• “The Nutcracker” at the National Opera

The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, is rightly considered one of the most popular ballets in the repertoire, since the emotional power and the theatricality of the composer’s music have enchanted young and old audiences throughout the ages. In its original two-act form, with choreography by Lev Ivanov and a libretto by Marius Petipas, for which Tchaikovsky composed his music, The Nutcracker premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892. The original premise is based on the short story “The nutcracker and the king of mice” by E.T.A. Hoffman. The Director of the ELS Ballet Constantinos Rigos develops the choreography of The Nutcracker and sees the work through the eyes of the children who feel they are on the sidelines and are forced to create their own dreams in a world that was “dissolved by the adults”. “Christmas Eve, Marie-Clara opens her godfather’s gifts and finds a strange toy, her beloved Nutcracker. In her fragile childhood world, dreams and reality are sweetly mixed. In the Nutcracker’s arms he will see the most wonderful dreams but also the most terrifying nightmares. In the new era, the Nutcracker of the ELLS Ballet highlights the dark but also the bright, ghostly side of the well-known fairy tale. A new strange world is created on stage, where Marie-Clara’s glass window room meets the bright colorful objects floating on the stage, the baroque gates leading to the basements of the mouse kingdom, and the brightly lit Christmas tree.

  • “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” at the Embassy Theater

The legendary musical that has moved and excited millions of viewers around the world, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, is coming to Greece for the first time, performed and directed by Giorgos Valaris. Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, the musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” combines Marc Shaiman’s original score with lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The magic and atmosphere of the legendary factory “come alive” in a unique blockbuster at the historical “Embassy” cinema in Kolonaki, which is reopening. On stage, a 30-member troupe, with Alexandros Bourdoumis in the role of Willy Wonka, little Spiro Dougia in the role of Charlie and a live orchestra.

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