Ballet "The Nutcracker": summary, libretto

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This two-act ballet was written by the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The plot is based on the fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A. Hoffmann.

History of Creation

Libretto based on a fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann. The Nutcracker, a summary of which will be presented in this article a little lower, is one of the later works of P. I. Tchaikovsky. This ballet occupies a special place in the composer's work, as it is innovative.

The story's libretto, based on which the libretto of the ballet was created, was made in 1844 by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. The premiere performance took place in 1892, on December 18, at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The roles of Fritz and Clara were played by children who studied at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School. The part of Clara was performed by S. Belinskaya, and the part of Fritz by 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, a small town in the Vyatka province. He wrote more than 80 masterpieces, including ten operas (Eugene Onegin,"The Queen of Spades", "The Enchantress" and others), three ballets ("The Nutcracker", "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty"), four suites, more than a hundred romances, seven symphonies, as well as a large number of works for piano. Pyotr Ilyich also conducted pedagogical activities and was a conductor. At first, the composer studied jurisprudence, but then he devoted himself entirely to music and in 1861 entered the Russian Musical Society (in music classes), which in 1862 was transformed into a conservatory.

One of the teachers of the great composer was another great composer - A. G. Rubinshtein. P. I. Tchaikovsky turned out to be one of the first students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He studied in the composition class. After graduation, he became a professor at the newly opened conservatory in Moscow. From 1868 he acted as a music critic. In 1875, a textbook of harmony was published, the author of which was Pyotr 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, it is called differently. In E. T. A. Hoffmann's fairy tale, she is called Marie, and her doll is called Clara. After the First World War, the heroine began to be called Masha for patriotic reasons, and her brother Fritz was left with a German name, since he is a negative character. The Stahlbaums are the parents of Masha and Fritz. Drosselmeyer is the godfather of the main character. The Nutcracker is a doll, an enchanted prince. Other characters - Dragee fairy, Prince Whooping cough,Marianne is the niece of the Stahlbaums. The mouse king is three-headed, the main enemy of the Nutcracker. As well as relatives of the Schtalbaums, guests at the feast, toys, servants, and so on.

Libretto

The famous choreographer Marius Petipa is the author of the libretto for The Nutcracker.

Summary of the first scene of the first act:

Last preparations before the Christmas holiday, bustle. The action takes place in the kitchen. Chefs and cooks prepare festive dishes, the owners with children come in to check how the preparations are going. Fritz and Marie try to eat dessert, the boy is treated to candy - he is the parents' favorite, and Marie is brushed aside. The action is transferred to the dressing room, where the Stahlbaums choose outfits for the holiday, the children spin around them. Fritz receives a cocked hat as a gift, and Marie is left with nothing. A guest appears in the house - this is Drosselmeyer. This is how the Nutcracker ballet begins.

Summary of the second scene of the first act:

The dancing begins. Godfather Marie brings gifts - mechanical dolls. Everyone takes apart toys. Marie gets the Nutcracker, which no one has chosen. But the girl likes him, because he deftly cracks nuts, 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 take another look at the Nutcracker. At this time, rats dressed as aristocrats are dancing in the room. This picture frightens Masha, and she faints. The clock strikes 12. The intrigue of the Nutcracker ballet begins.

Summary of the third scene of the firstactions:

Marie comes to her senses and sees that the room has become huge, and it is now the size of a Christmas tree toy. The Nutcracker with an army of toy soldiers takes on the Mouse King and his mice. Marie, out of fright, hides in her grandfather's old shoe, 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 feels sorry for the vanquished, and she bandages his wound. The army of rats is broken. Marie the Nutcracker takes her on a fabulous journey over the night city in an old grandfather's shoe.

Summary of the fourth scene of the first act:

The Nutcracker and Marie arrive at the old cemetery. A snowstorm begins, and the evil snowflakes, along with their Queen, are trying to kill Marie. Drosselmeyer stops an evil blizzard. And the Nutcracker saves the girl.

Summary of the first scene of the second act:

The Nutcracker brings Marie to the fabulous city of Konfiturenburg. It's full of sweets and cakes. The city is inhabited by funny people who are very fond of sweets. Residents of Confiturenburg dance in honor of the arrival of dear guests. Marie, delighted, rushes to the Nutcracker and kisses him, and turns into the Nutcracker Prince.

Epilogue Summary:

Christmas night has passed, and Marie's magic dream has melted away. A girl and her brother are playing with the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer comes to them, with him his nephew, who looks like a prince, into which the Nutcracker turned in Marie's fairy tale dream. The girl rushes towards him and he embraces her.

And, of course, it's better to see the production with your own eyes. You can buy tickets for the "Nutcracker" through the service https://bolshoi-tickets.ru/events/shelkunchik/. There is also all the relevant information about the dates of productions. Watch carefully - the poster is being updated!

Most significant performances

The premiere performance took place on December 6, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater (choreographer Lev Ivanov). The performance was resumed in 1923, dance directors were F. Lopukhov and A. Shiryaev. In 1929, the ballet was released in a new edition. On the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, The Nutcracker began its "life" in 1919. In 1966, the performance was presented in a new version. The choreographer Yuri Grigorovich was the director.