The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892. It is based on the story 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King' by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The SUITE from the ballet is a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet arranged as an orchestral SUITE. It is one of the most popular ballets in the world and has been adapted into many different versions. The SUITE is often performed separately from the full ballet.