The Nutcracker

"""The Nutcracker"" is a full-cast audio drama, presented as an exciting adventure for children, featuring famous melodies, exquisite themes and outstanding voice actors. On Christmas Eve, Clara receives a nutcracker from her godfather, Drosselmeyer. That night she dreams that the nutcracker is fighting alongside toy soldiers against the Mouse King's army. Clara helps the nutcracker and it transforms into a prince. Together they journey to the Land of Sweets and celebrate a marvellous festival with the Sugar Plum Fairy. It was all just a wonderful dream - or was it...? Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer whose ballets ""Swan Lake"", ""The Sleeping Beauty"" and ""The Nutcracker"" became cornerstones of the repertoire. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and later taught in Moscow, developing a melodic style that blends Western forms with Russian colour. His music gained international acclaim during his lifetime and he conducted the premiere of his ""Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'"" in 1893 shortly before his death."