The Nutcracker

About the Ballet

The Nutcracker

James Kudelka's 1995 version of this evergreen seasonal classic is a perfect gem of a ballet, affectionate and reflective, at once cheeringly traditional yet freshly attuned to the rhythms and accents of the contemporary.

Rarely have the dreamscapes and wonder of childhood fantasy, the allure of spectacle and the mood of reverie been integrated in such a seamless blend of dazzling stagecraft, virtuosic choreography and ravishing design. Kudelka's gentle re-shaping of the narrative releases the story (based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's Christmas tale) into new thematic territory. Follow the quarrelling siblings Misha and Marie as they move not just through marvellous and extraordinary experiences but through surprising phases of understanding as they prepare to leave childhood behind and enter the very different world of adolescence.

The costumes and sets by Santo Loquasto themselves cast a spell, evoking an enchanted, rustic world of long-gone Imperial Russia, a place where folk rituals and the cycles of nature make way for the magical, ice-coated world of the Snow Queen and the spectacular beauty of the golden palace of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The entire production, underscored by Tchaikovsky's glorious, timeless music, is like rediscovering a beloved heirloom and seeing it as though for the first time.