Bentley Nutcracker: Factory Soundscapes Reimagine a Classic

Bentley has released a Christmas video in which the music associated with Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker is interpretively created by employees at the Crewe car factory in England, as reported by Engine1. The film opens with a display of solar panels on rooftops and in parking areas, accompanied by birdsong, before the Sugar Fairy’s signature crystal tones begin to emerge through a celesta. Yet in this production, traditional musical instruments are replaced by the sounds of everyday factory life, including machine tools, assembly lines, paint sprayers, electric windows, car engines, and sewing machines, transforming mechanical noise into a festive soundscape. The soundtrack also incorporates the clinking of a kettle, the clatter of a teaspoon in a cup, and the whirr of colleagues in red berets as they contribute to the performance. The result is a sonic experience that reinterprets a classic score through the industrial rhythms of a modern production floor, inviting viewers to hear familiar melodies in an unexpected context.