The Nutcracker History

The Nutcracker is a ballet based on the story written by ETA Hoffman, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa, was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892 to music written by Peter Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately, it was not well received by audiences or critics; therefore, it was considered a failure. In 1944, Director of the San Francisco Ballet, William Christensen wanted to introduce Americans to the classics, so he presented the full-length Nutcracker in the United States. However, it was not until 1954, when the New York City Ballet first performed the ballet under the direction of George Balanchine, that The Nutcracker became the popular ballet it is today. Many productions of The Nutcracker performed in America are based on George Balanchine’s version of the ballet. Today, ballet companies perform The Nutcracker across the country during the holiday season each year.

The Nutcracker Story

Act I

It is Christmas Eve and Councillor Von Stahl- baum, a city official, and his wife are entertaining close friends and relatives.The Stahlbaum’s have two children, Fritz and Marie who are joined by their many friends and relatives. The children receive many gifts this Christmas when another guest arrives - an elderly man wearing a white wig and a patch over his right eye. This is the children’s Godfather Heir Drosselmeyer.

Drosselmeier intrigues the children. Drosselmeier is a clockmaker by trade, but he also produces wonderful mechanical toys for the children that come to life and dance. Drosselmeier gives Marie and Fritz a Nutcracker doll and shows Marie how to use the Nutcracker to crack nuts. Fritz is jealous and takes the Nutcracker from Marie and breaks the Nutcracker’s teeth when he tries to make the doll crack a very large nut. Drosselmeier and Marie attempt to repair the Nutcracker. As the party comes to an end, the guests dance “The Grandfather’s Dance” a traditional German folk dance.

After everyone has left Marie returns to the living room to search for her Nutcracker and she falls asleep on the couch. Drosselmeier appears and as the clock strikes twelve, Marie dreams that she sees many mice scampering through the living room. The living room transforms as the Christmas tree grows and life size toy soldiers and the Nutcracker battle the mice and Mouse King. The Nutcracker’s army retreats and the Nutcracker is overpowered by the Mouse King. In an act of desperation,

Marie throws her slipper at the Mouse King and the spell placed on the Nutcracker by the Mouse King’s family is finally broken. The Nutcracker is transformed into the prince he once was. He leads Marie through the Land of the Snowflakes on the way to the Land of the Sweets.

Act II

The second Act takes place in the Land of the Sweets at the Palace of the Sugarplum Kingdom. The Sugarplum Fairy arrives and introduces Marie and the Prince to her kingdom. The Prince tells how Marie saved him from the Mouse King.

Marie and the Prince are then entertained by a host of dancing treats:

● Chocolate (Spanish) ● Coffee (Arabian) ● Tea (Chinese) ● English Gigue ● Marzipan (Mirlitons) ● Candy Canes (Russian Trepak) ● Polichinelles (Clowns) & Mother Ginger ● Waltz of the Flowers ● The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier

As Act II comes to an end, so does Marie’s dream as her mother awakens her. But for Marie, this was no dream at all, it was all very real!

The Music: The Nutcracker Suite by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Born: May 7, 1840. Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russian

Died: November 6, 1983 St Petersburg, Russia

In his own words...

“How can one express the indefinable sensations that one experiences while writing an instrumental composition that has no definite subject? It is a purely lyrical process. It is a musical confession of the soul, which unburdens itself through sounds just as a lyric poet expresses himself through poetry... As the poet Heine said, ‘Where words leave off, music begins.’ “

Russian composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky began piano lessons at age 5. After accompanying his parents to a piano concert, he complained that he could not sleep because the music stuck in his head. Though he was musically gifted Tchaikovsky’s parents sent him to law school. At nineteen he took a job as a bureau clerk. Though he worked hard, he hated his job. Music was enchanting him and he began composing.

Tchaikovsky is best known for his ballets and symphonies in which he wrote extremely difficult flute parts. His orchestration was colorful and touched with emotion. The Nutcracker was not immediately a successful endeavour, but has now become a Christmas tradition.

Tchaikovsky is said to have argued with a friend who wagered that the composer could not write a melody based on the notes of the scale in an octave in sequence. Tchaikovsky asked if it mattered whether the notes were in ascending or descending order, and was assured it did not. This resulted in the Adagio from the Grand pas de deux, following the Waltz of the Flowers.*

One novelty in Tchaikovsky’s original score was the use of the celesta, a new instrument Tchaikovsky had discovered in Paris. He wanted it genuinely for the character of the Sugarplum Fairy to characterize her because of its “heavenly sweet sound”. Tchaikovsky was proud of the celestia's effect, and wanted its music performed quickly for the public, before he could be “scooped.” Everyone was enchanted.

Other Works: 8 operas, including Eugene Onegin (1879) and Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades, 1890) 3 ballets: Swan Lake (1877), The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and The Nutcracker (1892) Orchestral music, including 7 symphonies (No.1, 1866; No.2, 1872; No.3, 1875; No.4, 1878; No.5, 1888; No.6 “Pathétique”, 1893; Manfred, 1885), 3 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto and symphonic poems and overtures (Romeo and Juliet, 1870) Chamber and keyboard music, choral music and songs.

*http://books.google.com/books?id=dji3Weqj2t8C&printsec=frontcover &dq=Nutcracker+Nation&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=AbniTLTyIsWclgermana Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwA A#v=onepage&q&f=false

Why are the men wearing tights?

Often children and some adults are surprised at the sight of men wearing tights, but the wearing of tights is both practical and historical. Ballet originated at the royal courts of Italy and France during the 1500s and 1600s. At the time, women wore long, heavy skirts and men wore puffy short pants called trunk hose with stockings. Dancers wore the same. As time went on, the skirts of women dancers became shorter and lighter, allowing for more freedom of movement and a view of the fancy footwork. Ballet dancing of men became more athletic, with lifts, leaps and turns. With this change, men needed less restrictive clothing, too. Therefore, they began wearing stretchy, more form-fitting leotards and tights that allowed the maximum range of movement.

Word Bank

Ballet is an artistic dance form performed to music using precise and highly formalized set steps and gestures. Classical ballet, which originated in Renaissance Italy, developed further in France, England, and Russia, and established its present form during the 19th century, is characterized by light, graceful, fluid movements and the use of pointe shoes. Pointe work and turn out make ballet different from all other dance forms. Highly trained dancers perform ballets that are choreographed and set to music using mime, acting, and combinations of dance steps.

Ballerina - A female ballet dancer Danseur - A male ballet dancer Corps de Ballet - The members of a ballet company who dance together as a group. Leotard - A one piece, fitted garment, made of a light stretchy fabric that fits like a second sin to cover a dancer’s torso. Leotards are worn for class and rehearsal so that the teacher may see the working’s of the students’ muscles and joints. Tights - Tightly knit leg coverings worn by both men and women in ballet. Toe Shoes - Special ballet shoes worn by ballerinas to allow them to dance on the points of their toes. Ribbons help to keep the shoes on the feet, but he ballerina’s feet also must get support from the strong ankle and leg muscles. A dancer is trained for years with special exercises for the ankles, feet and legs, in order to prepare for toe shoes. Tutu - A ballerina’s skirt, made of several layers of fin net-like fabric called “tulle” (pronounced “tool”). A short tutu is referred to as a “pancake tutu”, while a longer tutu is referred to as a “romantic tutu.” En Pointe (on point) - A ballerina dancing on her toes while wearing toe shoes. Pantomine - a form on acting in which gestures and facial expressions are used instead of words to convey the story. Pas de Deux - Dances done by two people together, usually a man and a woman. The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince perform as a pas de deux near the end of Act II of The Nutcracker. Turnout - The characteristic that most distinguishes ballet from other forms of dance. It refers to the outward rotation of the legs in the hip socket, so that if one were to look at the feet in first position, they would appear to make a straight line.

Did You Know?

In some productions of The Nutcracker, “Clara” is the name of the lead character instead of “Marie.”

Rehearsals for the Ballet Mississippi production of The Nutcracker begin in early September.

This years production includes over 110 cast members and over 200 costumes.

Approximately 30 people work backstage to assist with music, lights, costume changes and sets.

The Mouse King has 7 heads. There is one large head with 6 additional heads protruding from it.

In order for Marie’s bed to move, someone gets underneath to steer it. Usually it is out Artistic Director!

Mother Ginger’s dress is in two pieces. The upper bodice that actually fits around Mother Ginger, then the skirt. The skirt fits over an oblong stage set made of wood that sits on top of the actual moving part which someone steers from underneath.

It takes 10 hours to steam the wrinkles out of Mother Ginger’s skirt.

The Sugar Plum Fairy’s costume has 32 pieces of beaded candy decorating the tutu.

The week of The Nutcracker, our dancers collectively go through about 2 pounds of bobby pins.

This is Ballet Mississippi’s 34th anniversary of performing The Nutcracker.

Activity Suggestions

Preschool - 6th grade Have students draw a picture of what their Land of the Sweets would look like. Or have them draw a modern-day Land of the Sweets.

Preschool - 6th grade After reading the story, play excerpts of the music. See if students can guess which parts of the story match the music, i.e. battle scene, snow, flowers, Arabian.

2nd grade & up Have students draw a picture of their favorite scene.

2nd grade & up Have students draw a picture of their own costume design.

4th grade & up After seeing the ballet, have students write a narrative from the perspective of another character (i.e. Drosselmeyer, the Mouse King, the Sugar Plum Fairy).

4th grade & up Have students write a review of The Nutcracker. It should include likes/dislikes, and suggestions for improvements. Discuss how the qualities of the production (movement, music, lighting, costumes) contributed to the production.

The Nutcracker Word Search

Theatre Etiquette

A live performance is much different than going to the movies, so live performances require a different set of conduct. Here are a few suggestions:

1) The signal for the start of the ballet will be the dimming of the lights It will seem very dark. The curtain will not go up yet, but music will start to play; this is called the Overture. The Overture is a sampling of the music that will be heard all during the performance. During this time the performers are getting to their places and getting prepared to dance. The audience should also get ready for the performance by getting to their seats and finishing their conversations.

2) Once the Overture ends, dancers will emerge from the wings (offstage areas on either side of the stage). These dancers, and every dancer who follows, will help tell the story by pantomime. There are no spoken “lines” in ballet - Dance, gesture, and facial expression are used to tell the story. Also, the changing sound of the music will also help set the mood for a scene and help tell the story. There will be no words spoken during the entire performance. All noises, camera flashes, phones, and talking are distracting. Please power down all electronic devices - Phones, ipods, mp3 players, cameras.

3) Be courteous to the other audience members by using the rest room before you enter the theatre or during the intermission and refrain from talking or whispering.

4) No food, drink, or chewing gum is allowed inside Thalia Mara Hall.

5) To make sure that you have adequate seating for your group, plan to arrive early, before the performance.

Resources

BOOKS

Nutcracker – A Young Reader’s Edition of the Holiday Classic by E.T.A. Hoffman, adapted by Daniel Walden

Nutcracker – by Maurice Sendak – by Joel Meyerowitz Photograpy of New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker production

The Story of The Nutcracker Ballet – by Deborah Hautzig The Nutcracker Backstage – by Angela Whitehill & William Noble

MUSIC

The Nutcracker – Peter Tchaikovsky