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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. The Multimedia Presentation allows you to 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.
Top banner photos: The Nutcracker/Hans-Peter (Ivan Putrov) and Clara (Alina Cojocaru); the Arabian Dance (Nicola Tranah, Christopher Saunders, Alastair Marriott, and Maurice Vodegel-Matzen). |
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The retinue of the Sugar Plum Fairy pays tribute to Clara in the "Waltz of the Flowers." |
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The Nutcracker/Hans-Peter (Ivan Putrov) relates how Clara saved his life. |
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This program is available on VHS and DVD. |
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