The Nutcracker

A magical pre-Christmas dream 

It is winter in Christiania in 1905. Clara is caught between childhood and adulthood, feeling out of place at her family’s grand Christmas party. The mysterious doll maker Drosselmeyer presents her with a wooden nutcracker doll – and when Clara falls asleep, the doll is transformed into a real prince!  

An adventure you simply want to stay in

INGER MERETE HOBBELSTAD, DAGBLADET 

But it is not only the doll that transforms. The guests turn into rats and mice, and the Christmas presents come to life, dancing under Drosselmeyer’s command. In an oversized, slightly unsettling universe, the prince and Clara must fight the animals, led by the fearsome Rat King. 

The Christmas ballet above all others  

Every Christmas, The Nutcracker is performed by ballet companies all over the world. The story is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fairytale novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The version performed by the Norwegian National Ballet is choreographed by Kaloyan Boyadjiev and has also found its way into the repertoires of ballet companies in Bordeaux and Leipzig. 

In our production, the action is set in Norway’s capital more than one hundred years ago, where Clara’s diplomat family welcomes guests from many different countries. 

Dancers from the Norwegian National Ballet share the stage with pupils from the Norwegian National Ballet School. Together, they bring to life a multitude of roles – from the prince, Little and Big Clara, and rats, to waffles served with sour cream. 

And when the curtain rises to Tchaikovsky’s music, performed by the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, there will be someone in the audience experiencing ballet for the very first time. 

The quality is there

FREDRIK RÜTTER, KLASSISK MUSIKK