The Nutcracker, choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev
Ivanov with score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, has become a wonderful holiday
classic ballet. This ballet is composed
of two acts and was adapted from the story called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The
Nutcracker was first displayed in December of 1892 in St. Petersburg
Russia. Though originally the ballet was
not a great success in the 1960s the ballet became very popular and has been
performed countless times since then. In
North America The Nutcracker has
become especially popular around the Christmas season.
The first act of
The Nutcracker begins on Christmas
Eve where friends and family are gathered for a party. During the party a girl Clara is given a nutcracker
by her godfather Drosselmeyer (a talented toymaker), but to her dismay Fritz
(Clara’s brother) breaks the nutcracker.
During the middle of the night Clara goes down to the parlor and when
the clock strikes midnight the nutcracker grows to life size and there is a
battle between a gingerbread soldier army and mice. The nutcracker defeats the Mouse King and is
then transformed to a handsome prince and he leads Clara to his kingdom.
In the second
act Clara and the prince travel to the Land of Sweats where the Sugar Plum
Fairy has been ruling in the prince’s absence.
The Sugar Plum Fairy celebrates their return by the celebration of
sweets from around the world. The ballet
concludes with Clara being ushered into a reindeer drawn sleigh and she leaves
the kingdom.
With all of
these Christmas like elements it makes sense that it has become a holiday
classic. The Nutcracker is also a wonderful family ballet that will delight
and amaze everyone. The costumes and
music and choreography are all magic and enchanting. The Nutcracker
has become a tradition that many ballet companies have been preforming for
years. In fact, some reports show that
ballet companies generate about forty percent of their income from performing
this ballet.
The Nutcracker has become a family holiday classic that
is performed across the country by countless ballets companies. Over the years The Nutcracker become a major part of the Christmas season across
the country. With the amazing visuals,
costumes and choreography, and the fun light hearted story line full of magic
and enchantment, The Nutcracker will
thrill and delight the whole family, both young and old.
