Queen Margrethe of Denmark is getting into the holiday spirit on stage with a new version of a beloved ballet at Tivoli Ballet Theatre in Copenhagen.
The Danish Royal Family shared The Queen’s visit to Tivoli Gardens to see the new production of Nøddeknækkeren, known popularly as The Nutcracker. Ballet Director Peter Bo Bendixen has drawn Danish together ballet master and choreographer August Bournonville’s works and Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales.
The ballet follows a young girl who is transported to a magical kingdom of sweets after her Nutcracker prince rescues her from the evil Mouse King. The Sugar Plum Fairy acts as her guide in the Kingdom, leaving when she wakes on Christmas morning.
This production is particularly notable as Queen Margrethe has returned to her ballet roots and designed the costumes.
A reel posted on the family’s Instagram account showed the Queen of Denmark enjoying various scenes from the new ballet and chatting with dancers and staff at rehearsals.
The post noted‘ ‘The fair figures Harlequin, Columbine and Pierrot can be experienced together with historical figures such as the fairy tale writer H.C. Andersen and the ballet master August Bournonville in the Christmas ballet Nøddeknækkeren. Her Majesty the Queen is a scenographer on the ballet, and in the run up to the premiere, Her Majesty followed the rehearsal closely.”
Queen Margrethe has designed both sets and costumes for ballets for both Tivoli Ballet Theatre and the Royal Danish Ballet. Her first designs were used for the RDB’s A Folk Tale in 1992, and she has since designed for The Snow Queen (2019), Thumbelina (2007), and Love in the Skarn Box (2001).
Nøddeknækkeren will be showing at the Tivoli Gardens in the open-air theatre from 26 November to 23 December, with special family-friendly performances available for children.
