The Nutcracker is an originally Russian ballet in two acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The Christmas fairy tale, to which the ballet goes back, Nutcracker and Mouse King, was written by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1816. Alexandre Dumas incarnated version of it was first set to music by Tchaikovsky around 1892 and is still one of the most popular ballets today. It is performed regularly by many theaters and opera houses, usually around Christmas.