Question: What Is The Nutcracker Suite?
What is the difference between The Nutcracker Ballet and The Nutcracker Suite?
Answer: A suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces that is performed in a concert setting. The set may be extracts from a ballet, such as The Nutcracker Ballet. The Nutcracker Suite, therefore, is the shortened orchestral version of The Nutcracker Ballet. Eight of the more popular numbers from the ballet, selected by Tchaikovsky, form the Nutcracker Suite. The suite became popular instantly, but the ballet took much longer to achieve great poularity. The Nutcracker Suite is intended for concert performance, but should never be mistaken for the complete ballet.
