Opus Arte

The approach of Christmas brings tantalising imagery: twinkling lights, fluttering snow - and fairytale ballet and opera performances. For those of you without a ticket this season, we have a spectacular array of sumptuous fairytale performances to bring a little magic to your home.

Photo © Johann Persson

The Nutcracker has become one of the most revered ballets of all time. Tchaikovsky’s delightful score woven around ETA Hoffman’s magical fairytale is a firm family favourite and especially synonymous with Christmas time – filled, as it is, with glistening snowflakes and enchanted toys.

7 May 1849 – birth of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  Tchaikovsky is one of the most well-known and well-loved composers to have ever lived. He composed the music for perennial favourites of the ballet cannon The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. He also composed one of the most famous pieces of classical music, the 1812 Overture, which has been immortalised through its association with 4th July celebrations in the United States.