Mikko Nissinen's The Nutcracker, Boston Ballet at Citizen Bank Opera House, Boston, through December 31. 617-695-6950 or Bostonballet.org

The Boston Ballet's enchanting version of "The Nutcracker" at the Citizen Bank Opera House is once again proving as magical as Drosselmeier himself. The resourceful sorcerer, of course, leads his young niece Clara through a rich variety of wonders.

This critic, who has seen the annual winter tradition all the way back to the 1980's, continues to experience those wonders. Much of the credit for that experience goes to artistic director Mikko Nissinen. Nissinen's striking original choreography for the Tchaikovsky classic remains as inspired and magical as ever.

As fans of this rightly popular "Nutcracker" version well know, during the busy act one Party Scene—hosted by Clara's parents Herr and Frau Silberhaus, Drosselmeier entertains the party children. There are two wind-up dolls—Harlequin and Ballerina. Gearoid Solan (casts alternate) displayed good height as Harlequin, while Nina Matiashvili danced with fine form as Ballerina. Drosselmeier also enchants the children with a toy theater that cleverly prefigures the second act Kingdom of the Sweets and with Bear—portrayed with amusing jauntiness by Sangmin Lee. Emcee-like Drosselmeier honors Clara with the focal Nutcracker.

A kind of mentor, Drosselmeyer watches over Clara during the lively Battle Scene that provides an amusing fight between mice and the Nutcracker Prince and his troop of tin soldiers. The breath-taking following Snow Scene—with designer Mikki Kunttu's radiant lighting—closes with the Prince and Clara riding on a cloud to the second act Kingdom of the Sweets.

Sophie Hatton was an appealing and properly wistful Clara. Luke Hansen had the right contrasting discontent as her sometimes mischievous brother Fritz, who breaks the Nutcracker gift—later repaired by the sorcerer. Patrick Yocum moved with stylish attentiveness as Drosselmeier. Ji Young Chae as Snow Queen and Yue Shi as Snow King danced with impressive form and flair in costume designer Robert Perdziola's exquisite Lasha Khozashvili danced with expressive nobility as the Prince.

Khozashvili also strongly partnered Viktorina Kapitonova, very regal as Sugar Plum Fairy. He displayed impressively wide turns during a solo sequence, while Kapitonova danced the Sugar Plum's own solo with beautiful pirouettes. Their grand pas de deux—with choreography based upon Lev Ivanov (who worked alongside Marius Petipa—combined stunning technique and remarkable grace.

Lia Cirio danced Dew Drop with precision and poetry in Waltz of the Flowers—with Nina Matiashvili and Abigail Merlis moving with fine symmetry as Lead Flowers.

Another standout in the Kingdom of the Sweets was the sensual and choreographically demanding Arabian Coffee. Here muscular Tigran Mkrtchyan lifted Chenxin Liu arrestingly in an electrifying duo. Equally impressive was Lawrence Rines Munro, whose high mid-air splits during Russian Troika called to mind the earlier superb efforts of Isaac Akiba in this trio. Elsewhere Sun Woo Lee displayed notable height and technique as the male character featured during the light-hearted French Marzipan—in which Boston Ballet School students portrayed the sequence's sheep. BB students also romped along with Yocum, Hatton and Alexander Nicolosi as the humorously attired Mother Ginger.

Nissinen's majestic edition of "The Nutcracker" remains as regal as the tiara bestowed on Clara by the Sugar Plum Fairy.