The Orchestra of the Maryinsky Theatre, conducted by Victor Fedotov; Larissa Lezhnina (Masha and the Princess), Victor Baranov (Nutcracker and the Prince), Piotr Russanov (Drosselmayer), The Ballet of the Maryinsky Theatre; soloists, Gennadi Babanin, Nina Michailova, Irina Gusseva, Tatiana Gumba, Irina Zagrebina, Igor Belyaev, Zinaida Alekseeva, Nikita Scheglov, Elvira Tarassova, Ruben Bobovnikov, Irina Zhelonkina, Elena Sherstneva, Andrei Yakovlev, Ekaterina Katkovskaya, Tatiana Loginova, Irina Suvorova, Tatiana Miltseva, Elena Chmil, Artem Pykhachev, Janna Kirova, Elena Kozyakova, Elena Dmitrieva, Artem Kokorin, Sergei Proskuryakov, Igor Shepelev. Booklet includes program notes, synopsis, and essay "The Nutcracker: a strange and complex fantasy" by John Warrack, both in English and French.
Contents:
Act 1 -- Act 2.
Summary:
At a Christmas party, Masha is presented with the elegant Nutcracker prince by her doting godfather Drosselmeyer. Her brother breaks it, and Masha is devastated. That night, Masha dreams about the Nutcracker -- he is really a prince, and he comes to life, fights off the Rat King and his minions, and takes her to his kingdom. There she is royally entertained, and they dance together. Masha longs to remain in the dream world but her love for her godfather and her family draw her back into the waking world. In this Russian version, the Sugar Plum Fairy is omitted, and Drosselmeyer is present in the Prince's kingdom.
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