THE NUTCRACKER

The plot is based on Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" slightly adapted by Alexandre Dumas-father. Dumas' innovations made the fairy tale simpler and even more interesting, and therefore “The Nutcracker” ballet began to attract the attention of a much younger audience: after all, a fairy tale story with real villains, wizards, enchanted princes, fairies and miracles will always appeal to any kid and adult.

The authors of the world-famous ballet: choreographer Marius Petipa and director of the Imperial Theaters Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who composed the libretto, Lev Ivanov, who choreographed and, of course, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who created brilliant music for this New Year's story. It became his most recognizable art work in every country on the globe. With classical clarity and fullness it combines the best features of musical dramaturgy and mature symphonic art.

“The Nutcracker” occupies a special place among the late works of P. I. Tchaikovsky: various musical images are innovatively applied in it. In addition, the celesta, a musical instrument ordered from Paris at the request of the composer, sounded in the ballet for the first time.

The ballet has undergone several changes: the first version of Petipa-Ivanov was supplemented by the second version by choreographer Vasily Vainonen, which was released in 1934 at the Kirov Theatre (Mariinsky). It has become the most classical ballet of the 20th century, which is performed not only by mature artists, but also by students of the Academy of Russian Ballet. In 1966, the premiere of “The Nutcracker” by Yuri Grigorovich took place at the Bolshoi Theatre: it is believed that he managed to create an ideal solution to Tchaikovsky's score.