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December 24th, 2003
"The Nutcracker" from the Royal Ballet
Introduction

From London’s beautifully refurbished Covent Garden Opera House comes this elegant new production with one of Tchaikovsky’s most enduring scores for the ballet. Generations of audiences have enjoyed this perennial Christmas favorite, a charming tale of holiday adventure that follows a little girl’s journey through a fantasy world of fairies, princes, toy soldiers, and an army of mice. Revised by Sir Peter Wright with sets designed by Julia Trevelyan Oman, the new Royal Ballet production features an acclaimed cast, including Ivan Putrov as the Nutcracker, Alina Cojocaru as Clara, Miyako Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Sir Anthony Dowell as the toy- and clockmaker Herr Drosselmeyer. Conductor Evgenii Svetlanov leads the Royal Opera Orchestra through some of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved music, including “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes.”

The two-act ballet had its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 17, 1892. It was based on Alexander Dumas père’s THE NUTCRACKER OF NUREMBERG, which was an adaptation of an earlier story by E.T.A. Hoffmann called THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING. Read a synopsis of “The Nutcracker” to become more familiar with the holiday classic. You can also print a set and a variety of character cutouts from “The Nutcracker,” which can then be colored and assembled in order to stage your own version of the ballet.

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Comments

7 comments

#1

Is the cutout download no longer available?

#2

i am looking for future showes on p b s of the san fransisco ballet the original of 1923 on channel 8 in houston tx.

#3

Will this be shown again before the end of 2008..?? PLEASE..?? My family & I really like this ballet – we LOVE the music especially.

#4

I just watched the movie and I thought it was very good. The dances were beautiful and extremely elegant. Thumbs up to all the cast members!

#5

SHES AWSOME!!!!!!!!!

#6

Bravo. This has to be one of the best versions of the Nutcracker I’ve ever seen

#7

Will this be shown during the 2009 Christmas season?

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