"The Nutcracker and I" is the title of Alexandra Dariescu's multimedia performance, due on Tuesday, the 19^th of December. The event is first timing in Romania and will take place at the National Theatre of Operetta and Musical "Ion Dacian" in Bucharest.

Do you remember how many times you performed The Nutcracker and I since 2017, when its premiere took place?

Yes. We are currently at 75 and next year we'll celebrate its 100^th anniversary.

What were the children's reactions to the previous performances?

The most beautiful ones that I could've ever imagined. Children aged 4 to adults aged almost 100, all around the world. They would exit the show as if transformed, for it means something else for everyone, be they children or adults. The fact that we are using this really cool technology helps us come up with things that we could've never imagined for this show. It is truly wonderful, and the interaction between the characters and ballet is a really beautiful thing. Everyone says and feels that they are very close to music. It is simply a combination that makes the soul vibrate and brings a lot of joy.

How did you celebrate previous Christmas days, since you have been on tour forthe past six years?

Honestly, I haven't celebrated Christmas that much. I'll be in China this year as well. I remember that during my first year, the worldwide tour lasted two months, and I had been throughout all Europe, I performed in all the grand halls of Konzerthaus in Vienna, also at Philharmonie in Luxembourg,Laeiszhallein Hamburg, and then I got to Australia in Melbourne and Sydney. We returned to get to Sweden in Gotenburg, and then went to China for three weeks, coming back to Europe for another performance. It has been a though journey, but I felt the joy of Christmas in every country that I visited. For me, travelling and getting to know other cultures and people equals becoming more understanding. It is an extraordinary thing, and, as I said at the beginning, my dream has always been to become a great concert pianist, to share the joy of music with everyone and travel the whole world. And so, by means of this project, I am actually living my dream. It is not always easy, since you have to basically live in a suitcase, or two, or even three sometimes, but it is an extraordinary thing. I always go and meet the audience after each performance. When you see that joy in their eyes, their soul is actually glimmering. This is the greatest joy that I could ever receive.

Have you ever noticed a difference between how the performance is received in Europe and Asia?

Yes, a great one. America has been different as well. Everyone easily gets up on their feet. I mean, very, very quickly. They have such gratitude towards artists. I have been on tour in Asia three times. This is my fourth one in China. There is not that much cheering, but instead there are hundreds of people waiting in queues, wanting to take pictures with the artists or get their CDs signed by them. They feel greatly bound to the artists. Every country is, of course, different, but in Europe we received a lot of cheering, and the halls were full. This performance is not only reduced to excellence, be it about the music or dance or animations. It is not necessarily for children, and the children can feel this, since if it were something easy to comprehend, they would get bored quickly, but they don't. They are so bound to what is happening on the stage and to the fact that the performance is so versatile, which brings out so many different details, from one piece to another, getting the audience glued to it. Each and every one leaves the performance changed.

Do you have other performances with this particular show planned for the next years as well?

Yes. Next December and January are already full. It is a performance roaming all around the world. We also receive a lot of re-invitations, so we go back to places that we are already familiar with, but at the same time we visit new places as well. I remember that I went to Instanbul during their international festival in June for this seasonal project. We usually go during November, December or January. I was also in Beirut during July. There are various festivals with certain dates, and we respect those dates, but generally, we get many invitations.