The Mariinsky Theater Presentation of the Nutcracker Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia

Delight Your Senses and Feel the Russian Culture

​Who does not love the Nutcracker Ballet?

This Russian Ballet masterpiece with famous melodic classical music by Tchaikovsky has always been a favorite of mine.
​
You would have to be a cold, heartless robot to not enjoy the beauty, the scenery, the costumery, the graceful, elegant but strong ballet choreography of this production.
Seriously, when in Russia, one must attend such a colorful, historic attraction to feel the Russian culture.

​I was so happy to be able to see it live in person at the esteemed Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. In the summertime even! I didn’t have to wait until Christmastime back home in the states.
​
I don’t even know how we lucked out and were able to get tickets last-minute to this production as they only perform at this theatre a dozen times in a year. 

​The Mariinsky Theatre was built around 1783 but the first Nutcracker Ballet didn’t appear until more than a hundred years later in 1892. The history is long and rich of all the esteemed ballet dancers who have graced this stage.

Photo-taking was not allowed and there were stern looking marms at each door keeping an eye on the crowd. Every time I whipped out my iPhone they stared like a hawk at me. I only managed to take some selfies of my daughter and her classmate sitting in front of us. And goofed around taking some selfies of me and my husband. I did snap a few of the audience and the chandeliers hanging overhead but they came out too dark. 

​We sat in a 4-seat box section. It felt old, and wooden and smelled of perfume from another era. Great setting to transport one’s imagination into the whole performance. At the end, the audience clapped, then clapped louder, and shouted encore! And the troupe came out again for another bow. The shouts of Bravo! were deafening and it was a dramatic experience to behold.

I should add as an afterthought, that we did enjoy a great dinner before we went to the theatre. It was at the Sadko Restaurant right across the street. We had a traditional shashlik (Russian meat on skewers) that was delicious!