Schedule
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's classic is based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was first published by id. The original Nutcracker was adapted by the late Alexandre Dumas, and finally by Marius Petipa, a former choreographer of the Tsarist Theatres. Tchaikovsky's enthusiasm for the piece was initially very low, as he thought the lavish sets and costumes would distract from the music, but the interest in the story's theme caught his attention and he accepted the invitation to choreograph the ballet. Interestingly, it was the last work of his life. The first performance of The Nutcracker took place on 18 December 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, preceded by a concert in St Petersburg on 7 March, where an excerpt from the ballet, the so-called Nutcracker Suite, was performed.
The piece is set on Christmas Eve, when one of the guests, Drosselmeier's uncle, brings a Nutcracker doll as a present for the family's little girl, Marika. The story continues in her dream, where the doll comes to life as a prince and takes her on a magical journey. At the start of this journey, they must battle the Mouse King and his army to continue on their adventurous journey of dreams. In Hungary, the play debuted in 1927 with choreography by Ede Brada, although it was eventually popularised with Vajnonen's choreography, staged in Budapest in 1950.
Budapest Operetta & Musical Theatre
The institution is a two-tiered, true musical folk theatre, which stages Hungarian operettas and their contemporary successors, contemporary Hungarian musicals, along with several literary-historical musicals for youth. It plays around 500 performances a year to nearly 400,000 spectators, making it one of Hungary's most visited theatres today.
It is recognised worldwide as the only operetta sung and performed by Hungarians, with its dynamic music, passion, fire, acrobatic dancing, rich visuals and stunning sensory-emotional storms. When the Budapest Operetta Theatre premiered The Queen of the Cards in Germany, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: "There are many places in many cities where you can listen to good music. There is only one sure address for the operetta: Budapest, Nagymező utca 17."
The company tours regularly abroad, having performed operettas, musicals and gala performances in countries from Europe to Asia. In the autumn of 2011, the Budapest Operetta Theatre won the exclusive German-language rights to perform Beauty and the Beast, a musical based on one of the world's most beautiful fairy tales, in a close international competition. The Superbrands and MagyarBrands award-winning institution regularly organises prestigious international music competitions.
