This year, ‘The Nutcracker’ marked its 130th anniversary. It is widely acknowledged that this masterpiece, set to the music of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is the most famous ballet in the world. Indeed, it's hard to imagine any Christmas or New Year celebration without the universally known tunes of the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy or the Russian Dance. So, it’s amazing that, when first presented to the public, ‘The Nutcracker’ was met with quite an icy welcome.
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“Get rid of the ballet”
Work on ‘The Nutcracker’ did not come easily for Tchaikovsky. In 1890, he received an order for a one-act opera and two-act ballet from the director of the Imperial Theatre (currently the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg) Ivan Vsevolozhsky. The next year, Tchaikovsky set to work – and, judging by his letters, it was quite a stressful period for him.
The composer was apparently more engrossed by the opera than the ...