Sisi and her beloved Hungary

The idea for The Nutcracker ballet came from theone-time director of the Tsarist theatre who, based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fairy tale entitled the Nutcracker and the Mouse King, wanted to stage a fairy tale ballet that would surpass all that had gone before, both in sound and in spectacle. Tchaikovsky was asked to compose the music and after Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty his third and final ballet was also a great success. It was the six-movement suite of the music of The Nutcracker that was first performed in March 1892, and in December of the same year the spectacularly presented theatrical work was also performed. The Nutcracker has become the most frequently played ballet piece of all time.

After a ten-year hiatus, Hungary is once again hosting a prestigious international ballet competition, organised by the Hungarian Dance Academy for four days between 21 and 24 November.

The Garden of Lights will once again invite visitors to the magical world of a wonderful, cultic fairy tale in the Budapest Füvészkert for the 2025/26 season. The theme of this year's special light and multimedia exhibition is the story of the eternal child Peter Pan.