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The
renaissance currently being experienced by the Gravenhurst
Opera House – affectionately known as The
Op – continues unabated with the addition of the
Christmas family favourite, the Nutcracker
(Wednesday December 19th at 7:30 p.m.).
Not just any old Nutcracker,
mind. The folks at The Op have gone all out and invited none
other than the Ontario Ballet Theatre to perform the classic tale of a little girl
and her magical adventures with a favourite toy.
The Nutcracker
first saw the light of day in 1891 when the legendary
composer, Tchaikovsky, was asked to compose a score based on
the classic story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman. (Fortunately,
today’s stage version is quite different from the book. In
the original, the protagonist was a poor girl named Marie
who had to battle a mouse king with seven heads!)
Soon after, the
Nutcracker as we know it today was presented to rapturous
audiences at the renowned Mariinsky Theatre in Russia, home
of the famous Kirov Ballet.
More than 100
years later the magical tale continues to captivate
audiences. Featuring 24 dancers with 78 colourful costumes,
the story begins with a Christmas Eve party in a large,
grand house. Much to the delight of the household’s two
children, a favourite relative presents the family with a
variety of gifts, the most popular of which is Clara’s
Nutcracker.
Soon the guests depart,
the family goes to bed... and the fun begins! Clara, worried
about her beloved Nutcracker, sneaks out of bed to check on
him and immediately gets caught up in a fantasy world of
music, dance and magic. During the course of the night, she
and the Nutcracker do battle with a room full of mice, visit
a land of snow and enchanted forests, ending up in the land
of sweets where she witnesses the classic dance of the Sugar
Plum Fairy.
For tickets and
further information, call the Opera House Box Office at
705-687-5550, or 1-888-495-8888. Alternatively, visit their
website, www.gravenhurst.net/theop
Reserved seating
tickets are $20 adults and $17 for students (12 &
under).
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