Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker has become a Christmas Holiday tradition for many in the Treasure Valley. Not that the two-act ballet hasn’t become a signature holiday event throughout the world, but we in Boise are blessed to have a superb dance company in Ballet Idaho, augmented by excellent musicians from the Boise Philharmonic to provide live music for the event. Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker runs from now through Sunday, December 5 at the Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts.
The Nutcracker Ballet was composed by celebrated Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892. It was not initially perceived as a popular success; in fact Tchaikovsky did not see success with it until he took the eight key musical sections out of it and re-worked them into his wildly successful music-only composition, the Nutcracker Suite. Tchaikovsky died a year later, never imagining the ballet itself would be a success.
Years later, the dean of the American Ballet, George Balanchine, reimagined the original ballet for the 1954 New York Ballet season. That plus the performance of the star, dancer Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy, made The Nutcracker an immediate hit and vaulted it into the Christmas Holiday Season repertoire. Now, it is a cornerstone of the holiday music season. Very few cities are lucky enough however to have such high quality performing arts groups as Boise does, with the capability to do the Nutcracker Ballet live.
Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker is truly a community production. Not only will Ballet Idaho feature their main characters, such as the the Nutcracker Prince and Clara, who visits the Land of Sweets; but the children from the Ballet Idaho Academy will be taking part in the show, along with Ballet Idaho trainees and company apprentices. The movements have been choreographed by famed American Choreographer Peter Anastos. The breathtaking costumes and scenery are designed by Margaret Mitchell and Christopher McCollum, respectively. Ensemble singing by Opera Idaho’s Children’s Choir will add to the festive sounds of this amazing performance.
The music for Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker will be performed by our acclaimed Boise Philharmonic musicians. This is no mean feat, since while many ballet troupes who perform The Nutcracker do it to a recording and get to know it exactly since it is always the same, a performance like this, with both the music and the dancing performed live, ups the skill level needed on both groups to create the perfect performance.
Marty Jacobs, President of the Boise Phil Board of Directors, told The Boise Beat, “Once again, the Boise Phil is delighted to collaborate with Ballet Idaho to help put together The Nutcracker. It’s an ongoing staple for the community; and we were disappointed last year that we could not put it on for our community. We have a great relationship with Ballet Idaho. Our conductor, Eric Garcia will be in the pit, leading our musicians. We look forward to continuing our relationship and collaboration with Ballet Idaho”.
The Nutcracker itself predates Tchaikovsky’s ballet and music, being based on Prussian author E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816). This was later adapted by famed French author Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Tree Musketeers) and called The Story of a Nutcracker. Marius Petipa, who Tchaikovsky had just collaborated with on Sleeping Beauty, brought the story and completed libretto to him; and they worked together to bring The Nutcracker to life. It went in and out of popularity, finally staying in the public’s eye when Walt Disney used it in his landmark animated film, Fantasia.
The ballet takes place on Christmas Eve, and centers upon Clara, a little girl, who receives a wooden nutcracker for Christmas. Her brother Fritz accidentally breaks it, but the toymaker (who is also Clara’s godfather) is able to repair it. The rest of the ballet follows Clara, as she winds up in a fantasy with the Nutcracker (who grows to be life-size) leading a group of gingerbread soldiers against a group of mice, led by the Mouse King, that invade the Land of Sweets. Mother Ginger, the Sugar Plum Fairy and many others come in and out of the story, told through wonderful music and dancing.
Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker is a ballet for young and old. It has been a tradition that binds them together for years now; and no where is it done better than by the collaboration of Ballet Idaho and the Boise Phil. If you don’t already have tickets for one of the performances, they are available through the Ballet Idaho website. Take your loved ones to see Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker; and start a holiday tradition of your own now.
Ballet Idaho’s The Nutcracker
Performances through Sunday, December 5, 2021
Velma V. Morrison Center for the Performing Arts
2011 W Cesar Chavez Lane, Boise, Idaho 83725
The Nutcracker Ticket Sales
The Nutcracker General Information and Performance Times
Ballet Idaho Season Tickets (includes The Nutcracker)
Boise Phil website
