Dance in America

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
NUTCRACKER

Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Choreography: ©Helgi Tomasson

Scenic Design:  Michael Yeargan

Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz

Lighting Design:  James F. Ingalls

Projection Design:  Wendall K. Harrington

Conductor: Martin West

Closing credit crawl:

Director  (CARD)
MATTHEW DIAMOND

Producer  (CARD)
JUDY FLANNERY

Host (CARD)
KRISTI YAMAGUCHI

Lighting Director
ALAN ADELMAN

Audio Producer & Engineer
ADAM ABESHOUSE

Coordinating Producer
ALISON GIBSON

Associate Director
RAE KRAUS

Associate Producer
JUNE MESINA OUELLETTE

Segment Producer
LINDA SCHALLER

CAST

Uncle Drosselmeyer
DAMIAN SMITH

Clara
ELIZABETH POWELL

Nutcracker Prince
DAVIT KARAPETYAN

Snow Queen
YUAN YUAN TAN

Snow King
PIERRE-FRANÇOIS VILANOBA

Sugar Plum Fairy
VANESSA ZAHORIAN

Genie
SARAH VAN PATTEN

Chinese Man
NICOLAS BLANC

Russian Lead
PASCAL MOLAT

Grand Pas De Deux Ballerina
MARIA KOCHETKOVA

Soloists

RICARDO BUSTAMANTE

ANITA PACIOTTI

PASCALE LEROY

JIM SOHM

RORY HOHENSTEIN

CLARA BLANCO

GARRETT ANDERSON

DAVID ARCE

DORES ANDRE

FRANCES CHUNG

JAIME GARCIA CASTILLA

HANSUKE YAMAMOTO

ANTHONY SPAULDING

BRETT BAUER

MARIELLEN OLSON

ELANA ALTMAN

JENNIFER STAHL

JAMES SOFRANKO

LOUIS SCHILLING

MATTHEW STEWART

Corps de Ballet

ERIN MCNULTY
MIRIAM ROWAN
COURTNEY CLARKSON
DANA GENSHAFT
COURTNEY WRIGHT
AARON ORZA
ALEXANDRA LOREY
GAREN SCRIBNER
PAULI MAGIEREK
STEVEN NORMAN
CHRISTOPHER MONDOUX
NICOLE GRAND
MARGARET KARL
SHANNON ROBERTS
SASHA DESOLA
DANIELLE SANTOS
COURTNEY ELIZABETH
ASHLEY MUANGMAITHONG
ALEXANDRA MCCULLAGH
LUDMILA CAMPOS
ADELINE KAISER
LILY ROGERS
PATRICIA PEREZ
CHARLENE COHEN

STUDENTS OF SAN FRANCISCO BALLET SCHOOL

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ORCHESTRA

Music Director
MARTIN WEST

Production Manager
LEFTY LEFCOURT

Master Carpenter
NIXON BRACISCO

Master of Properties
KENNETH M. RYAN

Master Electrician
DENNIS HUDSON

Audio Engineer
KEVIN KIRBY

Orchestra Personnel Manager
TOM ROSE

Stage Manager
JANE GREEN

Wardrobe Supervisor
GEORGE ELVIN

Wig and Makeup
RICHARD BATTLE

PRODUCTION

Manager, TV Production Operations
FRANK CARFI

Unit Manager
JOLEE HOYT

Engineer in Charge
JIM ROLIN

Technical Director
GREG OVERTON

Camera Operators
DIANE BIEDERBECK
MIKE ELWELL
ED FUSSELL
VICTOR GONZALEZ
GREG KING
BETTINA LEVESQUE
JOHN REPCZYNSKI
RONNIE E. SMITH

Video
MARK SANFORD
ERIC SHACKELFORD

Videotape
HERB FERRETTE
JONATHAN MORRIS

Audio Recording Engineer
SILAS BROWN

Audio
HELEN SILVANI
FRED TETZNER

Field Engineers
TIM KUBIT
HUGH HEALY

Lighting Supervisor
KEVIN CONNAUGHTON

House Electricians
TIMOTHY PURCELL
ELOISE TWINING

Utilities
MARIA MENDOZA
MARTY COEN
RICK SANTANGELO
JIM MCKEE

Stage Manager
FRANK ZAMACONA

Graphic Design
ZALDY SERRANO
CARLO A. FLORES

Audio Post Production
ADAM ABESHOUSE
DANN THOMPSON

Script Consultant
SHARON WOOD

Editors
MARK STEPP
STEPHANIE CHALLBERG

Online Editor
ROBERT O’GEEN

Remote Crew

Camera
TOMAS TUCKER
RICK BUTLER

Audio
FRED TETZNER
HELEN SILVANI
LAURETTA MOLITOR

Tape
ERIC SHACKELFORD

Lighting
DARRELL FLOWERS
JEFFREY GILLIAM
JOE MENDOZA

Grip
JAMES GREENFIELD
RICK EDMONDSON

Teleprompter
RANDY BRASE

Stage Manager
MARGARET CLARKE

Special Thanks
Conservatory of Flowers
Park and Recreation, San Francisco

Richard Reutlinger
Tim Simon and Ann Little Simon

Archival Photos and Film Courtesy Of
Donna Ewald Huggins
The Exploratorium of San Francisco

For San Francisco Ballet

Artistic Director
HELGI TOMASSON

Executive Director
GLENN McCOY

General Manager
LESLEY KOENIG

For  KQED

Vice President, Television & Education Network
MICHAEL J. ISIP

Vice President, TV Engineering & Operations
STEVE WELCH

Executive Vice President, Marketing & Communications
DONALD DERHEIM

For Great Performances

Production Associate
MIICHAEL WEINSTEIN-REIMAN

Series Producer
BILL O’DONNELL

Executive Producer
DAVID HORN

A Co-production of
San Francisco Ballet and KQED Public Television
In association with Thirteen/WNET New York

© 2008  KQED, Inc.
San Francisco Ballet Association

Web Credits

PRODUCER
Daniel Ross

DESIGNER
Nicholas Miller

PAGEBUILDING
Brian Santalone

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Brian Lee

Watch a preview:

Recorded last December by KQED Public Television to help commemorate the company’s 75th anniversary, the work is choreographed by Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson and features sets and costumes by, respectively, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz, both repeat Tony Award-winning designers. “Striking, elegant and beautiful,” assessed The New York Times.

Introduced by Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, a native of the Bay Area and winner of this year’s Dancing with the Stars, the production premieres in high definition and 5.1 surround sound Wednesday, December 17 at 8 p.m. (ET) on GREAT PERFORMANCES on PBS (check local listings). San Francisco Ballet Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West conducts Tchaikovsky’s sprightly score.

“I have grown up with this wonderful company,” says Yamaguchi. “It was with them that my mom, Carole, took me to my first Nutcracker. Pretty impressive for a little girl, with all that magic and sparkle, thrilling music and those costumes! I think that’s when I fell in love with performing. Next year, I’ll be taking my little girls, 5 and 3, to their first production.”

In addition to the Russian-trained Kochetkova, a recent recruit from English National Ballet, as the adult Clara and the athletic yet lyrical Armenian-born Karapetyan as her cavalier prince, the large cast includes Damian Smith as Uncle Drosselmeyer and Pierre-François Vilanoba and Yuan Yuan Tan as the Snow King and Snow Queen. Vanessa Zahorian is the Sugar Plum Fairy. Dance in America viewers will remember Yuan Yuan Tan for her stunning portrayal of Desdemona in Lar Lubovitch’s Othello from San Francisco Ballet (2002).

The ballet, which was first performed in Russia in 1892, holds a special significance for San Francisco Ballet, America’s oldest professional ballet company. It had its U.S. premiere there in 1944.

Tchaikovsky’s beguiling score is one of the most popular pieces of music ever written. Think “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 story, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, it was first proposed to Tchaikovsky by legendary choreographer Marius Petipa as a follow-up to Tchaikovsky’s other successful ballets at Russia’s famed Mariinsky Theatre: Swan Lake (1877) and The Sleeping Beauty (1890). The composer began work on it in 1891.

The work premiered at the Mariinsky in December of the following year, with choreography by Lev Ivanov, taking over for an indisposed Petipa. The ballet completed a double bill, appearing with Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta. Reviews were disappointing for both. While Tchaikovsky thought much of Iolanta, he felt the ballet score was not among his best work. Some 115 years, countless performances, and myriad LPs and CDs later, many would disagree.

San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker was recorded on stage in performance at the War Memorial Opera House December 19 and 21, 2007. It is a co-production of San Francisco Ballet and KQED Public Television San Francisco, in association with Thirteen/WNET New York. Past co-productions of the triad include San Francisco Ballet’s The Tempest, A Song for Dead Warriors, Cinderella, and Lar Lubovitch’s Othello.

Matthew Diamond (Dance in America’s Emmy Award-winning Swan Lake with American Ballet Theatre; GREAT PERFORMANCES’ Crazy for You) directs; Judy Flannery (GREAT PERFORMANCES’ Emmy Award-winning A Streetcar Named Desire From the San Francisco Opera) produced. Michael Isip is Executive Producer for KQED.

An expanded version of San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, featuring additional behind-the-scenes interviews with the production’s creators and a background piece on the 1915 World’s Fair, is available on DVD from Opus Arte/Naxos of America.

Major corporate funding for this telecast was provided by First Republic Bank, a division of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, Co.

GREAT PERFORMANCES is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers, and PBS.  Special funding for the telecast was provided by Jim and Cecilia Herbert & Family. Additional support was provided by The Flora Family Foundation and members of the San Francisco Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Sponsors Council: major sponsors include the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, The Hellman Family, and Yurie and Carl Pascarella; with additional sponsors including Stuart Francis and Diana Stark; Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation; Cecilia and Jim Herbert; George Frederick Jewett Foundation, Lucille Jewett, Trustee; Barbara Ravizza and John Osterweis; Kathleen Scutchfield; The Smelick Family; The Swanson Foundation; Ms. Susan A. Van Wagner; E.L. Wiegand Foundation; Diane B. Wilsey; and Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang.

• A Day in the Life
• Viewing Guide
• Project Guidelines

Time Allotment:
Approximately five to seven 45-minute class periods

Subject Matter:
History and Language Arts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Students will:

1. Utilize their imagination to envision life in a communist country as they listen to a description read by the teacher.

2. Learn the definition of various social studies terms including “communism,” “capitalism,” “democracy,” “totalitarian,” “Cold War,” “defect,” and “asylum.”

3. Participate in large and small group discussions related to the terminology they have learned and the relevant information presented in the film.

4. Work as a class to construct a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the rights of U.S. citizens to those of people who lived in communist Russia.

5. Utilize critical viewing and note-taking skills as they watch the film and complete the related viewing guide.

6. Participate in large and small group discussions related to the historical aspects of the film.

7. Complete an individual research project related to the Cold War period of history.

8. Present their individual projects to classmates and provide constructive feedback to one another regarding project content.
Materials:
A copy of GREAT PERFORMANCES’ NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS
Access to Internet and/or library resource materials
Access to various art supplies (optional)
Access to various computer software (optional)

Prep for Teachers:
Prior to teaching the lesson, record the broadcast of NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS (check local listings to determine if and when the program will air in your state), review the program for content, bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer, and download the necessary plug-ins. Print out and make copies of the related handouts: A Day in the Life, Viewing Guide, and Project Guidelines.

Bookmark the following sites:

Rudolf Nureyev Foundation
http://www.nureyev.org/
Find biographical information and a catalogue of Nureyev’s main roles, works he choreographed, and dance partners along with a photo gallery and memories of the dancer from those who knew and worked with him.

Ballet.co: Rudolph Nureyev
http://www.ballet.co.uk/nureyev/index.htm
Features a biography, photos, video clips, and related information about Nureyev and his career.

BBC Four: Interviews: Rudolph Nureyev
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/nureyevr1.shtml
Listen to interviews with Nureyev from 1969 and 1971.

CNN Interactive: Cold War
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/
Provides an in-depth look at the history, key events, and people associated with the Cold War.

Cold War International History Project: The Cold War Files
http://www.coldwarfiles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.flash
Find documents from the Cold War and profiles of crucial events and individuals from the era.

PBS: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: “The Nuremberg Trials”: The Start of the Cold War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/nuremberg/peopleevents/e_coldwar.html
A page about the key people and events related to the beginning of the Cold War.

The Cold War Museum
http://www.coldwar.org/museum/museum_features.html
Offers time lines, exhibits, and activities related to the Cold War period.

PBS: RED FILES: “Soviet Sports Wars”: Soviet Athletes Who Defected
http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/sports/defectors.htm
Profiles of Soviet athletes who defected to the West.

Connection Newspapers: “An Orchestrated Defection”
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?archive=true&article=59842&paper=69&cat=115
An article about the defection of bassoonist Arnold Irchai from the Soviet Union.

Constitutional Rights Foundation: “Life Under Communism in Eastern Europe”
http://www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria19_1a.htm
A description of the economic and social conditions and the status of human rights under communist governments in Eastern Europe.

Geographia: Asia: Russia: History of Russia: The Soviet Era
http://www.geographia.com/russia/rushis07.htm
Provides a brief history of the Soviet Union from the 1930s through 1991.

Grove Music Online
http://www.grovemusic.com

STANDARDS:

Art Connections
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=9&standardID=1
Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines.

Historical Understanding
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=3&standardID=2
Understands the historical perspective.

World History
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=6&standardID=43
Understands how post-World War II reconstruction occurred, new international power relationships took shape, and colonial empires broke up.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=6&standardID=44
Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world.

Language Arts
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/SubjectTopics.asp?SubjectID=7

Writing
Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process.
Gathers and uses information for research purposes.

Reading
Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process.
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts.

Listening and Speaking
Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes.

Viewing
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.

Working with Others
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=1
Contributes to the overall effort of a group.

http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=22&standardID=4
Displays effective interpersonal communication skills.

Thinking and Reasoning
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/standardDetails.asp?subjectID=21&standardID=3
Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.

This lesson was prepared by Lisa Prososki, an independent educational consultant and instructional design specialist who taught middle school and high school social studies, English, reading, and technology courses for 12 years.

1. Many students may not know the history of the Cold War or understand the communist system of government. To create a stronger understanding of both, ask the students to close their eyes and imagine as you read the A Day in the Life handout aloud.

2. After you have read the handout, distribute a copy of it to each student and facilitate a classroom discussion using questions such as:

• Do you think you would like to live in a country like this? Why?
• What advantages and disadvantages would there be to living in a country with this type of government? Explain.
• Do you think people living in such a country are happy? Why?

3. Continue the discussion by explaining to the students that in Russia people lived under a communist form of government from the 1930s until the early 1990s. Explain that under communism, people did not have a similar lifestyle to the one enjoyed in the United States, which is based on a democratic form of government and embraces the idea of capitalism.

4. To help the students better understand the differences between communism and democracy, share the following definitions (from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary at http://www.m-w.com/dictionary):

communism: a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production.

totalitarian: of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (as censorship and terrorism).

Example: Communist Russia

capitalism: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

democracy: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Example: United States

the Cold War: a conflict over ideological differences carried on by methods short of sustained overt military action and usually without breaking off diplomatic relations; … : the ideological conflict between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the second half of the 20th century.

5. Explain to the students that following World War II, because of the conflicting ideas each country had about government, there was great distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union, resulting in what came to be called the Cold War.

Using what the students have learned from the definitions above and the A Day in the Life activity, work as a class to create a list or graphic organizer (Venn diagram, etc.) that compares the rights of U.S. citizens to the rights of people living in the Soviet Union when it was governed by the communists.

Close this discussion by asking the following questions:

• What does it mean to defect from one’s country? [To forsake one cause, party, or nation for another often because of a change in ideology.]
• What is asylum? [Protection from arrest and extradition given especially to political refugees by a nation or by an embassy or other agency enjoying diplomatic immunity.]
• If you were living in a communist country and had the opportunity to leave, would you do so? Why? What risks might you or your family face as a result of this action?
• What risks do other countries take by giving people asylum?

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
Time Allotment: two to three class periods

1. Introduce NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS by explaining to the students that they will be viewing a program about one of the world’s greatest dancers who was dissatisfied with his life in the former Soviet Union and defected to the West. Explain that they will learn why Nureyev defected, how others reacted, and how the event changed his life in both positive and negative ways.

2. Distribute the Viewing Guide and have the students read the questions before they watch the film. Watch NUREYEV: THE RUSSIAN YEARS as a class. Pay special attention to the interviews clips with Nureyev and his friends that appear throughout the film. Take time to focus the students’ attention on the specifics of Nureyev’s defection beginning at approximately (insert time cue) and the results of his leaving Russia. Pause the film as needed for students to complete the guide.

3. After the students have watched the program and completed the Viewing Guide, have them work in groups to discuss questions 1 through 8. They should fill in additional information learned from this discussion on their Viewing Guide. Provide 15 to 20 minutes for this activity.

4. Gather the students into a large group to discuss questions 9 and 10. Encourage volunteers to provide specific information and quotes from the film when discussing their answers. They should provide reasons and examples to support their opinions for question 10.

5. Close the discussion about the film by using questions such as:

• Do you think that it takes courage to defect from one’s country? Why?
• Would you have made the same decision as Nureyev if you had been in his situation and had the opportunity to defect? Why?
• What did it cost Nureyev? What did he have to give up in order to be “free”? Was it worth it?
• At the end of the film, we learn that Nureyev was reunited with his mother 25 years after he defected. Why do you think this was allowed by the Russian government at that time?
• Nureyev eventually returned to the stage at the Kirov Ballet shortly before his death. Why do you think this was permitted? How do you think he might have felt about this?
• Based on what you saw in the film, how do you think Nureyev is viewed and remembered in his home country?
• In what ways was Nureyev a pioneer for other artists, athletes, intellectuals, and average citizens seeking to escape the oppression of communism? In what ways might he have deterred others from defecting?

CULMINATING ACTIVITIES:
Time Allotment: two class periods

1. Distribute the Project Guidelines to the students. Explain that the goal of the project is to help them learn more about life during the Cold War. Review the specific requirements for the project and provide students with at least one class period to begin their work.

2. When all the students have completed their projects, provide them with an opportunity to share what they have learned. Have the students work in pairs or small groups and give them time to present their work to one another. Encourage them to provide feedback on the projects by completing the three sentences below on a sheet of paper.

• Three things I learned from your project were …
• The thing I liked best about your project was …
• A suggestion I have for a way to improve your project is …

3. Projects should then be posted in a common area of the school or on a classroom/school Web site so others can view them.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1. While communist Russia is a thing of the past, there are many countries around the world where communism is alive and well. Select a country such as Cuba, North Korea, or China and study it. Compare it to communist Russia. What similarities and differences can you note? Record these on a graphic organizer such as a Venn diagram. Discuss the current U.S. political relationship with this country and how it is similar to and different from the relationship we had with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

2. Using a world map, create a key that shows all of the countries around the world that are currently communist and those that are considered democracies. Label each accordingly, then discuss the relative success of each form of government worldwide in terms of economics, political relationships, human rights, and social conditions. Label “hot spots” and cut out magazine or newspaper articles related to those countries and post them near the map.

Act I

As conceived by Peter Wright, after the original book by Lev Ivanov. Herr Drosselmeyer (Anthony Dowell), a mysterious magician and creator of mechanical toys and clocks, was once employed at the royal palace, where he invented a trap that killed off half the mouse population. In revenge, the wicked Mouse Queen cast a spell on Drosselmeyer’s nephew, Hans-Peter (Ivan Putrov), which transformed him into an ugly nutcracker doll. The only way to break the spell is for the Nutcracker to slay the Mouse King and for a young girl to love and care for him in spite of his awful appearance.

When Drosselmeyer is invited to entertain the guests at a Christmas party given by his friends, the Stahlbaums, he decides that this could well be the opportunity he has been looking for. The Stahlbaums have a daughter, Clara (Alina Cojocaru), who is a little younger than Hans-Peter. And what better time than Christmas, when the mice are busy stealing the leftovers, for a confrontation between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker? Drosselmeyer decides to put the Nutcracker in the tender care of Clara and makes a special Christmas angel to guide her through her task.

When all the guests have departed and the house is asleep, Clara, in search of the nutcracker doll, creeps downstairs and discovers Drosselmeyer waiting for her. He draws her into his own special world of fantasy, where time is suspended, and exerts all his powers to transform the living room into a great battlefield. Then he summons the Mouse King (Christopher Saunders). In the ensuing fight between the mice and the toy soldiers, the Nutcracker slays the Mouse King, but only through the intervention of Clara, who, out of compassion, saves the Nutcracker’s life.

Act II

Restored to his real self, Hans-Peter dances with Clara, and they find themselves in the Land of Snow. Drosselmeyer then sends them on a magic journey to the Sugar Garden in the Kingdom of Sweets, where they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy (Miyako Yoshida) and her Prince (Jonathan Cope). Freed at last from his imprisonment inside the nutcracker, Hans-Peter recounts to the Sugar Plum Fairy his great adventure and how Clara saved his life. They then join in a magnificent entertainment put on by Drosselmeyer to honor them for their bravery.

Returning to reality, Clara runs out into the street in search of Drosselmeyer and encounters a strangely familiar young man, while back in his workshop Drosselmeyer prays that his efforts will be rewarded. His nephew returns; the spell has indeed been broken.

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.

Related Web Sites

• The Royal Ballet

• The Nutcracker Ballet

• NPR: The Enduring Spirit of the Nutcracker

• Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky