From the glittering Christmas party to the dazzling Land of Sweets, The Nutcracker brings Tchaikovsky’s music to life through intricate choreography, sparkling sets, and captivating character portrayals. It’s a festive journey into a world of wonder, perfect for families and lovers of classical ballet.

Libretto by M. Petipa, new edition by Andrey Petrov, based on the fairy tale by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann
Choreographer–Director: People's Artist of the Russian Federation, Moscow Prize laureate Andrey Petrov
Scenographer: Honored Art Worker of the Russian Federation Anatoly Nezhny
Costume Designer: Olga Polyanskaya

The ballet The Nutcracker did not immediately acquire its current status as a masterpiece of Russian classical ballet — over time, new meanings continue to emerge both in its music and in its literary foundation, as evidenced by the abundance of existing productions and editions. Andrey Petrov’s The Nutcracker, staged in 1993, continues one of the main artistic policies of the Kremlin Ballet — the preservation and careful creative reinterpretation of classical ballet heritage.

The choreographer’s concept, according to his own words, “…was based on Hoffmann’s fairy tale as a fantastic foundation for Tchaikovsky’s music” — philosophical and infinitely human. By combining the language of classical dance with elements of the grotesque, Andrey Petrov was able to recreate the fantastical and gracefully playful world of the German writer, composer, and artist Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.

Petrov’s The Nutcracker is not only about the magical battles of domestic mice with dolls that come to life under the Christmas tree — battles that delight children — but is also a humanistic tale about the hopes of a growing soul, the anticipation of first love, and the desperate readiness to defend one’s happiness by confronting and overcoming the forces of evil.

To date, The Nutcracker by the Kremlin Ballet has been performed over 300 times.