The IVSO and friends bring the Nutcracker to the Illinois Valley
LASALLE — Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” ballet is coming to the Illinois Valley this December.
The Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director and Conductor Lucia Matos, will bring this traditional holiday favorite alive on Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. at LaSalle-Peru High School’s Auditorium.
Sponsored by Spring Valley City Bank and Eureka Savings Bank, many performers will join the IVSO to bring the ballet to life including dancers from Dance Center, Gray’s School of Dance and Ottawa Dance Academy, and singers from the Streator Middle School choir.
“The Nutcracker” is a scenario based on Alexandre Dumas’ French version of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The story invites us into a child’s world filled with anticipation. It is a story of magic and transformation that can be enjoyed on many levels which unfold as we experience life and reflect our awareness and perceptions that things are not always as they seem.
First performed on Dec. 18, 1892, in St. Petersburg, Russia, “The Nutcracker” has been a Christmas-time classic performed throughout the world and is almost everyone’s first ballet. Now the entire Illinois Valley is being invited to view this spectacular performance.
The ballet features two Acts. Act I takes place on Christmas Eve. Dr. and Frau Stahlbaum are throwing a party in honor of their children, Louise, Fritz and Clara. During the party, Herr Drosselmeier, the children’s mysterious godfather, presents Clara with a nutcracker in the form of a soldier. After the guests leave, Clara cannot sleep as she thinks of the Nutcracker. She goes downstairs to retrieve her gift, and strange and magical adventures await her.
Act II takes place in Clara’s fantasy in the Kingdom of Sweets, where she is greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Three dances represent food and drink from exotic countries including chocolate from Spain, Tea from China and Coffee from Arabia. The Act is concluded by several other lovely waltzes that leave the audience to consider the mingling of fantasy and reality in their lives.
Seating is limited and all seating is reserved. To print an order form, visit www.ivso.org. Adult tickets are $10 and children age 12 and under are $5.
For more information about these performances and upcoming concerts, visit www.ivso.org.
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