The Russian State Ballet and Opera House Present The Nutcracker

Amande Concerts brings the Russian State Ballet and Opera House’s presentation of The Nutcracker. Come see this Christmas classic live on stage from some of the top performers in the world. The Russian State Ballet performs more than 200 classical shows every single year, and they return to the UK this year for their annual tour featuring this iconic Christmas tale.

The Nutcracker is one of Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky’s most beloved and famous compositions. The ballet is also one of the most popular in the world.

The Russian State Ballet and Opera House will take the tour of this ballet to several cities throughout the UK, including Stevenage, Basingstoke, Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne, Yeovil, Cheltenham, Dorset, Grimsby and more.

The story featured in the show is based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written by ETA Hoffman. It follows the story of Marie, a sad girl whose godfather gives her a nutcracker as a Christmas present. The wooden nutcracker transforms into a prince, and the magic begins.

When Marie creeps down in the middle of the night to play with her new toy, she finds that he has come to life. With the help of a box of toy soldiers, the nutcracker defeats the Mouse King army that has invaded her home.

But the victory does not come without a price. The nutcracker is fatally wounded, and transforms into a handsome prince. He whisks her away to a winter wonderland and land of sweets, where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy.

The sequence that features the festive dance celebrating the nutcracker’s defeat of the Mouse King is one of classical ballet’s finest moments. This unforgettable part includes The Arabian Dance, The Spanish Dance, The Chinese Dance, The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, The Russian Dance and The Waltz of the Flowers.

This classical ballet was first performed in 1892 at the Mariinksy theatre in St. Petersburg. The show was staged along with Tchaikovsky’s famous opera Yolenta. Tchaikovsky was not attracted to the story initially, but he eventually preferred the ballet to his opera Yolenta.

The Nutcracker remains as one of the classic holiday stories for more than a century. But it remained unknown in the west until 1934, when a production was staged at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. Stanley Judson and Alicia Markova were a part of this original production. The full-length production of the ballet would eventually make its way to the United States in 1944 at the San Francisco Opera Ballet.