The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

Pyotr Tchaikovsky / Toer van Schayk, Wayne Eagling

  • Act I

    50 min.

  • Intermission

    20 min.

  • Act II

    50 min.

Duration: ca. 2 hrs

Ballet féerie in two acts
Libretto: Marius Petipa after a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann
World premiere of this production: 13 December 1996, Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam
Polish premiere of this production: 25 November 2011, Polish National Ballet

‘Clara became the Queen of the realm filled with shining Christmas Forests and crystal Marzipan Palaces – in a word, the most beautiful and most wonderful things one can see if one knows how to look.’ The German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann glimpsed this world while walking the streets of Warsaw’s Old Town, where he lived in the first years of the nineteenth century. The dazzling reality created on the stage of the Teatr Wielki by Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling is a local land, with ice floes on the Vistula River and with a familiar view on the horizon. It was made for Clara, Fritz, Tomcat Murr, the mice and other characters. The production exudes a Christmas atmosphere and refers to tradition, but also to the fantasy of children’s dreams. This Nutcracker, one of the most popular ballets in the world canon, is a local journey that transcends the gates of reality. It unfolds to the beautiful music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and puts one in mind of an expedition of dreamy vagabonds, an adventure of eternal children and at the same time a sentimental journey to the land of innocence. It is a pleasant trip for adults and a charming one for children.

Cast

Credits

Polish National Ballet
Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera
Władysław Skoraczewski Artos Children’s Choir 

Sponsors

  • Patron of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera

  • Partners of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera

  • Logo Perlage
  • Logo Sisley
  • Logo Albert Riele

  • Partner Polskiego Baletu Narodowego