On stage, the return of 'The Nutcracker' and the birth of a ballet company

The San Diego Union-Tribune: “The Nutcracker” ballet has a storied history, one that begins with disappointment and ends with surprising success. Critics reviled the 1892 Russian premiere, declaring the Sugar Plum Fairy too fat, the battle scene clumsy and the costumes tasteless. Even Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who composed the familiar score, considered the show “rather boring.”