Christian Spuck puts the literary origin at the heart of his choreography of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, emphasizing the fantastical nature of the original rather than the delightful Christmas fairytale and bringing back the tale of princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

On stage, Drosselmeier’s workshop turns into an old revue-theatre, where the ballet’s characters come to life. Spucks’ choreography plays with the richness of characters in Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humour that inhabit them, while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism.

Recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich, April 2018

Choregraphy & stage direction: Christian Spuck
Set design: Rufus Didwiszus
Light design: Martin Gebhardt
Costume design: Buki Shiff
Dramaturgy: Michael Küster, Claus Spahn

Picture formats: NTSC 16:9, Full HD
Sound formats: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo
Region code: 0
Running time: 110:21
Disc format: BD 25