The Nutcracker

One of the most famous and beloved ballets all over the world is “The Nutcracker”. It is no longer possible to imagine a single reputable theatre that would not have this ballet in its repertoire, just as it is impossible to imagine Christmas without Santa and this wonderful ballet story.

“The Nutcracker” is the third and final ballet by the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky was captivated by a beautiful fairy tale about an ugly doll who could crack nuts.
Tchaikovsky expressed the meaning of a fairy tale about a kind soul of a girl, almost an adult, in music. She dreams of happiness and defeats evil. The libretto of “The Nutcracker” was written by the brilliant Russian choreographer, Marius Petipa, Frenchman by nationality.
But the German writer Hoffmann was the first to tell the story of The Nutcracker, followed by Alexandre Dumas.

“The Nutcracker” ballet has been staged by a variety of choreographers. The first production was carried out by the talented Russian choreographer Lev Ivanov in 1892 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Tchaikovsky was at the premiere and he told about the ballet success in a letter to his brother. The Waltz of the Snowflakes was especially beautiful, its photograph has been preserved. But the ballet itself turned out to be completely forgotten. Many choreographers created their own versions of the performance. The original version was made by Vyacheslav Gordeev, who was one of the best ballet princes, danced the part of the Nutcracker Prince in the Bolshoi Theatre performance, and subsequently retold the plot in his own way at the Russian Ballet Theatre.