Opera and Ballet as Audio Drama with Music, Episode 2: The Nutcracker

Synopsis

"The Nutkracker" is a full-cast audio drama featuring famous melodies, exquisite arias and outstanding voice actors. On Christmas Eve, Clara receives a nutcracker from her godfather, Drosselmeyer. That night she has a strange dream, in which the nutcracker fights alongside his toy soldiers against the Mouse King's army. Clara helps him, and the nutcracker transforms into a prince. Together they journey to the Realm of Sweets, where they are caught in a snowstorm and eventually arrive at Zuckerburg Castle. There the Sugar Plum Fairy presides over a fantastical celebration of sweets. It is a pity that it was all just a dream - or was it? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer whose ballets "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker" became cornerstones of the repertoire. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and later taught in Moscow, developing a melodic style that blends Western forms with Russian colour. His music gained international acclaim during his lifetime and he conducted the premiere of his "Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'" in 1893 shortly before his death.