The two most famous ballets in the world are The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. They have been around since the late 19th century and have been performed in theaters all over the world.
But who wrote them?
Both ballets were composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer. Born in 1840, he was highly regarded as one of the greatest composers of his time.
He composed many pieces, including operas, symphonies and concertos. Yet it is his contributions to classical ballet that made him famous.
Tchaikovsky wrote The Sleeping Beauty, which premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1890. It was based on Charles Perrault’s fairytale of the same name about a princess who has to be saved from a curse. The score for this ballet featured some of Tchaikovsky’s most famous pieces, such as “The Waltz of the Flowers” and “Sleeping Beauty Waltz”.
The Nutcracker, which is based on E.T.A Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, premiered at St Petersburg’s Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in 1892. This ballet has become one of the most performed ballets in history and features some of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved compositions including “Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy” and “March Of The Toy Soldiers.”
Tchaikovsky wrote both The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker for their respective premieres at the Mariinsky Theatre and they remain two of his most popular works today.
In conclusion, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote both ballets The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.