the fairytale Land of Snow. Here, Nutcracker becomes a prince and Marie his bride. They enjoy a series of dance divertissements, perform a pas de deux together and are joined by the entire corps de ballet in a grand finale.
On Christmas morning, Marie wakes up in her room, unable to tell whether what she experienced was a dream or real.
“Nutcracker” has been in the repertoire of the Opera House for more than half a century. But for Christmas 2015, Solymosi and “Nutcracker” specialist Wayne Eagling developed a choreography fuller of spectacle and action than ever before. For the “Magyar Nemzet” website review, Eszter Veronika Kiss wrote, “This new choreography by Wayne Eaglin and Tamás Solymosi is not only modern and as brilliant as one would expect, it is also a sort of the homage to the legend.”
In a glittering career, Solymosi had performed “Nutcracker” hundreds of times. “I’ve danced eight different versions in different countries,” he tells me. “I’ve loved many things about them but not everything. This gave me an idea of what would make a great ‘Nutcracker’ for me.”
After dancing for some of the world’s great ballet companies, including the British Royal Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet, Solymosi took a position as deputy director at the Hungarian Dance Academy in 2006. In 2011, he became acting director of the Hungarian National Ballet. Under his leadership, it has refreshed and enriched its repertoire.
He created the Hungarian National Ballet Institute within the Hungarian State Opera in 2016 to train young ballet students. Solymosi was made an Artist of Excellence in Hungary in 2018. Charismatic and charming, he nonetheless clearly has a will of steel.
“By now, I’m basically living at the Opera House. Every day, I watch the rehearsals and have new ideas to make the ‘Nutcracker’ shine brighter. I’m the main engine, and I’m very demanding,” he admits. “My job is to believe in my dancers. I’m sure if I do, they’ll believe in themselves.” It’s not just about the quality of the choreography and dancing, though.
“The sets, the costumes, should be as beautiful as the Opera House itself. That’s when the magic comes. I believe 2024 will be our biggest, best production so far, offering a window into Christmas in Hungary and giving people a beautiful three hours to remember,” Solymosi promises.
This year’s production includes even more action and a greater focus on the children who play the mice and rats. All 68 kids enrolled at the Hungarian National Ballet Institute will perform. I wondered if it was still the case that most little girls want to be a ballerina.
“When I was auditioning for ballet school, there were more than 1,000 boys auditioning, and only 12 got in. There were 2,000 to 3,000 girls. Now it’s maybe only 100 in total. That’s why I founded the Hungarian National Ballet Institute, to encourage more children to consider the ballet,” Solymosi says.
“But, it’s not an easy life, so it’s understandable that fewer children want to enter the ballet and that their parents aren’t keen. It’s a short career. You work hard every day, and there’s a real risk of injury. Ballet dancers need the body of an athlete, but they also need a strong mind to be able to dance and act,” he admits. Solymosi believes his job is to be completely honest with dancers.
“I’m not here to waste people’s time telling them they’re great when they’re not.” But he’s also supportive. “Every year, I have a serious talk with the dancers about their work and make sure they’re aware of their options. I remind them that their career will be over when they’re 40, so they should be studying for their second career now. The Opera House sometimes provides financial assistance to help people study for a second career.”
After I said goodbye to Solymosi, I passed by the rehearsal studio. It was full of little girls preparing to practice. I was reminded of something quite profound, in an artistic sense, that Solymosi had told me.
“We have a responsibility to train our children. What they’ll become is on our shoulders. Ballet is much more than entertainment. It’s part of our culture.”
“Nutcracker” was due to have its 2024 premiere on Nov. 28 and is scheduled to run until Jan. 12. It is such a fixture of the holiday season in Budapest that many of the dates are all but sold out already. However, at the time of writing, tickets were still available for most dates, and it may be possible to get a return. Visit www.opera.hu/en for performance dates and times and ticket sales.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of November 29, 2024.
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