The Nutcracker

Heather Ogden in The Nutcracker. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Photo Credit

Heather Ogden in The Nutcracker. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Choreography and Libretto:
James Kudelka
Music:
Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design:
Santo Loquasto
Lighting Design:
Jennifer Tipton
Repetiteurs:
Peter Ottmann, Magdalena Popa, Mandy-Jayne Richardson, Rex Harrington, Lindsay Fischer, Tomas Schramek, Lorna Geddes
Made possible by generous financial support from production underwriters Sandra & Jim Pitblado, Lawrence & Ann Heisey and an anonymous friend of the National Ballet.
The National Ballet of Canada dedicates the 2009/10 season performances of The Nutcracker to the memory of Lawrence and Ann Heisey.

TD Waterhouse presents

The Nutcracker

James Kudelka’s visually stunning, choreographically rich and thematically beguiling version of The Nutcracker is a pure gem of a ballet, touching and replete with the humour, spectacle and open emotionalism one expects from this grandly traditional work, but at the same time enlivened by a fresh, modern sensibility.

The holiday classic, based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s cherished holiday story, is a wonderful dreamscape of childhood reveries, fantastic creatures and magical events, brought to life by some of Mr. Kudelka’s most imaginative choreography, a beloved Tchaikovsky score and gorgeously detailed and breathtaking sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto.

Set in an enchanted, rustic world of 19th-century Russia, this version of The Nutcracker follows the quarrelling brother and sister Misha and Marie from their recognizable, everyday domain of folk customs and holiday rituals through a dream world that leads to the ice-coated realm of the Snow Queen and the splendour of the golden palace of the Sugar Plum Fairy. When they awake to their familiar lives, they find that the journey they have made and the experiences they have undergone have led them to a new level of maturity and understanding about themselves and their world.

 

Visit the thenutcracker.ca for more information.

 

Read synopsis

The Nutcracker by the Numbers

Download 2009/10 Brochure PDF

Best Availability


Wednesday, December 30, 1:00 pm & 5:30 pm

Saturday, January 2, 1:00 pm & 5:30 pm - Best Availability

Sunday, January 3, 1:00 pm - Best Availability

Reviews

"****/4 a stunning spectacle!"

- Toronto Star, 2009

"a triumph of creativity... it's hard to imagine a Nutcracker more captivating"

- National Post, 2009

"*****/5 a feast for the senses… certain to delight audiences of any age"

- Toronto Sun, 2009

"Classic ballet continues to delight and surprise... Santo Loquasto's gorgeous set and costumes have become more treasured with each passing year."

- The Globe and Mail, 2008

"National's Nutcracker never fails to captivate..."

- The Toronto Star, 2008

"Almost 15 years after it first hit the stage of the Hummingbird Centre, James Kudelka's lavish re-imagining of The Nutcracker... has lost not one single magical snowflake of its charm."

- Toronto Sun, 2008

"the best Nutcracker on the planet"

- The Globe and Mail, 2006

More

Nutcracker Story Time

Designed to enhance children's experience of the ballet, Nutcracker Story Time is an engaging, interactive telling of the magical holiday story that allows children to have a better understanding of the performance they are attending.

Join us 45 minutes before every performance in the Richard Bradshaw Ampitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for Nutcracker Story Time!

Nutcracker Story Time is sponsored by TD Waterhouse

TD Waterhouse

 

Nutcracker Activity Book

Download the Nutcracker Activity Book PDF for colouring pages and to learn more about the story.

Read synopsis

The Nutcracker by the Numbers

Principal Casting


The Sugar Plum Fairy


Sonia Rodriguez (Dec.12 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 13, 27, 29 at 5:30 pm)
Heather Ogden (Dec. 12, 19 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 20, 23 at 5:30 pm)
Jillian Vanstone (Dec. 13, 20 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm/Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)
Bridgett Zehr (Dec. 16 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 22, 30, Jan. 2 at 5:30 pm/Dec. 28 at 1:00 pm)
Tina Pereira (Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 23, 30 at 1:00 pm)
Stacey Shiori Minagawa (Dec. 22, 27, 29, Jan. 2 at 1:00 pm)

Peter/ The Nutcracker


Aleksandar Antonijevic (Dec. 12 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 13 at 5:30 pm/Dec.16 at 7:00 pm)
Guillaume Côté (Dec. 12, 19 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 20, 23 at 5:30 pm)
Etienne Lavigne (Dec. 13, 20 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm)
Keiichi Hirano (Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm/Dec.19 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 23, 30 at 1:00 pm)
Richard Landry (Dec. 22, 27, 29, Jan. 2 at 1:00 pm)
Zdenek Konvalina (Dec. 22, 30, Jan. 2 at 5:30 pm/Dec. 28 at 1:00 pm)
Piotr Stanczyk (Dec. 27, 29 at 5:30 pm/Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)



Snow Queen and her Icicles


Tanya Howard, Nan Wang, Brett van Sickle (Dec. 12 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 13 at 5:30 pm/Dec 16 at 7:00 pm)
Xiao Nan Yu, Noah Long, Aarik Wells (Dec. 12 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 28 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 30, Jan. 2 at 5:30 pm)
Elena Lobsanova, James Shee, Jonathan Renna (Dec. 13, 20 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm)
Stephanie Hutchison, Etienne Lavigne, Patrick Lavoie (Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 23, 30 at 1:00 pm)
Xiao Nan Yu, McGee Maddox*, Aarik Wells (Dec. 19 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 20, 22, 23 at 5:30 pm)
Rebekah Rimsay, Keiichi Hirano, Patrick Lavoie (Dec. 22, 27, 29, Jan. 2 at 1:00 pm)
Elena Lobsanova, Nan Wang, Brett van Sickle (Dec. 27, 29 at 5:30 pm/Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)



Baba, Marie and Misha’s nurse


Victoria Bertram (Dec. 12 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 13, 20, 28 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 22, 30, Jan. 2 at 5:30 pm)
Lorna Geddes (Dec. 12, 19 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 13, 20, 23 at 5:30 pm)
Rebekah Rimsay* (Dec. 16 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 23, 30, Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 27, 29 at 5:30 pm)  
Lisa Robinson (Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 22, 27, 29, Jan. 2 at 1:00 pm)



Uncle Nikolai


Noah Long (Dec. 12 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 13 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 19 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 20, 23 at 5:30 pm)
Piotr Stanczyk (Dec. 12 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 13, 22 at 5:30 pm)
Jonathan Renna (Dec. 16 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 22, 27, 29, Jan. 2 at 1:00 pm)
Kevin D. Bowles (Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm/Dec. 23, 30, Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 27, 29 at 5:30 pm)
Robert Stephen* (Dec. 18 at 7:00 pm/Dec. 20, 28 at 1:00 pm/Dec. 30, Jan. 2 at 5:30 pm)

Running Times

ACT I 49:00
Intermission 20:00
ACT II 46:00
Total (approx) 1:55:00