December 08, 2023
Directed by Jim Eddins in 1996, The Nutcracker with the Moscow State Ballet is a beautiful production of a holiday classic with gorgeous costuming, set design and performances. Behind the scenes photography adds to the charm of the programming and creative camera shots of the dancers such as those through the strings in the harp in the orchestra make this a truly special offering. This enchanting production begins when Uncle Drosselmeyer gives Clara magical nutcracker.
Side Notes
- Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker and annual North American tours evolved out of the 1989-92 "Glasnost Festival” created by theatrical producer Akiva Talmi.] The International Glasnost Festival Tours, starting in 1988, featured soloists from the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, National Ballet of Czechoslovakia and more companies of Russian Federation countries.
- In 1996 a full length production of Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker was performed at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. This was the culmination of Moscow Ballet's relationship with the Sats Theater and was documented by South Carolina Educational Television. The performance was sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- The set was designed by Valentin Fedorov, who studied at the Moscow Artistic Academic Theatre. Moscow Ballet's staging of the Great Russian Nutcracker follows Tchaikovsky's complete Nutcracker Suite score. In Moscow Ballet's story the first act maintains the classic tradition and story line. In the second act, however, Masha a.k.a. Clara and her Prince travel to the Land Of Peace and Harmony instead of visiting the Sugar Plum Fairy, to fit the company's theme of international and cultural unity.
If you missed any of the holiday programming, check out the Happy Holidays page, or view more classic content on ETV Classics.
