It is the Christmas ballet par excellence: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”. Moreover, it completes Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893) ballet trilogy, which today are fixed core repertoire of every ballet company: “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker”.
The ballet premiered in December 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and is based on the fairy tale “Nutcracker and Mouse King” written by E. T. A. Hoffmann.
On Christmas Eve, young Klara (sometimes called Marie after Hoffmann’s original) is given a wooden nutcracker. During the night he transforms into a living apparition and Marie joins him in battle, in which the Nutcracker and his soldiers fight against the mischievous Mouse King and his entourage. After the victorious end, the Nutcracker transforms into his true form, a handsome prince. In honor of Marie and the victory, a lavish party is held.
There are different versions for the ending. In the most popular version, the story took place in Klara’s dreams. With her waking up, the Nutcracker brought to life with his soldiers turns back into toy figures.

"Tosca" was first performed on January 14, 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi, now the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, symbolically on the spot. The evening was a major social event, and in addition to the Prime Minister and the Queen, the composers Pietro Mascagni and Francesco Cilea were also present. With his "Tosca" Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) entered a new century and, with his highly theatrical and effective scenes, he committed himself to Verist opera on the one hand and to the tragic-heroic grand opera on the other.
After seeing the drama of the same name by Victorien Sardous, which was a huge international success with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role, the composer successfully applied to Sardou for the rights to create a libretto. The wealth of musical ideas (more than 60 themes appear as leitmotifs) and the breathless sequence of events are largely responsible for the immense tension and drama of the opera. By focusing on the main character, the work is considered a "prima donna opera" par excellence. Although it has always been suspected that a historical figure is behind Tosca, the characters and plot are freely invented.
However, the background against which the plot unfolds is historically determined by the Second Coalition War and the Battle of Marengo in 1800 between French and Austrian troops. Napoleon’s supposed defeat and his final victory over the coalition troops are reported in the first and second act of the opera.
Today "Tosca" is one of the most popular and most performed operas of all.