The origin of the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas Story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on a family’s Christmas Eve celebration. Alexandre Dumas Père’s adaptation of the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann was set to music by Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa. It was commissioned by the director of Moscow’s Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, in 1891, and premiered a week before Christmas 1892. Since premiering in western countries in the 1940s, this ballet has become perhaps the most popular to be performed around Christmas time. The story centers on a young girl’s Christmas Eve and her awakening to the wider world and romantic love. The composer made a selection of eight of the more popular pieces before the ballet’s December 1892 premiere, forming what is currently known as the Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, as is heard in Moscow Ballet productions. The suite became instantly popular; however the complete ballet did not achieve its great popularity as a Christmas performance event until almost 100 years later.
The first performance of the Christmas ballet was held as a double premiere together with Tchaikovsky’s last opera, Iolanta, around the Christmas holiday season on December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Continue reading from Moscow Ballet
Dance Factory Ridgefield and Savatara Corporation Present 'The Nutcracker' (The Klein Memorial Auditorium, Bridgeport CT)
Connecticut Ballet's The Nutcracker (The Palace Theatre, Stamford CT)
The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory Presents The Nutcracker (The Warner Theatre, Torrington CT)
The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance's Nutcracker Ballet (The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield CT)
Danbury Music Centre’s Nutcracker Ballet (Danbury Music Centre, Danbury CT)
NYC Ballet Presents George Balanchine's 'The Nutcracker' (David H. Koch Theater, New York City)
New Haven Ballet Performs The Nutcracker (Shubert Theatre, New Haven CT)
The Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Guide to 'The Nutcracker' Ballet (LiveAbout)
The Rich Legacy of Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker (The Boston Ballet)
A Guide to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Classical-Music by BBC Music Magazine)
Little Known Facts About the Nutcracker Suite and Tchaikovsky (Connolly Music)
How Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Became a Christmas Classic (BBC)
