New York City Ballet Opens Season With George Balanchine's THE NUTCRACKER

New York City Ballet will open its annual season of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® on Friday, November 24 at 8 p.m. at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as the Company continues its 75th Anniversary Season.  The 2023 season of the holiday classic, sponsored by Travelers, will be performed through Sunday, December 31, 2023.

New York City Ballet’s (NYCB) acclaimed production of Balanchine’s masterpiece, which premiered on February 2, 1954, helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States, evident by the now countless versions of the ballet performed all over the country.  NYCB’s beloved production is seen by more than 100,000 people annually.  

“New York City Ballet and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® are an essential part of the holidays in New York, and as the Company celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year’s performances of the beloved production feel especially meaningful. This holiday season marks the 12th year that Travelers has supported the production and helped to make this treasured holiday favorite possible. We are incredibly grateful for their generous continued sponsorship,” said Katherine Brown, NYCB’s Executive Director.

“We’re pleased to once again support New York City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker® and continue the holiday magic this timeless production has brought to generations of ballet fans,” said Lisa Caputo, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience at Travelers.

Set to Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky’s glorious score, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® features choreography by Balanchine, scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley, after the original design by Ronald Bates.  The production features the Company’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as more than 125 children, in two alternating casts, from the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.

Highlights of this world-renowned holiday production include a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 16 to 41 feet, an onstage snowstorm, and hundreds of elaborate costumes, including one for Mother Ginger that measures 9 feet wide and weighs 85 pounds.  The production’s grand finale involves one million watts of lighting, the most used in any New York City Ballet production.  

Ticket prices start at $50, and New York City Ballet also offers a Sweet Seat VIP Package, which includes premium seating, a complimentary souvenir book, and for every two Sweet Seat tickets purchased, a coupon for one complimentary keepsake photo taken onsite at the theater.  

Tickets are currently on sale online at nycballet.com, in person at the theater box office, and by phone at (212) 496-0600.  The David H. Koch Theater is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza at Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street.  

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