From a recording of the Royal Ballet performance
As Christmas approaches, the Royal Ballet's cinematic coverage of Peter Wright's spectacular production of The Nutcracker is an unmissable event. This family favourite of the Advent season was choreographed for the Royal Ballet in 1984, and has certainly lost none of its appeal over the years. The Nutcracker is a family favourite every Advent-Christmas season; one of the most captivating, accessible and eye-catching pieces in the ballet genre.
The story, freely adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's work, is set on Christmas Eve, when Uncle Drosselmayer using dreams and magic whisks little Clara into a realm of fantasy where time does not exist and the family living room becomes a battleground for the evil Mouse King and the Lead Soldiers. A magical journey of adventure through the Snow Kingdom to Sugar Land. Peter Wright's bewitching direction, with lavish costumes and sets, uses every nuance of Tchaikovsky's music, weaving the most gorgeous and to this day unsurpassed elements of the original Ivanov choreography into his tale – such as the beguiling pas de deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince. Delight in the Royal Ballet's evergreen ballet classic!