Andrea Sanguineti conducts Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at the Aalto-Theater in Essen on November 7, leading Aalto Ballett Essen in Youri Vámos’s imaginative reinterpretation of the Christmas classic. Originally created in 1988, the choreography combines elements of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” with Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” transporting the story to the snow-covered streets of Victorian London.

The ballet is part of a busy season for Andrea Sanguineti in Essen, where the Italian conductor serves as General Music Director. His engagements at the Aalto-Theater also include Korngold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane,” Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” and Wagner’s “Lohengrin.”

Other performances: November 29; December 6, 10, 12, 30; January 9.