Lenny Moore

THE MARYLAND BALLET opened its lavish new production of the holiday classic, "The Nutcracker" last Thursday evening at the Lyric Opera House and Baltimore loved it. (There has been such demand for tickets that more performances have been added; the show runs through Dec. 22.)Opening nighters included Dr. Dan Kane, executive director of the Maryland Ballet, and Phillip Carman, artistic director -- two men who have worked long and hard to make the Maryland Ballet a reality. And what a beautiful reality, thanks to the generosity of underwriters such as attorney Gordon Feinblatt, the H. Gladding Foundation and WJZ-TV.