On This Day

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" premieres in Saint Petersburg, Russia, now the world's most performed

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" premieres in Saint Petersburg, Russia, now the world's most performed ballet; his final opera "Isolanta" also premieres

The Nutcracker, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a ballet-féerie; Russian: балет-феерия, romanized: balet-feyeriya) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. The plot is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 short story The Tale of a Nutcracker, itself a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov.

Key People

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Musician

Russian composer

Events Before

  1. French troops occupy Nioro, West Sudan, and 3,000 people are killed

    French troops occupy Nioro, West Sudan, and 3,000 people are killed

  2. A Hatfield marries a McCoy, ends long feud in West Virginia it started with an accusation of pig-stealing & lasted 20 ye

    A Hatfield marries a McCoy, ends long feud in West Virginia it started with an accusation of pig-stealing & lasted 20 years

  3. 56th UK Prime Minister Bonar Law (32) weds Annie Robley at West Free Church in Helensburgh, Scotland

    56th UK Prime Minister Bonar Law (32) weds Annie Robley at West Free Church in Helensburgh, Scotland

  4. 1st World Weightlifting Championship is won by Edward Lawrence in London

    1st World Weightlifting Championship is won by Edward Lawrence in London

  5. Music Hall (now Carnegie Hall) opens in New York City, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as guest conductor of the New York

    Music Hall (now Carnegie Hall) opens in New York City, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as guest conductor of the New York Music Society Orchestra

Events After

  1. First U.S. college extension courses for credit are offered at the University of Chicago

    The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, UChi, or U of C) is a private research university in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The university is composed of an...

  2. British poet and writer Rudyard Kipling (26) weds Carrie Balestier (29) at All Souls Church in Langham Place, London, En

    British poet and writer Rudyard Kipling (26) weds Carrie Balestier (29) at All Souls Church in Langham Place, London, England; writer. Henry James gave away the bride

  3. Thomas Edison completes the world's first movie studio in West Orange, New Jersey

    Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman.

  4. Panic of 1893 causes a large crash on the NY Stock Exchange

    Panic of 1893 causes a large crash on the NY Stock Exchange

  5. Henri Desgrange establishes world's 1st bicycle world record, travelling 35.325 km (21.95 miles) an hour

    Henri Desgrange establishes world's 1st bicycle world record, travelling 35.325 km (21.95 miles) an hour

More from the 1890s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 18, 1892?
The Nutcracker, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a ballet-féerie; Russian: балет-феерия, romanized: balet-feyeriya) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. The plot is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 short story The Tale of a Nutcracker, itself a retelling of E.
Why is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" premieres in Saint Petersb... historically important?
Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov.
Who was involved in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" premieres in Saint Petersb...?
Key figures include Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Musician).

Explore More