The Nutcracker

This famous two-act ballet was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of the Imperial Theaters, commissioned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose a double-bill program featuring both an opera and a ballet. The opera would be Iolanta, and the ballet was adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King."

The premiere took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, 18 December 1892. While the performance was not a success, Tchaikovsky earned much praise for what is now one of his most famous works. His Nutcracker Suite is composed of eight different numbers.

 For those not familiar with the storyline, here is a brief synopsis via cartoon.