The Nutcracker

THE NUTCRACKER
New version for December 2012
Choreography by Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov | Music by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Ballet in two acts | 130 minutes including one intermission
A magician with secrets, an enchanted gift, a guiding angel and a visit through the Land of Snow to the
Kingdom of Sweets: it must be the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. This now-classic Royal Ballet
production creates the world of the 19th-century onstage, with a Christmas tree that magically grows and
toy soldiers that come to life! Starring Roberta Marquez and Steven McRae.
CAST
Sugar Plum Fairy: Roberta Marquez
The Prince: Steven McRae
Complete casting announced on or around Dec. 1, 2012.
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Conductor TBA
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Production and scenario: Peter Wright
Designs: Julia Trevelyan Oman
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Recorded live on Dec. 13, 2012.
ABOUT
From the very first notes of Tchaikovsky’s overture to The Nutcracker, a sense of mystery and magic
pervades the theatre as Herr Drosselmeyer sets in train the events that will see his beloved nephew, Hans
Peter, freed from the enchantment of the evil Mouse King by the resourceful Clara.
The Nutcracker unfolds over two glorious acts. For Act I it is Christmas Eve and we are brought to a party
at which Drosselmeyer gives young Clara a nutcracker doll – beginning a night that includes a magically
growing Christmas tree, a midnight battle of toy soldiers at which the Nutcracker defeats the villainous
Mouse King and his army of mice, and a headlong pas de deux in which Clara and Hans Peter meet and
celebrate their triumph before being enveloped in a magical snowstorm. Act II whisks the young pair off
to the Kingdom of the Sweets, where they are entertained by the Sugar Plum Fairy with her handsome
Prince and her glittering court in a series of dazzling dances. Peter Wright’s classic production, first seen
at Covent Garden in 1984, is an essential part of Christmas for audiences of all ages.