Great Russian Nutcracker

The words exciting, awe-inspiring, and larger-than-life sum up the experience of watching Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. Be it the set designs, the costumes, the music or the impeccable display of skills by an ensemble of Russian dancers, everything is spot-on. Although the ballet takes its plot from the classic story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A Hoffmann, but it is the Russian twist that sets it apart. Thus the ballet has been a favorite among critics and audiences. The New York Times has lauded it in these words “expansive… brimful with feeling…the Russian style is elegantly generous” while Dallas Morning News called it “the best of classical ballet.” The ballet is a constant reminder of Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky’s brilliant composition which has surely been one of the reasons behind the ballet’s elevating popularity. Watch the Christmas story with a Russian flair by buying Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker tickets.

Hoffmann penned The Nutcracker and the Mouse King in 1816. The story revolves around Marie Stahlhaum, a seven year old girl whose Christmas toy, a nutcracker takes a human form. It is a battle between the good and evil and since the good always outweighs the bad in this case the nutcracker defeats the mouse king to win over Marie. Hence making her part of a Doll Kingdom. The Nutcracker is one of the most popular ballets and there have been countless film and TV adaptations of it such as Fantasia, The Spirit of Christmas, Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen, The Wonder Pets, House of Mouse etc. Almost every Christmas themed cartoon or film derives its story from The Nutcracker. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker has been around for almost two decades touring extensively in America and Canada without ever failing to draw an astonishingly large turnout.

This is not the only widely applauded work by the Moscow Ballet as it has produced many prominent works such as Swan Lake, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and many more. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker premiered in North America in 1933 and met with critical and commercial acclaim. With Stanislav Vlasov on board as the director and choreographer, the production toured for six weeks all across America. It had rolling backgrounds as opposed to the hand-painted backdrops with 3-D effect found in the modern productions. The year 2012 marks 20 years of Moscow Ballet’s one of the best productions. However, the history of The Nutcracker goes back to 1892 when it first hit the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexander Dumas Pere, an acclaimed French writer known for novels like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After was the captain of the ship. Choreographed by Marius Petipa and music by Tchaikovsky, the ballet also succeeded in getting attention internationally.

Following the success of The Nutcracker many productions came out. The year 1919 saw Alexander Gorsky’s production of the ballet with some changes in the plot. In 1927 another production was showcased which was choreographed by Ede Brada. Vasili Vainonen also unleashed his version of the ballet in 1934 which turned out to be one of the most influential works prompting others to follow in his footsteps. In 1940 the ballet was performed in theaters in New York City, this time around choreographed by Alexandra Fedorova. Hence paving way for innumerable versions of the ballet with every choreographer trying his best to overcome the flaws seen in previous attempts. However, there was one that garnered considerable attention.

It was the 1954 version of The Nutcracker executed by New York City Ballet staged by George Balanchine. His work was a benchmark of quality for his contemporaries and everyone who wished to make a quality production of the ballet. Other productions hitting the theaters are by Rudolf Nureyev, Yuri Grigorovich, Peter Wright, Mark Morris, Mathew Bourne, Mikhail Baryshnikov etc. Purchase Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker tickets to watch a great piece of art. Referred to as “an American institution” by Alastair Macaulay, a dance critic from the New York Times, The Nutcracker is always a treat to watch.