This website is part of The New York Public Library's Online Exhibition Archive. For current classes, programs, and exhibitions, please visit nypl.org.
Trees
in The Nutcracker (Choreographic work: Balanchine)
Many ballet productions of E. T. A. Hoffmann's story use manipulations
of scale in scenery to represent the magical transformation
of the wooden figure. George Balanchine's choreography for the
work called for the on-stage enlargement of the Christmas tree
in Act I to signal the transition into the magical realm. Rouben
Ter-Arutunian and Barbara Karinska designed sets and costumes
for The New York City Ballet's 1965 production, which is still
in use.
The Nutcracker (choreography: George Balanchine,
music: P. I. Tchaikowsky)
Presentation design by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, 1989, of the Christmas
tree, Act I, as designed for the New York State Theatre, 1964
Rouben Ter-Arutunian Collection, Jerome Robbins Dance Division
The Nutcracker (choreography: George Balanchine,
music: P. I. Tchaikowsky)
Costume design by Barbara Karinska of toy soldiers, a mouse and
a child from Act I, as designed for the New York State Theatre,
1964
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, Jerome Robbins Dance Division
