The Nutcracker

Production sponsor

The production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

The GNO Ballet presents The Nutcracker, the most beautiful Christmas story, in a new impressive choreography by the GNO Ballet Director Konstantinos Rigos. Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece will be presented from 17 December onwards for 8 festive performances in the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, conducted by Elias Voudouris. The production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

The Nutcracker is rightly regarded as one of the most popular ballets in the repertoire, since the emotional power and theatricality of Tchaikovsky’s music have enduringly captivated both children and adult audiences. The Nutcracker was first performed in its initial two-act version at the Mariinsky Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg on 18 December 1892, choreographed by Lev Ivanov, with a libretto by Marius Petipa and music by Tchaikovsky. The original storyline was inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Numerous other choreographies have followed over the years, including those of George Balanchine (1954), Yuri Grigorovich (1966), John Cranko (the same year), Rudolf Nureyev (1967) and John Neumeier (1971).

Konstantinos Rigos returns to his favourite composer with a new choreography for The Nutcracker for a second time, after the ones he had created for the other two works of Tchaikovsky’s trilogy: Swan Lake (GNO Ballet, 2019) and The Sleeping Beauty. This time he attempts to see the work through the eyes of the children, who feel that they are placed on the margins, forced to create their own dreams in a world torn down by “grown-ups”. The GNO Ballet Director gives a strange reading of the story, which each person will experience differently, based on their own dreams and pent-up feelings. The set is a window display-like glass room, in which Marie-Clara will dream and take a journey through her imagination. The Christmas tree is a plastic miniature in Marie-Clara’s room; she can only see the real one on her screen. The new production of The Nutcracker balances between a contemporary style and the classical tradition of dance. The costumes by Deux Hommes are a mix of pop, glam, colourful, impressive pieces of haute couture along with national costumes and fabrics inspired by earlier performances of the Greek National Opera.

Konstantinos Rigos notes about the new choreography: “On Christmas Eve, as Marie-Clara opens up the presents her godfather gave her, she finds a strange toy, her favourite Nutcracker. In her delicate childhood world, dreams and reality blend in the sweetest way. In the Nutcracker’s arms she will have the most amazing dreams but also the most frightening nightmares. This time the Nutcracker of the GNO Ballet will attempt to bring out both the dark and the bright, spectacular side of the known fairy tale. A new strange world is created on stage, in which Marie-Clara’s glass room meets the bright, colourful objects hovering on stage and the baroque portals leading to the underground kingdom of mice, but also to the wonderfully lit Christmas tree. The costumes by Deux Hommes, in their second collaboration with the GNO Ballet, add that touch of magic every fairy tale needs.”