The History

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by way of Alexander Dumas' adapted story 'The Nutcracker'. It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera Iolanta.

The Music

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's most popular compositions. The music belongs to the Romantic Period and contains some of his most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. The Trepak, or Russian dance, is one of the most recognizable pieces in the ballet, along with the famous Waltz of the Flowers and March, as well as the ubiquitous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

The Story

The Nutcracker Ballet is based on the story "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice" written by E.T.A. Hoffman. The basic plot; The story of a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. When Lev Ivanov had the idea to choreograph the story into a ballet, it was actually based on a revision by Alexander Dumas, a well known French author.  His version reflects more of what we have come to love as the Nutcracker Ballet.