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The Nutcracker Ballet is a famous and colorful Christmas ballet based on 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,' a story in a book of fairy tales written by German author E. T. A. Hoffman in 1816. Though the original dance was unsuccessful, minus Tchaikovsky's instant classic score, the ballet grew in popularity over the 20th century to become the Yuletide staple it is today. The story was based on a children's fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann, adapted by Alexandre Dumas . Trepak (Russian: ; Ukrainian: o, i) is one of the character dances from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous 1892 ballet The Nutcracker.It is based on the traditional Russian and Ukrainian folk dance also called the trepak. The Nutcracker was first performed in Russia in 1892. By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. 8 in C minor (Pathetique), 9. The ballet was commissioned by the Director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who held preliminary talks with the composer in November and December 1890 [9]. When Clara reluctantly lets him play with it, he tries to crack a nut so big that it is the Nutcracker which breaks. She has an undergraduate degree from Penn State University in Animal Bioscience, a master's degree from Arcadia University in Secondary Education, and is currently pursuing her second master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gannon University. After that, we get started, when the french horns begin the real waltz part. He was drawn to Hoffmanns The Nutcracker, as re-written by Alexandre Dumas senior, which was enjoying popularity in Russia. The Nutcracker Suite, Op. It looks like the mice are going to win until Clara throws her slipper at their king, killing him; the nutcracker then escorts Clara through a land of snow, turning into a handsome prince in the process. The company develops new collectible models every year, and Darth Vader is among the 350 figures they have on offer. I know that it is unappealing to you. Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (. Evidently, in Rouen Tchaikovsky resumed work on 31 March/12 April. So, the next time December comes around, listen and you may hear the sounds of the Nutcracker!. In contrast, the Waltz of the Flowers is the final dance of . Listen for the different sections of this movement in more formal language, its in ABA form, also known as Ternary Form. Waltz of the Flowers. He is what the French call vieu jeu [16]. Clara falls onto what had been the toy nutcracker's bed, overwhelmed by the moment. You can unsubscribe at any time. Discover its composer, Tchaikovsky, and learn about famous songs like "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. And instantly, were transported to a totally different world. The ballet proper debuted in December of that year. On the same day, the composer told Modest Tchaikovsky and Aleksandra Hubert that he had finished the sketches, complaining that he was greatly tired, and "it seems the old man is starting to take his last breaths" [40]. He described how wooden nutcrackers were carved as protective figures of strength and power. Mass production of the nutcracker doll in the region started in the late 19th century, but wooden figures used to crack nuts were already created in Europe for centuries. Mozart Wrap-up and furtherlistening, 3. The mouse king and the nutcracker face each other, but the mouse king is stronger. 5 (the scene described as "Lullaby, twice interrupted by the noise of Fritz and his friends on drums and pipes"), Tchaikovsky noted: "Le vacarme" [19] " (child's trumpet), cuckoo (sol, mi), rattle, drums, cymbals as in Haydn's symphony (or three of these, depending on whatever children's instruments will be available)". 2), he noted that If the celesta is unavailable, then this part may be played on the piano. The grim-mouthed nutcrackers symbolized good luck. If the March movement was yellow, perhaps, what color is it now? Near to sketches for the dance Polichinella, Tchaikovsky wrote: "No. It's this version that was turned into a ballet. On 19 February/3 March, Tchaikovsky wrote from Saint Petersburg to Pyotr Jurgenson: "I require children's instruments (from the symphonies of Haydn and Romberg), because I want to make use of them in my forthcoming ballet. 92, II. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. Additionally, the scenery and costumes were panned as tasteless, and the performance of the ballerina who danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy was widely criticized. Russian Musical Society. The great success of Sleeping Beauty, involving the close collaboration between Vsevolozhsky, Tchaikovsky and the legendary choreographer Marius Petipa, inevitably prompted Vsevolozhsky to plan a sequel from the same team. Hoffmann's original story was darker than the ballet, but the plot remains largely the same. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is based on a short story written by a German author, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman, called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". The last A section closely resembles the opening, but louder with the brass, and also you hear the strings doing this wild flying scale thing. The celesta is a bell-piano that sits upright and is played with keys. Silberhaus orders the more expensive toys to be moved to his study, but Clara and Fritz want to play with them. Ravel Piano Concerto in G, III. Yet The Nutcracker has become the most beloved of all ballets, a regular Christmas production on almost every major stage, especially in the United States where it has become as much a part of American tradition as the German Christmas tree. Eventually staged in Moscows Bolshoi Theatre in 1877, where it was hobbled with mediocre choreography and indifferently danced, its music nonetheless stood head and shoulders above the usual run of ballet scores. Remembering avant-garde artist Mary Bauermeister, Belgian court paves way for Iran prisoner swap treaty, Palestinians in occupied West Bank live with uncertainty, Thousands of migrants have died in South Texas. Here is where the famous sugar plum fairies arrive, and after hearing of the bravery of Clara and the Nutcracker, the fairies reward the victorious pair with a series of dances that accompany different sweets from around the world, from Spain to Arabia to China. There is coffee from Arabia, tea from China, candy canes from Russia, and chocolate from Spain. On the same day he wrote to Praskovya Tchaikovskaya: "Work is proceeding intensively, and I'm glad that my travels are over" [37]. Beside a river of rose water, Clara and the Prince appear and are welcomed in the Great Hall of the palace. A nutcracker is an instrument used to crack nuts, typically consisting of two hinged metal levers between which the nut is squeezed. Mozart The Marriage of Figaro (Overture andexcerpts), 2. The sleigh arrives in the Land of Sweets, where everything is made of candy, sparkling sugar, frosting, and cookies! 23 in A, I.Allegro. By 12/24 February the composer had not begun work [14], but by 18 February/2 March some scenes had been composedNo. Everyone then bids the nutcracker and Clara goodnight, and the wonderful scene disappears. The fact that it was originally to be staged as part of a double bill with Yolanta might also explain the ballets length, yet there was nothing in the contract Tchaikovsky signed to suggest that the two works should be indissolubly linked, and after the initial run of performances the opera and ballet went their separate ways. "The Nutcracker Suite" is a compilation of several songs. The Nutcracker is able to overcome the stunned Mouse King and claims victory. Songs from The Nutcracker are commonly referenced and used in pop culture, particularly around Christmastime. "The Nutcracker" is based on the book "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," by E.T.A. Then the Nutcracker summons his old guard, and fights the King of the Mice. The Russian Dance - the Trepak - is a Cossack dance normally performed by men who would kick their legs out from a squatting position. The room is transformed into a pine forest (Scene 2), and the night sky clears to reveal a host of stars. to Mr. P. Tchaikovsky in Paris" [24]. This was Tchaikovsky's last ballet, from which he compiled a famous Suite of eight numbers for concert performance. Swan Lake: the story behind Tchaikovsky's great ballet score, The best (and worst) recordings of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. 71a 4. Then the old-woman-who-lived-in-a-shoe dances with all her children and a group of clowns. Next: Wrap-up of Tchaikovsky, and further suggested listening. Listen for the english horn at 0:44 tiny little part, but its a nicely contrasting tone color amid all the light and airy bounciness going on. I feel like its a lifeline. Background "The Nutcracker" ballet was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892. 14, Var. The origin of the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas Story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on a family's Christmas Eve celebration. I think that by the time I leave a considerable part of the first act will have been done" [22]. How healthy are India's 1.4 billion people? Trepak is one dance from a set of dances found in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, a ballet from 1892. Another orchestral colour unfamiliar to Tchaikovskys audience was the purring of flutter-tongued flutes, a technique he had recently learned from a flautist who had once been his harmony student: he used this sound to depict the cascading river of Rose essence which greets the arrival of Clara and her Nutcracker prince in Act II. Clara and the nutcracker are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy, who throws a party in their honor with music and, of course, dancing. Omissions? This timeless classic follows the young Clara and her Nutcracker prince as they are swept away on an enchanting adventure, led by the mysterious Drosselmeyer and Lady Silberhaus. Today, the decorative Christmas figures are collected by people all over the world. Beethoven Symphony No. Updates? The arrangement of the sketches allows us to infer the order in which the music was writtenthe composer adhered to the essence of Marius Petipa's plan, indicating any deviations from it in his notebook. Each one has up to 60 parts which are made of locally sourced spruce and beech wood. Now, the original story is rather dark (involving bloody cuts, malevolent characters and angry adults), so in the mid-19th century, French author Alexander Dumas adapted it for a younger audience, making it less scary. In the main A theme, a trio of flutes carries the melody, and theyre accompanied by pizzicato (pits-ih-COT-toe) strings plucked with a finger, rather than played with a bow. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatrical Museum, Before No. Returning to Frolovskoye on 22 February/6 March, Tchaikovsky made notes in his sketchbook after the start of the Trepak: "Not finished, because during a visit to Saint Petersburg I learned that Vsevolozhsky did not want dances here and, probably, they will be carried over to the 2nd act". (LogOut/ A famous ballet. June 3, 2011. The toy soldiers Drosselmeyer had gifted to Clara and Fritz were also life-sized and were now fighting the mice. Initially attracting miners, the forested area with long, dark winters also inspired villagers to develop other carved wooden decorations: Christmas pyramids, candle holders called Schwibbogen, and smoking figures known as Ruchermnnchen. There are unexpected distractions" [38]. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Now a Christmas classic, the work contributed to the nutcracker's fame worldwide. The Nutcracker is presented by Texture Ballet School and will feature our talented students dancing the roles of the stunning Sugar Plum Fairy down to the tiniest of Bon Bons; the twinkle in their eyes and the flutter in the feet will light up the stage! He returned newly enthused about the ballet. William Christensen's production with the San Francisco Ballet on 24 December 1944 was the first complete performance in the United States. 5, Op. Create your account. The Nutcracker is still very popular in today's culture as a Christmas ballet. Dances from Spain, Arabia, China and Russia are followed by a shepherds' pastoral dance, using toy flutes. In the divertissement, Tchaikovsky used dances that were originally written for Act I. 23 in A, II. The Suite from the ballet The Nutcracker was compiled as a substitute for the symphonic ballad The Voyevoda on the programme of a Russian Musical Society concert in Saint Petersburg scheduled for 29 February/12 March 1892, at which Tchaikovsky was due to conduct his own works. "The Nutcracker Suite" is a compilation of the highlights from The Nutcracker. In the celestas ethereal notes, Tchaikovsky recognized the voice of his Sugar Plum Fairy, and he immediately wrote to his publisher, asking that the instrument be acquired for the performance. Clara meanwhile, exhausted, falls onto the nutcracker's bed, which turns into a beautiful floating sleigh. Act I is divided into two scenes (comprising Nos. He had been turned into a nutcracker by the evil Mouse King, and only by the King's death could the Nutcracker regain his human form. In the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (No. Join us and enjoy the magic of the season! Why We Love "The Nutcracker". Are we floating? 35, III. At the head of the opening Scene (Act II, No. Hoffmann fantasy story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King. This song is part of the celebration to welcome the prince back to the Land of Sweets. Nearly 130 production steps are needed to create a traditional handmade Ore Mountain nutcracker. She holds a master's degree in Art History. This work was carried out at the end of August 1892 [47]. And the music for the Nutcracker, arranged into an orchestral suite, is a beloved standard at concerts. There they witness many wonderful dances from all over the world, highlighted by the sugar plum fairy herself dancing with a regal cavalier. Clara bursts into tears. The Nutcracker is about an adventure taken on by a young girl, Clara, and a life-sized nutcracker that has come to life. The nutcracker acquired its iconic status through a globalized transmission of popular culture. Together they travel to the land of snow and the two dance together as snow falls all around them. Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. The Waltz of the Snowflakes (Act I, No. The party then winds down and everyone goes to bed except Clara, who falls asleep under the Christmas tree with the nutcracker safe in her arms. Somebody had the idea of casting young members of a military academy to play the toy soldiers who, it seems, got carried away attacking the mice with their toy rifles cue pandemonium. The Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince, and he offers Clara a journey to his kingdom. At such moments Uncle Pyotr, red in the face, wet with perspiration as he sang the tune, presented a pretty amusing sight.. Send them, if you please, to Frolovskoye without delay. Hoffmanns story is darker and more troubling than the version that reached the stage; the Imperial Russian Ballet choreographer Marius Petipa chose to follow a light adaptation of the story written by Alexandre Dumas pre. Courtney has ten years of instructional experience in a classroom. No one knows who came up with the idea. The beard and hair is usually rabbit fur. Clara wakes, but something's different! In the Pas de deux, Tchaikovsky omitted the male variation, and on a blank page he wrote: "Transfer from the 1st act (formerly the tarantella) but tone lower", and wrote out the first two bars. The instrumentation features a tambourine with the strings and woodwinds that enlivens the rhythm and orchestral sound. An abridged version was staged at the 51st Street Theater in New York on 17 October 1940 by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, choreographed by Alexandra Fedorova. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Then the other children's parents enter, dressed as fops and dandies. Finale: Allegrovivacissimo, 4. Layer 2: Melody simplified to quarter notes in the woodwinds. Dance of the Reed-Flutes. The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the E.T.A. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker has enchanted audiences around the world for over a century, but what is the secret to its enduring popularity? Yet responsibility for the failure was not, apparently, wholly the composers. Once again, this piece has very clear contrasting sections what does each one say? Listen for the woodwind opening, harp cadenza, horns with melody, strings open up the waltz, lighter flute melody, heavy new melody from cellos and violas, lighter response from violins, bigger and more triumphant ending. Indeed, he omitted the battle scene between the mice and toys, and start of the second scene of Act Idepicting the forest at nightand instead the composer went on to the Waltz of the Snowflakes. The last of his three ballets, it was first performed in December 1892. In pop culture, Nutcracker music is present in commercials, movies, and television shows. I think it will be finished by the summer" [44]. In a letter to Pyotr Jurgenson of 25 January/6 February 1892 from Saint Petersburg, the composer reported: "I want to catch up with orchestrating some numbers from the new ballet, which I've promised will be played at a local Musical Society concert on 29 February" [O.S.] He goes to the dead Mouse King and . Early in 1891, Tchaikovsky was working against the clock to compose both Nutcracker and an opera with which it was to be double-billed, Yolanta, before an imminent tour in the US. The piece is also referred to as the Russian dance and is part of the . Hoffmann, and an interpretation of Hoffman's story written by Alexandre Dumas. He produces these from a large cabbage and from a large pie, much to the children's delight. 9) includes a wordless chorus. 5), except for the Grossvater[18]. Theres an opening idea (A), followed by something different (B), and then a return to the A idea. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Christmas-tree grows enormously in size. "March of the Toy Soldiers" is arguably one of the most recognizable songs from The Nutcracker. A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. The suite includes "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", the "Russian Dance", "Arabian Dance", "Chinese Dance", "Dance of the Reed Flutes", and the "Waltz of the Flowers". You will lose nothing on it you will sell it to the directorate of the Theatres, when they need it for the ballet. He begged his publisher to keep the celesta a secret, for I am afraid that Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov will get wind of it and use its unusual effects sooner than me. 71a 8. On 25 February/9 March, the composer wrote to Modest Tchaikovsky: "I am working with all my strength and reconciling myself to the subject of the ballet. What went wrong? Take note of what the percussion section (especially the timpani drums) adds when they make their entrance. The room grows in size and suddenly a mouse army, led by a crowned mouse king, circles the room. 1, composed in 1879. Clara picks up the broken Nutcracker and cradles it in her arms., singing it a lullaby, while the boys tease her. Before his departure he received a letter written by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, dated 15/27 February: "I hope to see you in Saint Petersburg before your departure for America. Hoffmann was set to music by Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa. In any case, the balletmaster's plan of this act was sent to Tchaikovsky only while he was abroad. ], Maydanovo". The Nutcracker Suite, Op. There is a second note, apparently made later: "Grossvater see the end of the copybook after everything else". Rachmaninov Prelude in g minor, Op. All the solos and variations he devised for the first act would be of little interest to the public. Act II. Check out the big harp cadenza in the beginning im sure that this passage has become an almost archetypal idea of the sound of the harp, if that makes any sense. Hoffmann. Later, our heroes ride through the magical snowy forest accompanied by the 'Waltz of the Snowflakes.' 1 inD, 17. Even on the way here I composed a little of the ballet", Tchaikovsky wrote from Berlin on 8/20 March 1891 [25]. The Nutcracker Ballet is a famous and colorful Christmas ballet based on 'The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,' a story in a book of fairy tales written by German author E. T. A. Hoffman in 1816 . It is rare and genuine and does justice to the private world of children.. The fact the ballet involves some of his most inventive and evocative orchestration is merely, they say, to disguise the poverty of his invention: witness the short-breathed and exceedingly simple character of several of the ballets themes, and the fact Tchaikovsky supplemented these with so many borrowed themes for instance, the Arabian Dance based on a Georgian lullaby. Tchaikovsky was one composer who you could say was really good at painting with sound creating all sorts colors, textures, moods, and landscapes. 9 in d, Op. Not only is his hair thinning and turning silver as snow, not only are his teeth falling out and refusing to chew food, not only are his eyes weakening and becoming easily tired, not only are his feet starting to drag rather than walkbut his singular remaining faculty is starting to fade and disappear. From an early age, Tchaikovsky had relished stage works involving magic or fantasy such as Webers Der Freischtz and Mozarts Don Giovanni. This page was last modified on 15 February 2023, at 21:01. After meeting with Vsevolozhsky, Tchaikovsky crossed out the names of the characteristic dances in Petipa's balletmaster plan, and instead wrote: "Galop pour les enfants et entre des parents en incroyables 16 mesures rococo (tempo menuet).