In 1816, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (E. T. A. Hoffmann) wrote The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a wonderful mix of magic and fantasy.  The book was conceived of as a great subject for a ballet.  Tchaikovsky, who had already composed Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, collaborated with the French choreographer Marius Petipa on this new ballet.  Tchaikovsky worked on the music while touring Europe and America in 1891.  He was the first composer to use the celesta, a keyboard-style instrument invented in 1886, in the music that became part of this ballet.

In March, 1892, Tchaikovsky finished a smaller collection of music for this ballet that he called the Nutcracker Suite.  It was performed in concert and received great praise from the audience and critics alike.  However, the full ballet would not fare so well when it premiered later that year.  While the ballet was originally choreographed by Petipa, his assistant, Lev Ivanov, ended up doing most of the chorography.  When it premiered in December 1892 in St. Petersburg, the Russian Tsar liked it, but the critics did not.  Specifically, the critics hated the fact that the story changed so dramatically during the ballet and that the part for the prima ballerina did not enter until late in the ballet.  Tchaikovsky died in the year following the Nutcracker premiere and he never knew of the notoriety that the ballet now has. 

The production of the Nutcracker that is credited in large part with its rebirth was the performance by the New York City Ballet, choreographed by George Balanchine.  The year was 1954, just over 60 years after its premiere, and it was the first American production of the ballet.  It became an instant sensation and led to broadcasts of the ballet on CBS television on Christmas Day on both 1957 and 1958.  In the years that followed, the Nutcracker has become the most watched ballet in America and it has been performed by hundreds of professional and amateur companies across this country.  Its success is, well…magical!