Clara’s brother Fritz is jealous of the doll and tries to grab it, breaking it in the process. Their uncle mends it and as the guests depart, the children go off to bed.Later that night, Clara awakes to find the doll missing and the room filled with giant mice. An army of soldiers arrive to help her rescue the Nutcracker, but a battle soon breaks out. The doll comes to life, and begins fighting a duel with the Mouse King. The mice are about to overwhelm the soldiers when Clara hits the Mouse King over the head with a discarded boot.

Suddenly, she sees the Nutcracker lying on the floor. Distraught, she runs over and kisses him. Suddenly he is revived, turning into a handsome Prince – it is l...

Clara’s brother Fritz is jealous of the doll and tries to grab it, breaking it in the process. Their uncle mends it and as the guests depart, the children go off to bed.Later that night, Clara awakes to find the doll missing and the room filled with giant mice. An army of soldiers arrive to help her rescue the Nutcracker, but a battle soon breaks out. The doll comes to life, and begins fighting a duel with the Mouse King. The mice are about to overwhelm the soldiers when Clara hits the Mouse King over the head with a discarded boot.

Suddenly, she sees the Nutcracker lying on the floor. Distraught, she runs over and kisses him. Suddenly he is revived, turning into a handsome Prince – it is love at first sight.

They dance together, and then Drosselmeyer takes them on a fantastic journey to celebrate their victory.

The story behind The Nutcracker is thin and fantastical, but like Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, it captures the spirit and magic of Christmas, and this is what has bought it such enduring appeal.Tchaikovsky’s music for The Nutcracker was arranged into a suite for concert performance almost as soon as the ballet was first performed. Of all the pieces that Tchaikovsky wrote, this demonstrates best his ability to extract a dark and smooth texture from the orchestra, which perhaps explains how this music has come to represent the flavours of Christmas.

Other music by Tchaikovsky