VILNIUS, Lithuania ¨C Unimpressed by the substitute for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky¡¯s ¡°Nutcracker,¡± the mother and her young daughter left at the intermission, a small protest over a decision by the opera house not to perform the Russian composer¡¯s Christmas classic.
¡°Everything about ¡®The Nutcracker¡¯ is much better ¡ª the music, the dance, the story,¡± said Egle Brediene, 38, hurrying out of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater this past week after the first act of a replacement ballet composed by an Italian.
Lithuania, an unwavering supporter of Ukraine in the war waged by Russia, set aside Tchaikovsky and the holiday favorite two years ago after declaring a ¡°mental quarantine¡± from Russian culture in a gesture of solidarity against the aggressor.
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