The San Francisco Ballet plans to resume live performances at the War Memorial Opera House on Dec. 10-30, with the long-awaited return of the holiday favorite “Nutcracker.”
In this acclaimed staging by Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson, first unveiled in 2004, the action is set in San Francisco at the time of the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. That era has new echoes for this revival in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Setting this production in 1915, I wanted to capture the hope, progress, and civic pride felt by San Franciscans following the 1906 earthquake,” Tomasson said in a statement. “It is in a similar spirit that we approach this year’s ‘Nutcracker’ and the 2022 season as our company, staff and audiences emerge from this period of historic change.”
Tickets beginning at $19 are available at www.sfballet.org or by calling 415-865-2000.
Casting will be announced at least one week before each performance.
“Nutcracker” has been a San Francisco Ballet holiday staple since 1944, when the company gave the piece its first complete U.S. production. This revival comes as Tomasson prepares for the final season of his 37-year tenure.
It also marks the company’s return to live indoor performances after the abrupt cancellation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in March 2020 after a single performance made it the first U.S. cultural organization to go dark in the face of the pandemic. The Ballet has since only performed outdoors for audiences during the pandemic during a stint at Frost Amphitheater for “Starry Nights.”
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