The HCM City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will provide a treat to ballet buffs with the Vietnamese premiere of Nutcracker in the city this week.

The play, first staged in Russia in 1892, is in two acts and was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with the musical score provided by the legendary Tchaikovsky.

It was adapted from The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a story by German E.T.A Hoffmann.

The ballet depicts the adventures of a little girl named Clara inside a nutcracker, a gift from her father, in a dream.

The ballet has grown in popularity since the mid-20th century and is now performed by countless ballet companies worldwide, especially during the Christmas season.

This week's event will be choreographed by Norwegian Johanne Jakhelln Constant, the art director of the Bodo city-based Moving Art Theatre .

Constant choreographed Nutcracker for the Ballet Quad Cities in 1998.

She has worked with HBSO dancers to offer what is touted as a fresh interpretation of the play.

The 120-minute work will feature up-and-coming stars like Pham Duong Quynh Ly (who will play Clara), Ho Phi Diep (the Prince), and Do Thi Hai Anh (the Sugarplum Fairy).


The show is scheduled for 8pm on Nov. 12 and 15 at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square , district 1.

Tickets costing 200,000, 400,000, and 600,000 VND are available at the theatre. /.