Original production of The Nutcracker at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg in 1892.

After the triumph of Sleeping Beauty, the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Aleksandrovich Vsevolozhskiy, invited Tchaikovsky to compose a double-bill consisting of a one-act opera and a two-act ballet.

The opera was Yolanta and the ballet was The Nutcracker.

Marius Petipa created the scenario, which was based on one of the Tales of Hoffmann, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King Tale. Lev Ivanov was appointed to choreograph the show.

Hoffman’s original work showed the dark side of human nature and was definitely not appropriate for children.

The story had been freely adapted into French by Alexandre Dumas and it was from this version that Vsevolozhskiy and Petipa mapped out a ballet scenario, the latter giving detailed specifications, as was the case for Sleeping Beauty.

Although it is believed that technically the team work well together and that the composer appreciated the famous choreographer’s work, there were issues over transforming Tchaikovsky’s complicated score for the stage.

Marius Petipa became ill during the Nutcracker’s creation and left the production. His assistant of seven years, Lev Ivanov, took his place and completed the choreography. This was based on another scheme, which gave the opportunity to future choreographers to modify or make additions.

Though Ivanov’s style of dance differed from Petipa, it was hardly noticeable as Petipa left strict guidelines for Ivanov to follow.

After Petipa, many choreographers took on the difficult role of interpreters of The Nutcracker: Alexander Gorsky, F. Lopukhov, V. Vaynonen, Yuri Grigorovich and others − each of them took into account the previous productions but offered their own version of the ballet.

Initially Tchaikovsky was not attracted to the story but he became more reconciled to it as he progressed. Eventually, he preferred it to his opera Yolanta.

Interest in the ballet was created by the concert suite that the composer himself arranged from the ballet score and which was performed some nine months before the stage production. Why this happened remains a mystery, unless Tchaikovsky was afraid other composers might find out about his ‘secret instrument’ which he had specially brought from Paris: the tinkling celesta, its bell-like sound forever to be associated with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Almost every number in the suite was encored as soon as it was heard. Consequently, the Nutcracker Suite became so popular that the ballet is still sometimes thought to be a dance arranged only to this music, whereas in fact, the suite contains less than a quarter of the full score.

The full ballet was unknown in the West until a production was staged at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, on 30th January 1934, with Alicia Markova and Stanley Judson (followed in 1937 by Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann). Since 1944 it has become a universal favourite, especially at Christmas time.

The first full-length production of The Nutcracker in the United States was in 1944 by the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the direction of William Christe.

The Hermitage Theatre premiere of The Nutcracker was held on 13th January 2007 in which Vasiliy Vaynonen’s version was presented. Veronika Ivanova and Nikita Shcheglov, Natalia Bashkirtseva and Yuri Mirov shone in the roles of Marie and the Nutcracker. A colourful holiday atmosphere, fantastic magic tricks, lively puppets, Christmas tree lights, the aerial dancing of snowflakes and the surprisingly touching story of Marie and The Nutcracker enthused audiences of all ages world-wide.