Photo: Sofia Opera and Ballet
The fabulous Christmas ballet "The Nutcracker" will be performed in November and December at the Sofia Opera
"The Nutcracker" is a fairy-tale ballet in 2 acts, choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is based on Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice". The premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 18 December 1892, alongside Tchaikovsky's opera, "Iolanta".
Although the initial performance was not a success, the 20-minute suite, which Tchaikovsky set apart from the ballet, achieved success. The full version of "The Nutcracker" enjoyed enormous popularity since the mid-20th century and is now performed by many ballet companies, mainly around Christmas.
Prince Felix Yusupov, who lived in exile in London and Paris, was an ardent admirer of Tchaikovsky and wanted to introduce the Russian genius to the Western world. The prince gave a hefty sum of his fortune to have "The Nutcracker" staged for years at Christmas, in Britain and in France. Yusupov wrote the following about the composer: "There is no other genius like Tchaikovsky. I can and must always be on the side of his great works."
"Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" became one of his most famous works, especially the movements included in the suite. The work is famous for its use of the celesta, an instrument the composer used in his lesser-known symphonic ballad "The Soldier". Although it is mainly known as the distinctive solo instrument in the "Dance of the Sugar Fairy" from Act II of "The Nutcracker", it is also used elsewhere in the same act.
For the ballet, Tchaikovsky joined forces with Marius Petipa, with whom he also collaborated on "The Sleeping Beauty". The material Petipa chose was an adaptation of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's short story "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice" by Alexandre Dumas the father, called "The Tale of the Nutcracker." The plot of Hoffman's tale (and Dumas' adaptation) was largely simplified for the purposes of a ballet in 2 acts.
Petipa gave Tchaikovsky extremely detailed instructions for the composition of each movement of the work, including tempo and bar. The completion of the work was also delayed by the fact that Tchaikovsky was visiting the USA for 25 days to conduct the opening concerts at Carnegie Hall.
The premiere in Bulgaria of "The Nutcracker" was in 1962 at the Ruse Opera. The choreography was by Assen Manolov. The conductor at that time was Hristo Stanishev.
At the Sofia Opera "The Nutcracker" will be performed on 29 November at 19 h and on 30 November at 11 h and 19 h, on 22 December at 11 h and on 22 December 22 at 19 h, on 23 December at 11 h and on 23 December at 19 h and on 26 December at 11 h.
Participants:
Marta Petkova, Nikola Hadjitanev, Boryana Petrova, Emil Yordanov, Tsetso Ivanov, Katerina Petrova, Matthew Whittle, Vyara Ivancheva, Lyudmila Ilieva, Kristina Chochanova, Marina Marinova, Elenko Ivanov, Georgi Banchev and others.
Artistic director of the Sofia Opera Ballet is Marta Petkova.
The Sofia Opera and Ballet Orchestra.
https://fakti.bg/kultura-art/835517-koledno-nastroenie-s-leshnikotroshachkata-v-sofiiskata-opera
