This two-act ballet was written by the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The plot is based on the tale of E. T. A. Hoffmann, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
History of creation
The libretto was created according to a fairy tale authored by E. T. A. Hoffmann. The Nutcracker, a brief summary of which will be presented in this article just below, is one of the late works of P. I. Tchaikovsky. This ballet occupies a special place in the composer's work, as it is innovative.
The arrangement of the tale, according to which the ballet's libretto was created, was made in 1844 by the French writer Alexander Dumas. The premiere of the play took place in 1892, on December 18, at the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg. The roles of Fritz and Clara were children who studied at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School. Clara's part was played by S. Belinskaya, and Fritz's part - V. Stukolkin.
Composer
The author of the music for the ballet, as already mentioned above, is P.I. Tchaikovsky. He was born on April 25, 1840 in Votkinsk, this is a small town in the Vyatka province. He wrote more than 80 masterpieces, including ten operas (Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Enchantress and others), three ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty), four suites, more hundreds of romances, seven symphonies, as well as a large number of pieces for piano. Pyotr Ilyich also conducted pedagogical activities and was a conductor. At first, the composer studied law, but then devoted himself entirely to music and in 1861 entered the Russian Musical Society (into music classes), which in 1862 was transformed into a conservatory.
One of the teachers of the great composer was another great composer - A. G. Rubinstein. P.I. Tchaikovsky was one of the first students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He studied in the composition class. After graduation, he became a professor at the conservatory just opened in Moscow. Since 1868 he acted as a music critic. In 1875 a textbook of harmony was published, the author of which was Peter Ilyich. The composer died on October 25, 1893 from cholera, which he contracted by drinking unboiled water.
Ballet characters
The main character of the ballet is the girl Clara (Marie). In different editions of the ballet, she is called differently. In a tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann, she bears the name Marie, and Clara is called her doll. After World War I, the heroine was called Masha for patriotic reasons, and her brother Fritz was left with a German name, since he is a negative character. Stahlbaums are the parents of Masha and Fritz. Drosselmeyer is the godfather of the protagonist. The Nutcracker is a doll, an enchanted prince. Other characters are the Dragee fairy, Prince Koklush, Marianne is the niece of the Stahlbaum. The three-headed mouse king, the main enemy of the Nutcracker. As well as relatives of Shtalbaumov, guests at the festival, toys, servants and so on.
Libretto
The famous choreographer Marius Petipa is the author of the Nutcracker libretto.
Summary of the first scene of the first action:
Final preparations before the Christmas holiday, vanity. The action takes place in the kitchen. Chefs and cooks prepare holiday dishes, the hosts come with the children to check how the preparation goes. Fritz and Marie are trying to feast on dessert, the boy is treated to candy - he is the favorite of his parents, and Mari is shrugged off. The action is transferred to the dressing room, where the Stahlbaum couple choose outfits for the holiday, the children turn around next to them. Fritz receives a cocked hat as a gift, and Marie is left with nothing. A guest appears in the house - this is Drosselmeyer. So begins the ballet The Nutcracker.
Summary of the second scene of the first action:
Dancing begins. Godmother Marie brings gifts - mechanical dolls. Everyone makes out toys. Marie gets the Nutcracker that no one has chosen. But the girl likes him, because she cleverly pricks nuts, and besides, she feels that he is not just a toy. The holiday ends, the guests disperse, everyone goes to bed, except for Marie. She sneaks into the living room to look again at the Nutcracker. At this time, rats dressed as aristocrats were dancing in the room. This picture scares Masha, and she faints. The clock strikes 12. The intrigue of the ballet The Nutcracker begins.
Summary of the third scene of the first action:
Marie wakes up and sees that the room has become huge, and now it is the size of a Christmas tree toy. A nutcracker with an army of toy soldiers joins the battle with the Mouse King and his mice. Marie hides from her grandfather’s old shoe in fright, but to help the Nutcracker, she throws a shoe at the Rat King. The mouse emperor is confused. The Nutcracker stabs him with a sword. Good Marie is sorry for the vanquished, and she bandages his wound. The army of rats is defeated. Marie the Nutcracker takes away in a fabulous journey over the night city in an old grandfather's shoe.
Summary of the fourth scene of the first action:
The Nutcracker and Marie fly to the old cemetery. A blizzard begins, and evil snowflakes, along with their Queen, are trying to destroy Marie. Drosselmeyer stops an evil snowstorm. And the Nutcracker saves the girl.
Summary of the first scene of the second action:
The Nutcracker brings Marie to the fabulous city of Confiturenburg. It is full of sweets and cakes. In the city live funny people who love sweets. Residents of Confitürenburg dance in honor of the arrival of dear guests. Marie enthusiastically rushes to the Nutcracker and kisses, and turns into the Nutcracker Prince.
Epilogue summary:
Christmas night passed, and Marie's magical dream melted. The girl and her brother are playing with the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer comes to them, with him his nephew, who looks like a prince, in whom the Nutcracker turned into a fairytale dream of Marie. The girl rushes to meet him, and he wraps her in a hug.
And, of course, it’s better to see the production with your own eyes. You can buy tickets for the Nutcracker through the service . There is all the relevant information on the dates of performances. Watch carefully - the poster is updated!
The most significant productions
The premiere took place on December 6, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater (choreographer Lev Ivanov). The performance was resumed in 1923, the directors of the dances were F. Lopukhov and A. Shiryaev. In 1929, the ballet saw the light in the new edition. On the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, “The Nutcracker” began its “life” in 1919. In 1966, the play was presented in a new version. The director was choreographer Yuri Grigorovich.