The Nutcracker in Zagreb: 13 shows, tickets from Sunday

The Nutcracker returns to the stage of the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) in Zagreb for the holiday season. Between Friday 27 November 2026 and Tuesday 5 January 2027, the theatre has scheduled 13 performances of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet. According to HNK Zagreb, ticket sales open on Sunday 25 October at 10:00 on the theatre's website, and at the box office on Tuesday 27 October, also at 10:00. For visitors from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the run fits an Advent weekend in Zagreb or a few days between Christmas and New Year.

All 13 dates

Tickets cost between 26 and 84 euros depending on the seat category, Telegram reports. The paper adds that sales are split by date: tickets for six performances go on sale online first, six more at the box office, and the performance on 29 December is reserved for subscribers. The production page at HNK shows which dates can be booked online. A performance lasts just over two hours: the first act runs 50 minutes, the interval 20 minutes and the second act 55 minutes.

Rudolf Nureyev's version

Zagreb is showing the production that premiered on 21 November 2025. It follows the version by the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, based on the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Nureyev first staged his Nutcracker in 1967 with the Royal Swedish Ballet; it was later danced at the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala in Milan, the Royal Ballet in London and the Paris Opera. In his reading, Drosselmeyer and the Prince are one and the same character. Sets and costumes are by Jérôme Kaplan, lighting by Deni Šesnić. Vjekoslav Babić and Josip Šego share the conducting, and pupils of the Zagreb School for Classical Ballet dance roles such as the mice and the soldiers.

The story goes back to E. T. A. Hoffmann's tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King from 1816, and the ballet premiered in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. In Zagreb the company first danced scenes from it in 1923, and the first Croatian premiere of the ballet followed in 1931 in Margarita Froman's choreography, as HNK writes on the production page.

What it means for visitors

Anyone coming to Zagreb for an Advent weekend has three evening dates at or near a weekend: Friday 27 November, Saturday 28 November and Friday 4 December. Advent in Zagreb starts on 28 November by our count. On Christmas Eve there is a performance at noon, which leaves the evening free. Between Christmas and New Year and in early January, HNK plays on 30 December and on 2, 4 and 5 January. An evening show starting at 19:30 ends at around 21:35, interval included. Telegram describes Nutcracker tickets in Zagreb as hard to get every year, so it pays to be on the HNK website on Sunday at 10:00.

HNK presents the piece as a ballet for audiences of all ages; for families with children, the Saturday shows at 18:00 and the noon performance on 24 December start earliest. Getting there and places to stay are covered in our guide to an Advent weekend in Zagreb. Staying longer? The Van Gogh Alive exhibition at the Zagreb Fair runs over the same weeks, and more on the city is on our Zagreb page.