This spectacular production by the Chisinau National Ballet is a must for all lovers of ballet and a perfect introduction for children to the magic of classical Russian ballet.  A superb production not to be missed, a great winter treat for all the family.  

Yuri Grigorovich is an internationally renowned choreographer, his ballets have been staged all over the world.  His production of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker was first performed by the Bolshoi Ballet in 1966.  The ballet is performed in two acts with one interval.  

The sets are excellent and immediately transport the audience to a fairytale small town snowy Christmas setting in Germany.  Lighting and special effects cleverly create an illusion of continuously falling snow.  This gives a magical wintry feeling to the ballet.  The beginning of Marie's dream about the Drosselmeyer being a real magician is danced  behind translucence screens which give a delicate dream like quality to the performance.  The magnificent Christmas tree really does grow when the toys come to life and is beautifully lit by candles.  Children will love the part when Marie and Prince Nutcracker fly in their magical boat to the Kingdom of the Christmas Trees.  

The costumes were striking in design and colorful, but reassuringly traditional, the characters were instantly recognizable, perfectly in keeping with the set design and the fantasy, fairytale quality of the ballet. Children will love the Mouse King and the Mice, the Soldiers and the Dolls.  

One of the most enjoyable things about this production was the visual comedy.  Which would be appreciated by adults and children. This was expressed through humorous movement and posture, as in the exaggerated walking by characters when going to and from the Stahlbaum's house and picking up of the Nutcracker Doll.  In the performance reviewed, the principal part of Marie was danced by Maria Poliudova, Prince Nutcracker by Andrei Litinov, and Drosselmeyer by Ghenadii Badica.  They gave a memorable performance which was both graceful and powerful, technically demanding and pleasingly light-footed.  The principal dancers were ably supported by the corps de ballet and the performances of the Nutcracker Doll, the Chinese Dolls and the Indian Dolls were tremendous and well received by the audience. The Orchestra was skillfully conducted by Svetlana Popova. The music by Tchaikovsky is wonderful and of course instantly recognizable. A super production.

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