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The Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky's fairy tale The Nutcracker, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, was created upon E.T.A. Hoffmann's story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. This enchanting ballet tells the story about a little girl, Marie, and her dream of a magic world, where toys become alive, and her Nutcracker turns into a Prince to fight the Mouse King and save her life. The enchanting ballet double-premiered in 1892 with Iolanta, Tchaikovsky's last opera at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia. Surprisingly, the original version was not a success, and it was heavily criticized. Later, in 1934, Vasili Vainonen's choreography addressed most of these criticisms and influenced many later productions. The ballet was produced in the United States as well, staged by Willam Christensen and performed by the San Francisco Ballet on 24 December 1944. It was a sweeping success and was immediately adapted to the repertoire to be presented every Christmas. Since then, The Nutcracker slowly became a worldwide holiday tradition to bring magic to everyone's life.