Egyptian Opera House resume Christmas celebrations

CAIRO – 24 December 2018: The Cairo Opera Orchestra led by Maestro Ahmed Farag will perform the famed Russian ballet "The Nut Cracker" on the Grand Theater on Dec. 25 at 8 p.m. as part of the opera's Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

The Cairo Opera House will present six shows of famed Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "The Nut Cracker" from Dec. 25-30, 2018.

"The Nut Cracker" is a classical ballet in two acts. It is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It tells the story of a little girl who goes to the Land of Sweets on Christmas Eve.

Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa adapted Hoffmann's story for the ballet, Tchaikovsky wrote the music, and Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov designed the dances. "The Nutcracker" was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 18, 1892.

It was a modest success. Some people liked it, others did not. Because of its reception, the ballet was rarely seen in later years.

About fifty years later, Walt Disney used some of "The Nutcracker" music in his 1940 animated movie "Fantasia". People liked the movie and started to take an interest in the ballet. Interest grew when George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" was televised in the late 1950's.


Nut Cracker Play - Wikipedia

The ballet has been performed in many different places since then. It is loved by many people. Before the first performance, Tchaikovsky took some numbers from the ballet to form "The Nutcracker Suite". This work was a great success on the concert stage, and is still played today.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was a Russian composer of the romantic period, whose works are among the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, bolstered by his appearances as a guest conductor in Europe and the United States.


Merry Christmas - Wikipedia

It is worth noting that the Egyptian Opera House celebrated Christmas through three concerts held in Cairo and Alexandria under the supervision of Iman Mustafa on Dec. 13 and 14. The celebrations' program consisted of world famous Christmas songs, such as "Jingle Bells" and "Merry Christmas".