The Nutcracker, a Twenty Years Celebration
San Francisco Ballet’s season opening of The Nutcracker showcased a dazzling performance that carried one of the most treasured holiday traditions of the city. This season’s production is the most special, as it marks the 20 th anniversary of Helgi Tomasson’s creation, and the 80 th anniversary of America’s first Nutcracker, presented in 1944, at the exact same venue, the War Memorial Opera House.
The rich history of The Nutcracker spans over 100 years. Russian composer Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) of the late Classical period composed the scores for the Nutcracker between February 1891 and April 1892. He composed the scores in pieces while traveling across the United States and France in 1891, and orchestrated the scores from January to March 1892. The Nutcracker had its world premiere on December 17, 1892 by Imperial Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The full-length production premiere in the United States was held on December 24, 1944 by SF Ballet and choreographed by Willaim Christensen, an American ballet pioneer, dancer, choreographer, and founder of SF Ballet. Helgi Tomasson, who served as artistic director of SF Ballet for 37 seasons (1985-2022), choreographed the current version and had its production premiere on December 17, 2004, which has been running annually until today.
As one of the finest classics, the twenty years run of The Nutcracker has kept plenty of details reminiscent of the history of San Francisco and SF Ballet. The Nutcracker’s story background is set during the 1915 world affair, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The street backdrop in Act I features the iconic “Painted Ladies,” the row of bright colored Victorian houses on Steiner Street across from Alamo Park, the “Seven Sisters”. Inside the Stahlbaums’ sitting room, the portraits above the fireplace are of the American ballet pioneers, the Christensen brothers, Lew, Harold, and William, who were instrumental to SF Ballet’s artistic visions and historical development.
The comprehensive and sophisticated costumes always stand out. Compared to the very first SF production of The Nutcracker which had 143 costumes and a budget of $1000 including materials and labor; in contrast, the 2024 production has 300 costumes, and pointe shoes alone, a whopping 1200 pairs are used during one season of production. In Act I, Uncle Drosselmeyer’s magic entertainment includes a life-sized ballerina doll wearing a tutu which weighs 18 pounds. The Snow Queen’s mesmerizing performance is also highlighted by her sparkling tutu which took 80 hours to make; five such embellished tutus were made with 400 hours seamstress work, for this one character alone. In Act II, there are Spanish flair, Arabian genie, Chinese dragon, Frech ribbon, Russian egg, Madame du Cirque, a dancing bear, and of course, the Sugar Plum Fairy with her court of flowers, a dazzling display of color saturation and visual sensory explosion.
A timeless holiday tradition, a festival getaway in a winter dreamland, an unforgettable fantasy journey, The Nutcracker is an enchanting wonder for all ages. December 6 to December 29, San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House.