The Nutcracker is ballet’s pantomime. Villains, heroines and magic. An audience full of festive cheer. Lots of little girls and boys in their party best on a family treat, grandmas and grandads in tow. A mood of high anticipation and enjoyment. Some of Tchaikovsky’s most beautiful and hummable tunes rising from the orchestra.
For the ballet companies, it’s a seasonal banker – a chance to ensure money in the coffers during increasingly hard times. It’s also an opportunity to involve young people on stage. School pupils take on the roles of naughty children at the opening party, as well as the battling rats/mice and toy soldiers who fill the scene as the action shifts from reality to fantasy.
