National Symphony Orchestra: The Nutcracker & Cinderella

A National Symphony Orchestra program pairing Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker with Prokofiev's Cinderella, presented at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. The two ballet scores are staples of the orchestral repertoire.

The National Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1931 and based in Washington, D.C., presents this program of two Russian ballet scores. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, first staged in St. Petersburg in 1892, is one of the most performed works in the ballet and orchestral repertoire. Prokofiev's Cinderella, composed in the 1940s, is the other half of the bill, and it lets listeners hear how a second composer set a familiar fairy tale for full orchestra.

Lisner Auditorium, on the campus of George Washington University, is a Washington venue for concerts and shows. Placing two story ballets from different eras side by side makes the evening a close comparison of orchestral storytelling.

The program suits audiences who know Tchaikovsky's score well, as well as those who are new to Prokofiev's music, since both works are central to the orchestral canon.