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- The Nutcracker was based on a creepy story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. In 1816, German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann penned “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (sometimes translated as “Nutcracker and the King of Mice”), a story in which a young girl named Marie Stahlbaum (German for “steel tree”) receives a nutcracker from her godfather, Drosselmeier.
- There’s a reason Marie is sometimes named Clara. For a children’s story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is a pretty nuanced portrayal of the way in which children experience imagination and reality without any separation.
- Tchaikovsky did not have a good time composing The Nutcracker. In 1890, Ivan Vzevolovsky, director of the Imperial Theatres (an Imperial Russia–era consortium of theaters), was looking to recreate the recent success of The Sleeping Beauty by having the team behind it develop a new ballet.
- Tchaikovsky debuted a selection of the music in concert first. In March 1892—about nine months before the ballet was scheduled to premiere—Tchaikovsky conducted a concert in St. Petersburg for the Russian Musical Society.
The Nutcracker ( Russian: Щелкунчик [a], romanized :Shchelkunchik, pronounced [ɕːɪɫˈkunʲt͡ɕɪk] ⓘ ), Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a ballet-féerie; Russian: балет-феерия, romanized:balet-feyeriya) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a ...
Jun 20, 2024 · The Nutcracker, ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The last of his three ballets, it was first performed in December 1892. The Nutcracker tells a story about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King.
- Betsy Schwarm
Oct 1, 2023 · In this article, we’ll dive into 17 unbelievable facts about The Nutcracker that will leave you amazed and intrigued. From its humble beginnings to its enduring popularity, we’ll explore the fascinating history, fun trivia, and surprising anecdotes surrounding this timeless classic.
- The celeste was invented just in time. While visiting Paris, Tchaikovsky heard Victor Mustel's new invention: the celeste. It came just as Tchaikovsky was working on the ballet and struggling to capture the Sugar Plum Fairy in music.
- The original Nutcracker Suite manuscript was lost for over 50 years. Everyone thought the original was gone forever until a conductor came across it in a pile of unrelated papers in 1946.
- The working title for the ballet was The Christmas Tree. We know from Tchaikovsky's original sketches that the ballet was originally called The Christmas Tree or The Fir Tree before the final name of The Nutcracker was chosen.
- The Nutcracker Suite was completed and premiered before the ballet. Often a composer turns a hit ballet or opera into a suite to capitalise on its success, but when Tchaikovsky was scheduled to premiere another new work of his that he wasn't happy with, he opted for highlights from The Nutcracker instead.
Dec 25, 2012 · The Nutcracker did not enjoy great success at first, but the music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky eventually did. And staging it has become a Christmas season ritual, sugar plums and all.
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Dec 24, 2015 · The master of the Russian Imperial Ballet liked Dumas' new, lighter version of the story and decided to transform it into a ballet, commissioning Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky to compose the score,...
