5 performances of The Nutcracker at the opera’s Christmas celebrations in the New Year

The Egyptian Opera House continues its celebrations of Christmas and the New Year 2023, as the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, under the supervision of its artistic director, Armenia Kamel, presents the masterpiece of the Russian author Tchaikovsky, the International Ballet The Nutcracker directed by the late Dr. Abdel Moneim Kamel, accompanied by the Cairo Opera Orchestra led by Maestro Nader Abbasi, in 5 performances on The Grand Theater at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday December 27, 28, 29, and 30, as well as a matinee at 2 p.m. Friday, December 30.

The Nutcracker Ballet has been associated with Christmas and the New Year because of its charming atmosphere and interesting events, as well as portraying the ability of love to transform people’s destinies and influence events.

It relies on the use of various artistic dazzling elements, in addition to some optical illusions, as the story revolves around the dreams of the beautiful little girl Clara on Christmas Eve after receiving a Nutcracker doll from her family friend, the godfather and toy maker Drosselmer, as a gift for the New Year, and her admiration for the toy that was destroyed by her brother Fritz Unintentionally, she becomes sad and goes to sleep to see that the game has returned to its original state, then turns into a handsome prince. A group of dreamy tales takes place between Clara, her prince, and Christmas games.

The decor was designed by Solodovnikov and Muhammad Al-Gharabawi, the lighting was designed by Yasser Shaalan, and the graphics and mapping were designed by Muhammad Abdel-Razzaq.

It is noteworthy that the Nutcracker Ballet wrote its Russian music Tchaikovsky in 1891, inspired by one of the stories of the French writer Alexandre Dumas the Father, who in turn borrowed it from the novel The Nutcracker and the Mice King by Ernst Hoffmann. It was shown for the first time in 1892 at the Imperial Opera House in St. Cairo, where it was presented for the first time on the Grand Theater in 1993, and since that time it is shown annually in December to celebrate the New Year with the same designs of its artistic elements, including decorations, clothes, fashion and music, in order to preserve its classic character.