The Nutcracker: The Royal Ballet

Synopsis

A magician with secrets, an enchanted gift, a battle with the Mouse King, a guiding angel and a visit through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets: it must be the seasonal favourite, The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky's music is some of the most instantly memorable of all ballet, with a wealth of famous melodies.

The ballet draws on all the imagination and fantasy of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story of Christmas eve, when young Clara creeps downstairs for one of her presents, but finds herself instead at the start of a night of magical adventures. The designs for this now classic production create the real world of the 19th-century—even when the Christmas tree magically grows and the toy soldiers come to life to fight the Mouse King! The beautifully coloured imaginings of the fantasy Sugar Garden and its celebratory dances make a fabulous contrast—the Sugar Plum Fairy is just one of the delights you might discover here—. Directed and choreographed by Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov and starring Roberta Marquez and Steven McRae.

Encore: Saturday December 22, 2012 - 12:55 p.m. local time.