The Australian Ballet: The Nutcracker

Sir Peter Wright’s production takes on the beloved festive ballet that remains faithful to the 19th-century original.

Tchaikovsky’s last ballet score, with its famous motifs and melodies, draws us into the story of Clara, a young ballet student celebrating with her family on Christmas Eve. When the clock strikes twelve, we enter the dream realm, where Clara’s Nutcracker doll comes to life, taking her on a thrilling adventure where she encounters the Rat King before being whisked away to the Land of Sweets and into the arms of her Nutcracker Prince. Veteran designer John F. Macfarlane exquisitely evokes the world of this picture-perfect ballet: whirling snowflakes, crackling fires, band-box soldiers, a Christmas tree that grows until it brushes the ceiling and a Sugar Plum Fairy in luscious candy-floss pink. With the holidays around the corner, there’s no better way than The Nutcracker to rediscover the childlike joys of the season, or to create your own family tradition.

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