1200 children see the Nutcracker for free

Nutcracker Oslo BalletThe Nutcracker is a children's performance, and on December 12th, 1200 pupils from the Eastern part of Norway are invited to experience the show for free, courtesy of the OBOS Ticket Fund. Photo: Erik Berg / Operaen.

1200 children experience the Nutcracker for free in Oslo

On December 12th, 1200 excited children enter the Opera in Oslo. They have won tickets for the Christmas ballet the Nutcracker together with their classmates.

 

The OBOS Ticket Fund donates a whole matinee performance of the National Ballet’s Fairy Tale the Nutcracker to students in the Eastern parts of Norway. The tickets are distributed after a large-scale lottery with a record-breaking participation: When the application deadline expired, 1,221 applications for a total of 45,261 tickets were received.

41 classes with about 1200 students were selected in the lottery.

Contact the Opera to learn if your local school has been elected

– The Nutcracker is more than a ballet, it’s a door opener, says Ballet Director, Ingrid Lorentzen.

– Every time the drapes are raised for the Nutcracker, somebody in the hall sees ballet for the very first time. And never before, the concert hall has been filled with as many young spectators as it will be on December 12th. Then it will shine a little bit extra, she continues.

– We want to give a pre-Christmas experience to children and young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience such a performance. The response is overwhelming and shows that this is something many appreciate. Our desire is to make great cultural experiences, such as ballet in our beautiful Opera house, available to the largest possible extent, says CEO of OBOS, Daniel Kjørberg Siraj.

The Nutcracker is about the young Clara who feels outside at the big Christmas celebration. She falls asleep, and in the dream, the guests transform into rats and mice and the Nutcracker figure into a real prince. The Prince and Clara fight against the rats and mice, and during the second act, the gifts from the foreign guests come alive and offer to dance – all ruled by the mysterious dollmaker Drosselmeyer.

The pupils meet Hedda Sveipe Bahmanyar (15) from the Ballet School in the role as the young Clara. National ballot soloist Maiko Nishino interprets the role of the adult Clara, Erik Murzagaliyev, the Nutcracker Prince, and Aarne Kristian Ruutu dances the role of Drosselmeyer.

The chosen few are from:

  • Moss
  • Hemnes
  • Hønefoss
  • Bekkestua
  • Kløfta
  • Nesodtangen
  • Asker
  • Lommedalen
  • Drammen
  • Gran
  • Leirsund
  • Hagan
  • Fredrikstad
  • Klokkarstua
  • Ski
  • Jessheim
  • Lørenskog
  • Enebakk
  • Tårnåsen
  • Slemmestad
  • Strømmen
  • Hokksund
  • Fetsund
  • Oslo (several districts)

 

© Den Norske Opera & Ballett / #Norway Today