The Nutcracker, Royal Opera House

We very nearly didn’t make it to the New Year’s Eve performance of the Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House. Tired and discouraged by the gloomy wet weather we were tempted to stay in with a cup of tea in front of the fire. Reminding myself (and my friend) of the uplifting music and sumptuousness of the Royal Opera House productions, we jumped in the car and sped towards Covent Garden, before we could change our minds again.

Uninterested by the mad New Year's Eve nightlife in London, a trip to see the Royal Ballet seemed a perfectly civilised and special alternative. We followed the crowds of best dressed kids up into our cheap seats, and I gleefully got out my beautiful vintage opera glasses I was given for Christmas.

The ballet was beautiful as ever, stunning dancing, costumes and set, and with an orchestra of tremendous force and quality. The interpretation of the story however did confuse me slightly, and I prefer the English National’s Ballet’s more romantic and traditional take on this classic work.

The story begins and ends in the toymaker's workshop, instead of in Clara’s bedroom, strangely making the narrative less enchanting, leaving the audience bewildered about the logistics of the tale, is it a dream or not? We never meet Clara as a child, instead lead ballerina Leanne Cope dances as the young girl throughout, also taking part in the second half show performances which is very odd. Perhaps I have been misled as I grew up with the English National Ballet version, however I think even for a Nutcracker first timer this story choice would be incongruous.

Moving down surreptitiously to a superior box for the second half (I spotted it during Act 1) we had a magnificent view of the production, and it truly sparkles. Leanne Cope is so smiley, it is impossible not to enjoy her performance as Clara and Paul Kay shows great strength and character dancing as her partner, the Nutcracker. Several of the cast were away for our performance but the substitutes were certainly not second rate, Marianela Nunez is a very precise and elegant Sugar Plum Fairy and Yuhui Choe is poised and lovely as the pretty in pink Rose Fairy.

It was quite simply beautiful, the perfect afternoon out, and the perfect way to end 2011.

Continues until 18 January, book here.

The Nutcracker, English National Ballet, Coliseum

For me it doesn't feel like Christmas until I've seen the English National Ballet production of The Nutcracker. Since singing in this show as a child, it has become an essential part of my festive season, symbolising the start of Christmas.

Every year I notice something different about the production, a tiny detail that particularly delights me. Thanks to talented choreographer Wayne Eagling, the last few years of the ENB Christmas show have been unbeatable. This year I was amazed by the exceptional children, who seem to take on more ensemble and solo dancing than ever before and dance with a confidence and vivacity to rival the adults. Siblings Lowri and Rowan Shone take on the parts of young Clara and Freddie, and they are both wonderful actors, producing witty mock arguments and dancing well too.

I was pleased to hear the snowflake chorus being sung live once more. Saving costs by not using a separate children's choir, the English National Ballet kids have to step up to the challenge, and though they look very pretty they don't quite reach the top notes securely.

Bridgett Zehr dances as Clara, her debut in this role. Zehr is a strong dancer, though her strained facial expressions often distracted me. She moves elegantly and eloquently on stage and as she dances the Sugar Plum Fairy her talent is evident. She makes a good foil to her partner, Nephew, danced by Esteban Berlanga. Together they produce some classic showy dancing, they make it look seamless and effortless and it was beautiful to watch.

The set looks even more spectacular than usual, with a mock ice skating rink, a growing Christmas tree, falling snow and flying hot air balloons... a dose of Christmas magic for children and adults alike, so imaginative and brilliantly executed that it makes you gasp when the curtain rises.

The orchestra seem to have a great time in the pit, you can tell they enjoy playing this annual piece of Tchaikovsky. Conductor Gavin Sutherland gives a sterling performance leading the troops, he puts his heart and soul into coordinating the musicians and dancers. My only quibble is that I think the orchestra could be a touch louder throughout.

As enchanting as ever, I am in no doubt that this is the Nutcracker production that best captures the essence of Christmas, and if you see any this is the one to pick.

Visit the website to book here.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Eugene Onegin, ENO

Pushkin and Tchaikovsky make a potent combination. Eugene Onegin is a staggering opera - one of the greats, and this new joint-production (with the New York Metropolitan Opera), directed by Deborah Warner, is a fresh and exciting version.

As always at the ENO, the opera is sung in English. This is not normally a concern, however this is one of the weakest translations I have heard the ENO work with. The rhymes are, at best, silly; and the language is often predictable and frothy. This won't matter to audiences in New York, who will no doubt hear it all in Russian.

Putting this to one side - the staging is impressive. The first act is staged in a country house, looking out on to the path and surrounding fields. It is a huge set, with massive girders on the ceiling, a staircase to the right, and large swinging barn-doors separating the relative safety of the domestic world from the outside. We are taken on a dramatic journey through ornate ballrooms, barren woods in winter, and on to the towering pillars of St. Petersburg.

In the title role Audun Iverson is physically commanding, but I never believed that the brain and soul of Onegin - complex and tortured - was working behind his eyes. The climatic outpouring of love at the moment he realises his mistake of refusing Tatyana, did not capture the audience as it might have done.

By contrast, Amanda Echalaz (Tatyana) was wonderfully committed to the role, particularly early on. Her first act aria, as she battles with her feelings for Onegin, was breathless and raw - she seemed locked into the mind of a young adult, coming to terms with love for the first time.

But it was Toby Spence (Lensky) who sprinkled magic over this opera. His second act aria, moments before his fatal duel with Onegin, was spine-tingling. It showed what opera is capable of when directed and performed effectively. Throughout his performance Spence sings close to the edge, taking risks at every opportunity, and it is this that makes him so compelling to watch.

The second act also marks the peak of this particular production. It sadly never reaches the same heights once Lensky has died. The final goodbye between Onegin and Tatyana almost bordered on pantomime, and there seemed to be something missing from the final act in general. There did not seem enough tension generated by their re-introduction (after a three year separation) at the beginning of the act , and it proved impossible to regain that momentum from there on in.

The vast chorus perform well, but are never as engaging to watch as the dancers, who steal the limelight in the ensemble scenes.

It is a shame that the final moments of this opera fail to live up to much of what has come before. The second act, in particular, really is tremendously exciting, and if maintained, may have resulted in one of the opera events of the year.

Eugene Onegin continues until 3 December, book here.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Alex Knox.

The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

It took a minute to remind ourselves of the story of Sleeping Beauty, without getting confused and preoccupied by Snow White and Cinderella. Turns out Sleeping Beauty is the one who if she pricks her finger is destined to die, thanks to a mean wicked fairy who places a curse on her at birth. Luckily a kind fairy partially reverses this enchantment so Sleeping Beauty will only fall asleep for one hundred years. The inevitable happens and the princess falls into a deep sleep for a century until awoken by a prince who breaks the spell, then they all live happily ever after.

Once I’d recapped all that, I was free to enjoy the dancing on the Royal Opera House stage, which was, as usual, quite spectacular. Unfortunately we were once again slumming it in the slips... as previously in the interval I skipped down a few floors to take up empty stalls seated but on this night the stewards were having none of it. It seems to me that the posher the theatre the ruder the stewards are, it is a rule that certainly applies to the Royal Opera House and Royal Albert Hall. We were unkindly escorted back upstairs, the power hungry manager didn’t believe I even had tickets!

As is often the case in ballet, the narrative is loose and to a certain extent unimportant. The beautiful score by Tchaikovsky tells the story as much as any indications on stage and it is the dancing and awe-inspiring skill that the crowd come to see. Marianela Nunez is radiant as the pretty in pink Princess Aurora, she lights up the whole auditorium with her glowing smile and dances with an elegant ease. Nunez is amazingly light footed and yet possesses a strength that shows confidence and maturity.

I am not in a position to judge ballet technique and yet all the fairies, particularly the Lilac Fairy, Claire Calvert and Helen Crawford as the Fairy of the Woodland Glade really stand out as exceptional, perfectionist dancers, completely faultless throughout. Marius Petipa’s choreography is dynamic, especially the ensemble work and he takes extra care with the final poses making full use of the stage.

I was disappointed with the set, rather lacklustre and flimsy it doesn’t evoke the magical fairytale world I was hoping for, luckily the dancing makes up for it. It was a real shame about the stewards, as their officiousness threatened to ruin our night and at somewhere like the Royal Opera House I would expect more from the staff.

The Sleeping Beauty continues until 21 December, book here.

The Nutcracker at The Coliseum

Everyone has something that makes them feel specially festive around this time of year. Maybe it’s the Christmas lights going up around London, or your first mince pie, for me it is the English National Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Every year The Coliseum hosts this wonderfully Christmassy show, and this year is their best production yet.

My first experience of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker was at the age of 12, when I performed in the chorus with my choir. We stood in the massive orchestra pit to sing the short snowflake chorus part, which comes just before the interval. I sung in the ENO Nutcracker for the next three or four years, a magical experience; it always felt like the start of the Christmas season for me. When the production changed and they no longer needed children singing live, I was sadly out of a job, so I went to see the ballet instead. This has been a tradition ever since.

Now, at the age of 22 I thought I knew what to expect, but this year was honestly more sublime than all the other productions that have come before it. The show celebrates 60 years of The English National Ballet in true style and splendour. This year the ENO welcomes a new production, a World Premiere - the creative team must be congratulated on their vision, which is perfectly realised on the great Coliseum stage. Wayne Eagling’s choreography is meticulous but measured and shows the dancers to be confident and daring. The players are as stunning as ever, but this year, with a new lease of life from a fresh production, they seem renewed. Even the youngest dancers stand out as having exceptional talent, tip-toeing their tiny feet across the massive stage. I was delighted to find that the production is, once again, using live singing for the snowflake chorus... twenty or so kids stand tall in the box closest to the stage singing their hearts out.

Peter Farmer has created a magical design for the story that plays with the central themes of fantasy and fun without the vulgarity of Gerald Scarfe’s previous production. Last year The Nutcracker had a cartoon feel, this is replaced by Farmer with an image of Victorian elegance, and an air of romantic nostalgia. I am so glad that this classic has been returned to its rightful character, attempts to modernise it damage the magic of the show.

The Nutcracker is on until Thursday 30 December, with Matinee and evening performances on most nights, book tickets here.