For a decade, Queen Magrethe II of Denmark has been annually designing the costumes and set designs for major stage productions. And this year she says she is “very excited” to show off her latest creations in “The Nutcracker.”
Queen Magrethe II of Denmark is turning that concept around. For a decade now, she has been annually designing the costumes and set designs for major stage productions.
Since it was first staged in Russia in 1892, there haven been countless adaptions of the Christmas tale “The Nutcracker.” Back then, no one might have imagined that the costumes on the dancers would one day be designed by royalty. But that is exactly the case with this ballet, which is set to open at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen on December 1. And the Queen of Denmark says she canot wait to showcase her latest stage and costume designs.
“I’m very excited and full of anticipation, positive anticipation, I would say. I can see that it is shaping well and that everybody’s enthusiastic, I think. I’m looking very much forward to the opening night,” said Queen Magrethe II.
Queen Margrethe II previously designed costumes for the Copenhagen production of the classic Christmas tale back in 2012, and dancer Kathleen Videira says her designs always provide a “unique” touch.
“Her costumes are really unique. They have a lot of detail, which puts a nice touch to the end look of the production,” said Kathleen Videira, ballet dancer.
Videira and fellow dancer Jennifer Wagstaffe say the monarch sees herself as one of the team.
Queen Magrethe II of Denmark is turning that concept around. For a decade now, she has been annually designing the costumes and set designs for major stage productions.
“The Queen of Denmark is so approachable and she takes her work really, really seriously. So, it's always exciting to work with her. And she has such a passion for what she does, when she’s making costumes and designing the sets. She’s not just the Queen of Denmark, she really is a set designer, a costume designer, really takes her work seriously,” said Wagstaffe.
“She’s a really special lady, because when she comes to Tivoli, she has made it very clear that she wants to be treated as our costume designer and that’s all, you know? So we can speak to her on the same level as a normal person. It's really nice to do that,” said Videira.
“The Nutcracker” runs at Copenhagen's Tivoli Concert Hall December 1–30.
