Zagreb’s Nutcracker tickets sell out online in record 70 seconds

The familiar scene has played out for years at this time of year in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. Hundreds of people have been lining up at the box office since 2:30 a.m. to secure tickets for The Nutcracker, the beloved holiday classic.

Even 13 performances of the lavish ballet appear insufficient to meet demand, as its popularity continues to grow year after year. Tickets went on sale online on Sunday and sold out in a record-breaking 70 seconds.

The Croatian National Theatre introduced a new production of The Nutcracker in 2025, featuring an ambitious interpretation by renowned Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, based on the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.

Nureyev staged his version of the ballet at the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1967. The libretto draws on Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of the original story, while Nureyev reworked the narrative, giving it a psychoanalytic dimension. In this dreamlike interpretation, Drosselmeyer and the Prince are one and the same person, embodying the ideal man and symbolizing the process of maturation.