Although the original 1892 Marius Petipa production was not a success, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker began to slowly enjoy worldwide popularity after Balanchine first staged his production of it in 1954.Fisher, J. (2003). Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World, New Haven: Yale University Press. It may now be the most popular ballet in the world.

In Russia, choreographer Alexander Gorsky staged a new version of the work in 1919 that addressed many of the criticisms of the original 1892 production by casting adult dancers in the roles of Clara and the Prince, rather than children. This not only introduced a love interest into the story by making Clara and the Prince adults, but provided the dancers portraying Clara and the Prince with more of an opportunity to participate in the dancing.

The first complete performance outside Russia took place in England in 1934, staged by Nicholas Sergeyev after Petipa's original choreography. An abridged version of the ballet, performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, was staged in New York City in 1940 by Alexandra Fedorovanot to be confused with the university teacher of the same name - again, after Petipa's version.Anderson, J. (1985). The Nutcracker Ballet, New York: Mayflower Books.

The ballet's first complete United States performance was on 24 December 1944, by the San Francisco Ballet, staged by its artistic director Willam Christensen. The New York City Ballet gave its first annual performance of George Balanchine's staging of The Nutcracker in 1954. The tradition of performing the complete ballet at Christmas eventually spread to the rest of the United States. Since Vasili Vainonen's 1934 version in Russia, and Balanchine's 1954 New York City Ballet production, many other choreographers have made their own versions. Some institute the changes made by Gorsky and Vainonen respectively while others, like Balanchine, utilize the original libretto. Some notable productions include those by Rudolf Nureyev for the Royal Ballet, Yuri Grigorovich for the Bolshoi Ballet, Mikhail Baryshnikov for the American Ballet Theatre, and Peter Wright for the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. In recent years, revisionist productions, including those by Mark Morris, Matthew Bourne, and Mikhail Chemiakin have appeared, which depart radically from both the original 1892 libretto and Gorsky's revival.

In addition to annual live stagings of the work, many productions have also been televised and/or released on home video. The ballet has also brought attention to "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", the original 1816 story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, which is now the source material for various animated and live action films. Tchaikovsky's music, especially The Nutcracker Suite, a selection of eight pieces from the complete score, has become extremely popular. The suite (sans the Miniature Overture and the March) was featured in the popular 1940 Disney film Fantasia.

Stage

20th century

Snowflakes — Ivan Clustine/Anna Pavlova (1911) Choreography: Ivan Clustine Company: Anna Pavlova Premiere: 1911

When Anna Pavlova formed her own troupe, she adapted the Journey through the Pine Forest and Waltz of the Snowflakes scenes into a ballet called Snowflakes, with which she toured the United States and Europe from 1911 until her death in 1931. Although only a small fraction of the complete work, Pavlova's adaptation is significant for being the first time the Journey through the Pine Forest music was used for a pas de deux between a Snow Queen and a Snow King. This music would also later be utilized for a first act pas de deux between Clara and the Nutcracker Prince by Vasily Vainonen in his production for the Mariinsky Ballet, by Kurt Jacob for his German-American television production of the 1960s (see the section Television Presentations below), by Mikhail Baryshnikov for his famous production with American Ballet Theatre, by Kent Stowell for Pacific Northwest Ballet, and by Peter Wright for his Royal Ballet production and Birmingham Royal Ballet productions. The Snow Queen/King would later be featured in some subsequent productions, including Helgi Tomasson's for the San Francisco Ballet.

Alexander Gorsky (1919) Choreography: Alexander Gorsky (after Petipa) Company: Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow Premiere: 1919

Russian choreographer Alexander Gorsky, who staged a production of The Nutcracker in Moscow in 1919, is credited with the idea of combining Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy's roles (i.e. giving the Fairy's dances to Clara), eliminating the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier, giving the Cavalier's dances to the Nutcracker Prince, and having the roles of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince danced by adults, thereby introducing a reason for a love interest between the two characters that had not been present in the original ballet.

Ninette de Valois (1934) Choreography: Nicholas Sergeyev after Marius Petipa Company: Vic-Wells Ballet Premiere 30 January 1934, Sadler's Wells, London

The first staging outside of Russia. Former Imperial ballet regisseur Nicholas Sergeyev, who had escaped from the Bolsheviks with the notations for many classic ballet productions in his luggage, staged the London production based on Marius Petipa's original. The cast was headed by Alicia Markova, and also included Elsa Lanchester in the Arabian Dance and the young 'Margaret Fontes' (later Margot Fonteyn) and Annabel Farjeon as snowflakes.Louise Levene. 'The Nutcracker wasn't always considered quite such a box of delights', in The Spectator, 18 December 2021 Constant Lambert was the musical director and conductor. The ballet was presented "with only a few cuts".Stephen Lloyd. Constant Lambert: Beyond the Rio Grande (2014), p. 195

Vasily Vainonen (1934) Choreography: Vasily Vainonen Company: Mariinsky Ballet Premiere: 1934, Mariinsky Theatre, Leningrad

In 1934, Soviet choreographer Vasili Vainonen staged his complete version of the ballet in the USSR. Vainonen followed Gorsky in departing from the original 1892 production, particularly in his casting adult dancers in the roles of Clara (called Masha in this production) and the Prince, having them perform the second act Grand Pas de Deux originally intended for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier (who are omitted from the production altogether), augmenting the role of Drosselmeyer, and concluding the ballet with Masha's realization that the fantasy sequences were a dream. Many subsequent productions, including those by Nureyev and Baryshnikov, have adopted these changes.

The production was revived in 1954, and received a special staging at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (known as Leningrad during the Communist era) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ballet's premiere in 1992. In 1994, with sets and costumes first used in its 1954 revival, the Vainonen version was staged again, starring Larissa Lezhnina as Masha, Victor Baranov as the Nutcracker / Prince, and Piotr Russanov as Drosselmeyer. This revival was videotaped and released on DVD.

Another revival of this production has been shown in movie theatres in 3D, and a new DVD of it, starring Alina Somova and Vladimir Shklyarov, was released in December 2012, both in a regular version and on Blu-ray. It was also telecast in 2012 and 2013 on Ovation Channel's "Battle of the Nutcrackers".

Alexandra Fedorova (1940) Choreography: Alexandra Fedorova, after Lev Ivanov Company: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Premiere: October 17, 1940. 51st Street Theater, New York City Although abridged, this production is notable for being the first time The Nutcracker (beyond excerpts) was performed in America.

Willam Christensen (1944)

Choreography: Willam Christensen Company: San Francisco Ballet Premiere: December 24, 1944, San Francisco

In 1944, Christensen created the first complete production in America with the help of George Balanchine (who would go on to choreograph his own production ten years later) and Alexandra Danilova. Both of them were familiar with the 1892 version:

Christensen himself performed the role of the Cavalier. Gisella Caccialanza, the wife of Lew Christensen, danced the rôle of the Sugar Plum Fairy. One of the other dancers in the production was Onna White, who would later choreograph The Music Man on both stage and screen, as well as the 1968 film version of "Oliver!".

The staging was a success, and one critic wrote: "We can't understand why a vehicle of such fantastic beauty and originality could be produced in Europe in 1892 with signal success [sic] and never be produced in its entirety in this country until 1944. Perhaps choreographers will make up for lost time from now on." The company was the first in the U.S. to make the ballet an annual tradition, and for ten years, the only company in the United States performing the complete ballet. The company has performed The Nutcracker annually in subsequent versions by Lew Christensen and Helgi Tomasson respectively.

On New Year's Day, 1965, ABC-TV telecast a one-hour abridgment of Lew Christensen's 1964 version. Cynthia Gregory danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and dancer Terry Orr was the Snow King.

George Balanchine (1954)

Choreography: George Balanchine, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov Company: New York City Ballet Premiere: February 2, 1954, City Center of Music and Drama, New York CityNew York City Ballet Repertory Index. http://www.nycballet.com/company/rep.html?rep=228 . Date retrieved: 03-11-10

In 1954 George Balanchine followed in Christensen's footsteps by choreographing and premiering his now-famous New York City Ballet version, adhering closely to the libretto of the original 1892 version (recollected from revivals in which he had performed the role of the Prince as a young boy in Russia):

This version remained faithful to the original production in its casting actual children in the roles of Marie (Clara) and the Nutcracker Prince, even reconstructing some of the original choreography for the Prince's pantomime and the Grand Pas de Deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier in Act II. Balanchine made some musical edits for his production, adding an entr'acte originally composed for Act II of The Sleeping Beauty (used as a transition between the departure of the guests and the battle with the mice in Act I), moving the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy to earlier in Act II, and excising the Tarantella variation intended for the Cavalier during the Grand Pas de Deux. Balanchine also departed from the original production on some points. For instance, while in the original production the Waltz of the Flowers was performed by eighteen male-female couples, Balanchine utilized a group of fourteen female dancers led by a Dew Drop soloist. Other changes reflect a return to Hoffmann's original tale. For instance, Balanchine used Hoffmann's original name for the heroine, Marie Stahlbaum (rather than Clara Silberhaus as in the 1892 production), and introduced a nephew for Drosselmeyer who appears in the party scene and later as the Nutcracker Prince.