Ballet Nutcracker famous numbers. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King – Ernst Hoffmann

• President Zilbergauz
• His wife
• Clara (Marie), their daughter
• Fritz, their son
• Marianna, the President's niece
• Advisor Drosselmeyer, children's godfather Zilbergauzov
• Nutcracker
• Sugar Plum Fairy, mistress of sweets
• Prince Whooping Cough (Orshad)
• Majordomo
• Mother Zhigon
• Mouse King
• Dolls: Canteen, Soldier, Columbine, Harlequin
• Relatives, guests in carnival costumes, children, servants, mice, gingerbread and tin soldiers, dolls, toys, gnomes, bunnies; fairies, sweets, sisters of Prince Nutcracker, clowns, flowers, silver soldiers, pages, Moors, etc.

The action takes place in one of the German principalities in the era of Hoffmann (the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries) and in the fabulous city of Confiturenburg.

History of creation

In 1890, Tchaikovsky received an order from the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters for a one-act opera and a two-act ballet to be staged on the same evening. For the opera, the composer chose the plot of his favorite drama by the Danish writer H. Herz, “King René’s Daughter” (“Iolanta”), and for the ballet - famous fairy tale E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) “The Nutcracker and mouse king"from the collection "Serapion's Brothers" (1819-1821). The fairy tale was used not in the original, but in a French retelling made by A. Dumas the Father called “The Story of the Nutcracker.” Tchaikovsky, according to his brother Modest, himself first “set out in writing the plot of The Nutcracker from the words of Vsevolozhsky” and only then began working together with the choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910), who made a detailed order plan and choreographer’s exposition. The renowned master, who by that time had served in Russia for more than forty years and had staged many performances, gave Tchaikovsky the most detailed tips regarding the nature of the music.

The composer's work was forcedly interrupted in the spring of 1891, when Tchaikovsky went to the USA for the grand opening of Carnegie Hall. He was composing even on the ship, but, realizing that he would not make it by the deadline set by the management, he sent Vsevolozhsky a letter from Paris asking him to postpone the premieres of “Iolanta” and “The Nutcracker” to the next season. Only upon returning from the trip did the work become more active. During January and February 1892, Tchaikovsky completed and orchestrated the ballet. In March, at one of the symphony concerts of the Russian Musical Society, a suite of music for the ballet was performed under the baton of the composer himself. The success was deafening: out of six numbers, five were repeated at the request of the public.

According to the script and detailed instructions of the seriously ill Petipa, the production of “The Nutcracker” was carried out by the second choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater L. Ivanov (1834-1901). Lev Ivanovich Ivanov, who graduated from the St. Petersburg Theater School in 1852, was finishing his career as a dancer at that time and had already worked as a choreographer for seven years. In addition to several ballets, he owned productions Polovtsian dances in “Prince Igor” by Borodin and dances in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera-ballet “Mlada”. V. Krasovskaya wrote: “Ivanov’s dance thinking was not based on Tchaikovsky’s music, but lived according to its laws.<...>Ivanov, in individual elements of his production, seemed to completely dissolve in the music, and from its innermost depths drew all the calm, pure, even modest plasticity of the dance.” “There is not a single rhythm, not a single beat in the music of The Nutcracker that would not flow into dance,” noted A. Volynsky. It was in music that the choreographer found the source of choreographic solutions. This was especially clearly demonstrated in the innovative symphonized dance of snow flakes.

Rehearsals for the ballet began at the end of September 1892. The premiere took place on December 6 (18). Criticism was controversial - both positive and sharply negative. However, the ballet remained in the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater for more than thirty years. In 1923, the performance was restored by choreographer F. Lopukhov (1886-1973). In 1929, he created a new choreographic version of the performance. In the original script, the heroine of the ballet was called Clara, but in the Soviet years she began to be called Masha (in Dumas - Marie). Later, the ballet was staged on various Soviet stages by different choreographers.

Plot

Christmas Eve at the Silberghaus house. Guests gather for a celebration. Clara, Fritz and their little guests are brought into the hall. Everyone is delighted a decorated Christmas tree. Gifts are given to children. The clock strikes midnight, and with its last strike Clara Drosselmeyer's godfather appears. A skilled craftsman, he brings as a gift huge mechanical dolls - the Cantante, the Soldier, the Harlequin and Columbine. The children joyfully thank their kind godfather, but Zilberghaus, fearing that they will spoil the gifts, orders them to be taken to his office. Consoling the distressed Clara and Fritz, Drosselmeyer takes a funny little Nutcracker out of his pocket and shows him gnawing nuts. Children are happy new toy, but then they quarrel over her. Fritz forces the Nutcracker to crack the hardest nuts, and the Nutcracker's jaw breaks. Fritz irritably throws the Nutcracker to the floor, but Klara picks him up, rocks him like a small child, puts him on the crib of his favorite doll and wraps him in a blanket. Zilberghaus orders the furniture to be taken out of the living room in order to arrange it general dance. At the end of the dancing, the children are sent to bed. Guests and hosts disperse.

Moonlight falls through the window of the empty hall. Clara enters: she cannot sleep because she is worried about the Nutcracker. Rushing, running and scratching can be heard. The girl becomes scared. She wants to run away, but the large wall clock begins to chime the time. Clara sees that instead of an owl, the Drosselmeister is sitting on the clock, flapping the skirts of his caftan like wings. Lights flicker from all sides - the eyes of mice filling the room. Clara runs to the Nutcracker's crib. The tree begins to grow and becomes huge. The dolls come to life and run around in fear. Gingerbread soldiers line up. The battle with the mice begins. The Nutcracker, rising from bed, orders the alarm to be sounded. Boxes open with tin soldiers, the Nutcracker's army is formed into a battle square. The mouse army attacks, the soldiers bravely resist the onslaught, and the mice retreat. Then the Mouse King enters the duel. He is ready to kill the Nutcracker, but Clara takes off her shoe and throws it at the King. The Nutcracker wounds him, and he, along with the rest of the army, flees the battlefield. The Nutcracker with a naked sword in his hand approaches Clara. He turns into a handsome young man and asks the girl to follow him. Both are hiding in the branches of the Christmas tree.

The hall turns into winter forest. Snow is falling in large flakes and a blizzard is rising. The wind blows the dancing snowflakes. Gradually the snowstorm subsides, and the snow sparkles elegantly in the moonlight.

The fabulous city of Confiturenburg. At the Palace of Sweets, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Whooping Cough await the arrival of Clara and Prince Nutcracker. Everything is prepared for the ceremonial reception of dear guests. Clara and the Nutcracker sail down the river in a boat made of gilded shells. Everyone bows respectfully to the newcomers. Clara is amazed at the wealth of the city spread out before her. The Nutcracker says that he owes his salvation to Clara. The holiday begins, in which the mistress of sweets, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mother Zhigon and other fairy-tale characters take part.

Music

In his latest ballet, Tchaikovsky addresses the same theme that was embodied in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty - overcoming evil spells with the power of love. The composer goes even further along the path of symphonizing music, enriching it with all possible expressive means. A fusion of expressive and figurative, theatricality and deepest psychologism occurs here in a surprisingly natural way.

The scene of the growth of the Christmas tree in Act I is accompanied by music of a truly symphonic scale - at first alarming, ghostly, depicting the bustle of mice and strange night visions, it gradually expands, blossoms with a beautiful endlessly unfolding melody. The music subtly embodies everything that happens in the subsequent scene: the shouts of the sentry, the drumming, the military, albeit toy, fanfares, the squeaking of mice, the tension of the fight, and the wonderful transformation of the Nutcracker. The Waltz of Snowflakes perfectly conveys the feeling of cold, the play of moonlight and at the same time the contradictory feelings of the heroine who finds herself in a mysterious magical world. The divertimento of Act II includes various dances: the dance of chocolate (brilliant Spanish), coffee (refined and languid oriental), tea (brightly characteristic, full of comic effects Chinese), as well as live, in folk spirit, Russian trepak; gracefully stylized dance of shepherdesses; comic dance of Mother Zhigon with children crawling out from under her skirt. The pinnacle of divertissement - famous Waltz flowers with its variety of melodies, symphonic development, pomp and solemnity. The dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is amazingly graceful and subtle. The lyrical culmination of the entire ballet is the adagio (in the original production - the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince, now - Clara and the Nutcracker).

L. Mikheeva

In the photo: “The Nutcracker” staged by Grigorovich at the Bolshoi Theater

As was expected at that time, critics desperately criticized the new product. And the music is not danceable, and the plot is not for a big ballet, and the main roles are played by green youth from the Theater School: Clara - Stanislava Belinskaya, The Nutcracker - Sergei Legat. Italian ballerina Antonietta Dell'Era (the Sugar Plum Fairy) also did not make a good impression, dancing her part in only two performances. IN further performance Ivanov was revived at his native theater twice (1909, 1923), but already from the mid-1920s he left the stage forever. Its plot basis was flawed primarily in relation to the main character; she was deprived of the opportunity to express herself in dance. And the ending of the whole story remained open: either Clara had to wake up, or remain forever in the fairy-tale kingdom of sweets?

Only retrograde balletomanes could doubt the quality of Tchaikovsky's music. Critic Boris Asafiev wrote about it: “The Nutcracker is the most perfect artistic phenomenon: a symphony about childhood. No, or rather, about when childhood is at a turning point. When the hopes of an as yet unknown youth are already exciting... When dreams carry thoughts and feelings forward, and the unconscious - into a life only anticipated. It’s as if the walls of a children’s room are moving apart and the thought-dream of the heroine and hero breaks out into a fresh space - into the forest, nature, towards the winds, blizzards, further to the stars and into the pink sea of ​​hopes."

This characteristic of the composer’s intention is very insightful, but such music has a very indirect relation to the plot of “The Nutcracker” proposed by Petipa. The score of the second act contains many tragic intonations, characteristic of Tchaikovsky's symphonic works, but which do not fit in with the thoughtless gingerbread plot. Most subsequent productions of The Nutcracker, modifying Petipa's script, tried to combine it with their own understanding of Tchaikovsky's music. However, complete success along this path, even if possible, has not yet been achieved.

The next choreographer to dare to independently interpret The Nutcracker was Alexander Gorsky. The choreographer divided his ballet into three acts, moving the final duet to the winter scene. Clara and the Nutcracker danced it. The last act was an outright divertissement. In this performance, as in all subsequent domestic productions, there was no place for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her faithful gentleman with the ridiculous name Whooping Cough. The Moscow novelty, shown in 1919, which was not very suitable for ballet, did not live long.

Even more decisive was Fyodor Lopukhov, who headed the St. Petersburg ballet in the 1920s. In 1929, he staged The Nutcracker in 3 acts and 22 episodes - as “a figment of a child’s imagination.” Five episodes showed the Christmas holidays, four told (according to Hoffmann) the story of a young man’s transformation into the Nutcracker, and the rest celebrated the irrepressible fantasy of Masha’s dreams. Note that from now on in Russia the heroine of the ballet will be called not Clara, but Masha (in Hoffmann - Marie). Where there was a lack of music, the action went without it, sometimes the artists addressed the audience with speeches. The decorations consisted of eight large billboards on wheels, painted in different colors. The avant-garde “Nutcracker” was scolded, according to the choreographer, “not only by enemies - God himself commanded them - but also by like-minded people.” The performance, undoubtedly inspired by Vsevolod Meyerhold's directorial decisions of Russian classic plays, was performed only 9 times.

Naturally, the theater where The Nutcracker was born wanted to have this ballet in its permanent repertoire. A new production in 1934 was entrusted to choreographer Vasily Vainonen. In his performance, he relied on the ballet traditions of the times of Petipa and Ivanov, skillfully alternating large classical ensembles (waltz of snowflakes, pink waltz, Masha's adagio with four gentlemen) with characteristic dances and pantomime. Generally new performance stuck to the old plot, although there were plenty of adjustments. Drosselmeyer in the Stahlbaums’ house (Masha’s parents got their “Hoffman” name back), in addition to clockwork dolls (Pagliacco, Doll, Negro), shows children from behind the screen puppet show: “The Nutcracker is in love with the princess, but she is being pursued by the rat king. The princess is terrified, the Nutcracker comes to the rescue and beats up the rat king.”

Thus, viewers who have not read the literary original should understand the background of the upcoming night battle more clearly. The scene of the war between rats and toys was separated into a separate act and took place in Masha's dream. The painting with the Waltz of Snowflakes continued the second act and took place on a “deserted night street.” The waltz itself sounded both like a lyrical digression dedicated to the magical patterns of the Russian winter, and like the glorification of a brave girl by a choir of children’s voices. The third act began in a toy store. Here a mysterious dwarf (Drosselmeyer in disguise) makes fun of Masha, as if testing her once again, until the Nutcracker Prince drives him away. The toy shop is transformed and the holiday begins. Characteristic dances give way to a pink waltz, then Masha, already in a classic tutu, carefree dances a spectacular adagio with four gentlemen. The general code suddenly ends, the Nutcracker freezes - the dream is over. In the short finale, the viewer sees a sleeping girl outside the window. A lamp maker extinguishes street lights...

The new performance turned out to be successful; it has been performed on its native stage for more than 70 years, exceeding 300 performances. However, not without changes. In 1947, the rats were replaced by less scary mice, and the dwarf at the beginning of the last act also disappeared. In 1954, a magnificent set design by Simon Virsaladze appeared. The image of the first picture became more magical, the tree, sometimes silver-pink, sometimes black, corresponded to the heroine’s state of mind, and the holiday of the final act appeared more harmonious, without being too beautiful. In general, “The Nutcracker” by Vainonen - Virsaladze became classical ballet XX century. In 1958, the theater donated this performance to the Choreographic School, and since then, each new generation of the Academy of Russian Ballet dances it on the theater stage to the delight of their fathers and mothers, and with them the numerous spectators.

When Yuri Grigorovich showed his “Nutcracker” at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater in 1966, it seemed to many that the ideal solution to Tchaikovsky’s score had been found. Mainly adhering to Petipa's script, the choreographer managed to create a performance with continuous action. His heroes, surrounded by doll friends, after a serious battle, embark on fabulous trip up the giant tree. Snowflakes hide them from the mouse chase, their friends entertain them with “puppet” parodies of typical dances in ancient ballets. Close to the top, in the Christmas tree temple, the magical wedding of Masha and the Nutcracker takes place.

Grigorovich's solution to the image of the Nutcracker was unusual. Actually, the doll appeared already in the prologue in the hands of Drosselmeyer, “flying” for the holiday, then the godfather gave Masha a living doll, the “breakage” of which could not leave either the girl or the viewer indifferent. And finally, after defeating a horde of mice in a scarlet robe, a truly fairy-tale hero-prince appeared. Drosselmeyer’s image has also become larger. He tests the souls of the heroes with everything beautiful and terrible that happens in a good fairy tale. He is both merciful and cunning, invisible and omnipresent. With this character, Hoffmann comes into the play, or rather Hoffmannian, enlightened by the music of Tchaikovsky. Grigorovich's performance does not leave the stage Bolshoi Theater For almost 40 years, it has been shown on television several times with different casts; there is also a television film made in 1977. However, the search for other solutions to The Nutcracker continued.

Abroad, Lev Ivanov's performance was first reconstructed by Nikolai Sergeev in London in 1934. Another former pupil of the Mariinsky Theater, George Balanchine, repeatedly participated in the original St. Petersburg production - from children's roles to buffoon dancing. In his “The Nutcracker” (New York City Hall, 1954), he, keeping Petipa’s script with the Sugar Plum Fairy and Confiturenburg, composed new dances and mise-en-scène. However, already productions by Rudolf Nureyev (London Royal Ballet, 1968) and Mikhail Baryshnikov (American Ballet Theatre, 1976) were influenced by the performances of Vainonen and Grigorovich.

Since then, numerous Christmas performances of “The Nutcracker” have been fundamentally different, either in the dance-full part of Clara and an attempt at at least some Hoffmannianism, or in the conscious emphasis on the holiday in the city of sweets, led by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

There are also more unconventional solutions to the ancient ballet, however, perhaps the most unexpected was realized in 2001 at the Mariinsky Theater. The initiator and director was not the choreographer, but the artist Mikhail Shemyakin. In the new “Nutcracker,” he owns not only the scenery and costumes, but also the active reworking of the libretto and even the mise-en-scène. All that was left to choreographer Kirill Simonov was to compose individual dances.

Already in the first scenes we are presented with a grotesque world of bourgeois abundance: huge hams, meat carcasses, giant wine bottles. Here the Christmas holiday is just an occasion for abundant food and drink, and dancing is convenient way shake your stomach. In this little world, Masha is an unloved daughter, whose loneliness and painful fantasies are of no interest to either parents or guests. Only Drosselmeyer, out of pity, gives her the Nutcracker, who becomes her long-awaited friend.

In the night battle scene, the audience's eyes literally run wild. It’s not a pitiful flock of mice fighting with toys, but a whole kingdom of rats: a seven-headed emperor with his family, a bishop with his retinue, officers in camisoles and swords, soldiers and even artillerymen. The traditional throw of the shoe stops the bloody battle, and Masha and the Nutcracker fly into another, beautiful world in a huge airplane shoe. An evil snowstorm stands in their way: a female corps de ballet in black tights, skirts and hats, on which snow flakes sway menacingly. Tchaikovsky's beautiful music, performed at a deliberately fast tempo, suddenly becomes aggressive. The bright choreographic image of an unkind blizzard matches it - an undoubted success of the choreographer. Having overcome these trials, the heroes arrive in the second act.

In the city, caramel columns are covered with flies and caterpillars, huge figures of candy canes parade, and a man-fly fights with the Nutcracker with swords. Masha finally kisses the Nutcracker and he turns into the Prince. The characters' pas de deux and the general waltz inspire some hope, but the finale is terrifying. In the middle of Confiturenburg a multi-story cake grows, it is crowned with marzipan figures of Masha and the Nutcracker, and insatiable little rats are already frolicking in its middle part...

It's fair to say that this clearly experimental "Nutcracker" has been a consistent success with audiences.

A. Degen, I. Stupnikov

In the photo: “The Nutcracker” staged by Shemyakin at the Mariinsky Theater

A further step in Tchaikovsky’s work along the path of symphonizing ballet and saturating dance with specific figurative and characteristic content was “The Nutcracker” based on the fairy tale story by E.T.A. Hoffmann in a free retelling by A. Dumas. The initiative to create this ballet, like The Sleeping Beauty, belonged to Vsevolozhsky, based on whose outline Petipa’s detailed scenario plan was developed. Although Hoffmann's plot in itself attracted the composer, much in the way it was interpreted by the authors of the ballet script caused him a strong protest.

Vsevolozhsky and Petipa saw in the fairy tale of the German romantic writer primarily material for a spectacular and enticing spectacle. The action of the two-act ballet is limited to its first half; The second part is a colorful divertissement in the “Confitiirenburg” invented by Vsevolozhsky - “City of Sweets”, where the authors of the libretto lead their heroes - the girl Clara and the Nutcracker, freed from the spell. What confused Tchaikovsky most of all was this “confectionery divertissement.” “...I feel completely unable to reproduce Confitiirenburg musically,” he admitted shortly after starting work on the ballet. But gradually he managed to find his own solution, largely independent of the Vsevolozhsky-Petipa script, and in some ways even contradicting it. “No stage production,” Asafiev wrote, “has so far been able to surpass the fascination and entertainment of the fabulous symphonic orchestral and colorful impact scores" Extraordinary in its richness of colors and timbre ingenuity, the combination of sharp characterization with a rich fullness of sound and genuine symphony, the score of “The Nutcracker” undoubtedly far exceeds the intentions of the librettists and ballet directors.

Despite the fact that the main characters in The Nutcracker are children, this ballet cannot be classified as children's musical literature. As Asafiev rightly noted, this musical and choreographic narrative is not so much about childhood, but about that turning point in life, “when the hopes of an as yet unknown youth are already exciting, and childhood skills and childhood fears have not yet gone away... When dreams attract feelings and thoughts forward, into the unconscious - into life, only anticipated.” The world of carefree childhood with its games, fun, quarrels over toys is shown in the scenes of lighting the Christmas tree, distributing gifts, dancing and round dances from the first scene of the first act. In the second act, a new Magic world, full of mysterious charm, and childhood is already left behind. The connecting role is played by the symphonic picture of Clara’s terrible fantastic dreams, the war of mice and toys, where the spiritual turning point that Asafiev writes about takes place. The immediate transformation of the Nutcracker reflects a common fairytale motif: goodness and love triumph over evil magic. (A well-known parallel to the story of the Nutcracker is, for example, the tale of the Frog Princess. A similar motif is reflected in “Sleeping Beauty.”).

The composer finds bright means of expression to describe two worlds juxtaposed in “The Nutcracker”: the world of cozy burgher life and the mysteriously attractive, enchanting or frightening and darkly fascinating fantasy world. The opening scenes of a merry Christmas party in the house of President Zilberghaus stand in stark contrast to everything that follows. Here, simple and transparent orchestral colors prevail, familiar everyday dance forms (children's gallop, polka, waltz), sometimes with a touch of ironically colored stylization (the appearance of parents in dandy outfits from the times of the Directory to the sounds of a ponderous minuet, a naive and simple-minded Grosfater). An element of the mysterious, the miraculous invades this peaceful setting in the guise of Councilor Drosselmeyer with his amazing dolls. Musically, it is characterized by sharp, bizarre outlines of the melodic pattern, unusual combinations of orchestral timbres (for example, a viola and two trombones), in which one can hear something funny, absurd and at the same time witchcraft. It is no coincidence that the theme accompanying Drosselmeyer's exit then appears in Clara's nightmares.

With the onset of night, the mysterious world of wonders comes to life and everything around appears in an unusual, disturbing light. The quiet, gentle lullaby of Clara rocking the Nutcracker to sleep, performed twice before, now sounds new thanks to a full orchestral texture with harp arpeggias enveloping the simple, artless melody in soft light. The color of the music becomes increasingly lighter and shimmering, evoking a feeling of transparent darkness illuminated by rays of moonlight (soaring flute passages, harp arpeggias). But the muffled, secret sound heard first in the thick low register (bass clarinet, tuba), then in the high wooden ones (flute, oboe, clarinet) “knock of fate” portends evil. The evil spirits of the night come to life, mice and rats crawl out of their crevices (“rustling” passages of bassoon and string bass), and at this time the tree suddenly begins to grow, reaching enormous heights. In the music, this moment is conveyed by three powerful waves of build-up, built on the sequential development of a motif closely reminiscent of the theme of love from “The Queen of Spades,” as well as the related theme of the violin solo from the intermission between two scenes of the second act of “Sleeping Beauty.”

The significance of this episode is not limited to the illustrative accompaniment of the stage image; the music, filled with passionate excitement, conveys the spiritual growth of the young heroine, who for the first time experiences the emergence of new, feelings and desires that she herself does not yet fully understand. A growing tree is only a symbol, an external allegorical expression of a deeper mental process.

This ends the first half of the symphonic picture; its second section depicts the war of mice and toys. Mouse rustles and squeaks are intertwined here with the battle cries of the puppet army (oboe fanfare theme), the beat of small drums, and “offensive” ostinato rhythms. The rampage of the night evil spirits suddenly stops when Clara throws her slipper at the mouse king and thereby saves the Nutcracker, who then turns into a handsome prince. This scene leads directly into the next scene - magical forest, where Clara and the prince are transported, they are greeted by dwarves with lit torches. The trials are left behind, the solemn, smoothly unfolding theme sounds with increasing force as a hymn to perseverance and purity of feeling. The first act ends with the rhythmically unique “Waltz of Snowflakes”, with phrases grouped into two quarters, running “across” the time signature. This is how the wanderings of Clara and the Nutcracker, who she saved, begin: the crystal ringing of the celesta in a light major coda sounds like a harbinger of miracles and joys awaiting the heroes.

The introduction to this action paints a picture of a full-flowing river with rising waves along which a boat glides, bringing Clara and the prince to the fabulous Confiturenburg: a light melody in the spirit of a barcarolle, based on the sounds of a half-tone series, is intertwined with the figuration of harps, creating the illusion of the smooth swaying of a floating boat.

After the well-received Nutcracker's story about the night's events, there is a large divertissement consisting of a suite of characteristic national dances: brilliant temperamental Spanish; languid Arabic with a lazily swaying fifth in the bass and the muted sound of muted strings; witty instrumental humorous Chinese (wide passages of flute with measured accompaniment of two bassoons, reminiscent of the automatic shaking of the heads of porcelain dolls); a dashing Russian trepak, followed by an elegant dance of shepherdesses with two solo flutes, a comically rollicking dance of French polychinelles, and, finally, the lush and poetically fascinating “Waltz of the Flowers” ​​that completes the entire cycle.

This atmosphere of bright festive celebration is unexpectedly intruded by notes of passionate excitement and almost drama in the dance duet that immediately follows the waltz. This is the culminating moment in the development of the line of two young heroes (According to Petipa's plan, the duet was intended for the Sugar Plum Fairy - a character artificially introduced in connection with Confiturenburg's plan - and Prince Orshad. In modern ballet theater it is performed by Clara and the Nutcracker, which is much more dramatically logical and more in keeping with the character of the music.), before which a new one opens Big world human life, both alluring and disturbing. “...Here the idea develops about the struggle for life that accompanies the dreams and hopes of youth” - this is how Asafiev defines the meaning of this ballet Adagio. The duet is complemented by two solo variations - an energetic, rapid male one in the rhythm of a tarantella and a graceful female one. Particular attention is drawn to the second variation, where the external coldness of color (solo celesta, supported by a light accompaniment of strings and wood) is combined with soft and gentle elegance. The ballet ends with another waltz and apotheosis, in which the serenely light and affectionate theme of the introduction to the second act again sounds.

The Nutcracker first saw the light of day on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater on December 6, 1892, together with Iolanta. The contradiction between what was presented to the public on stage and the high symphonic content of Tchaikovsky's music had an adverse effect on the fate of the work. “The success was not unconditional,” the composer wrote shortly after the premiere. “Apparently, I really liked the opera, but rather not the ballet.” And in fact, despite its luxury, it turned out to be rather boring.” Behind the motley alternation of diverse figures and episodes, it was difficult to grasp the line end-to-end action, besides, much, especially in the second act, was not impeccable from the point of view of good taste.

“After a number of successful productions, like “ Queen of Spades“ and “The Sleeping Beauty,” recalled the future director of the imperial theaters V. A. Telyakovsky, “there was an unimaginably tasteless production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker,” in the last scene of which some ballet dancers were dressed in rich brioche from Filippov’s bakery.” Critical reviews of both the performance and Tchaikovsky's music were almost unanimously negative. Only in the light further development choreographic art at the beginning of the 20th century, the innovative significance of “The Nutcracker” could be truly appreciated, and starting from the 20s, this ballet took a strong place in the repertoire of domestic musical theaters.

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

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

The adaptation of the fairy tale, based on which the libretto of the ballet was created, was made in 1844 French writer The premiere performance of the play 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 written above, is P. I. Tchaikovsky. He was born on April 25, 1840 in Votkinsk, this small town c 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 and conducted. At first, the composer studied law, but then devoted himself entirely to music and in 1861 he entered the Russian Academy of Sciences. musical society(into music classes), which in 1862 was transformed into a conservatory.

One of the teachers of the great composer was another great composer- A. G. Rubinstein. P.I. Tchaikovsky was one of the first students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He studied in a composition class. After completing his studies, he became a professor at the newly opened conservatory in Moscow. Since 1868 he acted as music critic. In 1875, a harmony textbook was published, the author of which was Pyotr Ilyich. The composer died on October 25, 1893 from cholera, which he contracted after 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 named Marie, and her doll is called Clara. After the First World War, the heroine began to be called Masha for patriotic reasons, but her brother Fritz was left because he is a negative character. The Stahlbaums are the parents of Masha and Fritz. Drosselmeyer is the godfather of the main character. Nutcracker - doll, enchanted prince. Other characters are the Sugar Plum Fairy, Prince Whooping Cough, Marianne - the Stahlbaums' niece. Three-headed mouse king main enemy The Nutcracker. And also relatives of the Shtalbaums, guests at the holiday, 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 holiday dishes, the owners come in with their children to check how the preparations are going. Fritz and Marie try to enjoy dessert, the boy is treated to candy - he is his parents' favorite, and Marie is brushed aside. The action moves to the dressing room, where the Stahlbaums choose outfits for the holiday, the children hover 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. Marie's godfather brings gifts - mechanical dolls. Everyone is taking apart the toys. Marie gets the Nutcracker that no one chose. But the girl likes him because he cleverly cracks nuts, and besides, she feels that he is not just a toy. The holiday ends, the guests leave, everyone except Marie. She sneaks into the living room to look at the Nutcracker one more time. 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 ballet “The Nutcracker” begins.

Summary of the third scene of the first act:

Marie comes to her senses and sees that the room has become huge, and she is now the size of Christmas tree toy. The Nutcracker and his army of toy soldiers engage in battle with the Mouse King and his mice. Marie hides in fright in her grandfather's old shoe, but to help the Nutcracker, she throws the shoe at the Rat King. The Mouse Emperor is confused. The Nutcracker stabs him with his sword. Good Marie feels sorry for the defeated man, and she bandages his wound. The army of rats is defeated. The Nutcracker takes Marie on a fabulous journey over the city at night in her grandfather’s old shoe.

Summary of the fourth scene of the first act:

The Nutcracker and Marie fly to the old cemetery. A blizzard begins, and the evil snowflakes, together with their Queen, try to destroy Marie. Drosselmeyer stops an evil snowstorm. And the Nutcracker saves the girl.

Summary of the first scene of the second act:

The Nutcracker brings Marie to fairytale city Confiturenburg. There are plenty of sweets and cakes here. The city has funny residents who love sweets. Residents of Confiturenburg dance in honor of the arrival of their dear guests. Marie, delighted, rushes to the Nutcracker and kisses him, and turns into the Nutcracker Prince.

Summary of the epilogue:

Christmas night passed, and Marie's magical dream melted away. A girl and her brother play with the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer comes to them, with his nephew, who looks like the prince into whom 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 purchase tickets for The Nutcracker through the service http://bolshoi-tickets.ru/events/shelkunchik/. There is also all the relevant information about production dates. Follow closely - the poster is being updated!

The most significant productions

The premiere performance took place on December 6, 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater (choreographer Lev Ivanov). The performance was resumed in 1923, the dance directors were F. Lopukhov and 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 play was presented in new version. The director was choreographer Yuri Grigorovich.

German romanticism is a movement in literature of the 18th century, the founders and associates of which created brilliant works. Today, the works of Chamisso, Hölderlin, Novalis, and the Schlegel brothers are used as literary primary sources for plays, films, cartoons and performances. Ernest Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann, the creator of The Nutcracker, gave the world a fairy tale, the interest in which will never subside.

The Nutcracker in literature

Johann Heemann, a resident of the German town of Seiffen, made his living by making wooden toys. In 1699, he created a specific soldier, whom he named Zubastic. Having loaded a hand wheelbarrow with products, the master walked one and a half hundred kilometers on foot, getting to Leipzig.

Having overcome mountain paths and unsuitable rural roads, he profitably sold all the preparations and creations in big city. The customers liked the Nibbler. Since then, woodcarving masters began to make such wooden dolls. Zubastic came to America in the 20th century, when US Army soldiers sent toys to their children overseas.

Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was inspired by the image of a soldier and wrote a fairy tale, mainly actor which the Nutcracker became. The work entitled “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” was published in 1816 in a collection of children's fairy tales. While working on the images of children, Gomphant was inspired by the children of a friend named Marie and Fritz. That's why the main characters are called that way.

Marichen Stahlbaum received unusual nutcrackers as a Christmas gift from her godfather. They looked like a soldier. The surprise given by the storyteller Drosselmeyer had a secret. Behind the ugly Nutcracker's appearance was a prince. He was bewitched by the evil queen Myshilda.

The girl, who treated the toy with trepidation and care, hid it from her fidgety brother, showed courage, boldness and determination. The fearless and brave Nutcracker overcame all difficulties, defeated the villain Mouse King, who had seven heads, and, turning into a prince, took Marie as his wife.

The main theme of the work was the victory of good and love over evil. The fairy tale also teaches that appearance is not the main thing. The Nutcracker had a big ugly jaw, but the girl loved him. Hoffmann's essay teaches courage and self-confidence, hinting that these are key qualities that help to overcome all obstacles and barriers, to overcome any enemies.

Film adaptations

The brave little soldier with a toy saber became a character in children's cartoons and films. His image was often used in animated series. The most memorable project for Soviet viewers was “The Nutcracker” in 1973. A good cartoon in which a toy soldier defeats the Mouse King has been broadcast for more than 45 years.

In 1988, the image of the soldier was used by the authors of the Care Bears: The Nutcracker project. Paul Shibley's project, released in 1990 for a children's audience, was closest to the action described in the fairy tale. The animated cartoon “Prince Nutcracker” was remembered by the kids.

In 1995, a Japanese-American project dedicated to the history of the Nutcracker was released. In 1997, the premiere of a short fantasy musical directed by Christine Edzard took place. In 2001, directors David Stern and Dan Goggin released a comedy musical based on German fairy tale. In the same year, Owen Hurley adapted the fairy tale to modern realities, releasing the cartoon “Barbie and the Nutcracker.” In 2004, German producers released an animated version of the tale.

In 2007, the Nutcracker was mentioned in one of the episodes of the animated project “Tom and Jerry”. A restless mouse performed in the costume of an enchanted prince. In 2014, the American adaptation of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Rat King 3D” was presented. He made a film with the participation of foreign artists.

In 2018, Lasse Hallström released a project called “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” based on a fairy tale story.

• Among Hoffmann's works, the directors received special attention from “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, “The Everyday Views of the Cat Murr”, “Little Tsakhes”, “Princess Brambilla” and others. Italian, French, and Russian writers and playwrights borrowed motifs for their own works from the works of German romantics.
• Hoffmann was fond of theater, and his attention was attracted by dolls and puppets. Of course, far from modern Barbie, but too beautiful things would not have such a fabulous biography that the Nutcracker acquired. Hoffmann's love for puppets was explained by the fact that he believed: people are toys in the hands of fate, pulling the strings. The writer himself trusted fate and entrusted his own destiny to a higher power.

• The plot of Hoffmann's fairy tale formed the basis of the ballet, for which he wrote the music. “The Nutcracker” made the composer famous on the ballet stage. Marius Petipa created the choreography for the performance. An adaptation of the tale, written in 1844, served as the libretto. Thanks to the ballet, Hoffmann's work came to life on theater stage and imprinted throughout the centuries. Today the ballet “The Nutcracker” can be seen in the main theaters of Moscow and St. Petersburg (Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky, “Crown of Russian Ballet”), as well as on other stages in Russia and Europe.

Hoffman - famous storyteller, whose name is familiar to both children and adults. Everyone remembers who wrote The Nutcracker. Many people understand that Hoffmann was not just a writer, but a real magician. How can an ordinary person create such wonderful stories out of nothing?

Birth of a writer

It is generally accepted that wizards are born wherever they wish. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm (that was his name at the beginning of his life) was born in a beautiful city called Königsberg. On that day the church honored St. John Chrysostom. The father of the future writer was a lawyer.

Hobbies of young Hoffmann

From an early age Ernst fell in love with music; it was his outlet. Later, he even changed his name, and from Wilhelm turned into Amadeus (that was Mozart’s name). The boy played the organ, violin, and piano, wrote poetry, and was interested in painting and singing. When he grew up, his parents left him no choice, and the guy had to continue the family tradition - to become an official.

Study and work

Ernst listened to his father, studied at the university and for a long time worked in various judicial departments. He could not settle down somewhere: he endlessly drove around Polish and Prussian cities, sneezed in dusty document storage rooms, dozed on court hearings and drew caricatures of his colleagues in the margins important papers. At that time, he could not even dream that one day he would become famous and everyone would know who wrote The Nutcracker.

Berlin and Bamberg

The hapless lawyer repeatedly tried to quit his job, but to no avail. One day he went to the capital of Germany to study painting and music there, but did not earn a penny there. Then he went to a small town called Bamberg, where he worked as a conductor, composer, decorator, theater director, wrote essays and reviews for a newspaper about music, tutored and even sold pianos and sheet music. However, the author of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker” never received much money or fame.

Dresden and Leipzig, the creation of the "Golden Pot"

One day, Hoffmann realized that he could no longer stay in Bamberg, and went to Dresden, from where he soon followed to Leipzig, almost died from a bomb explosion during one of the final Napoleonic battles, and then...

Probably, this can be called the favor of fate or help, but one fine day Ernst took a pen, dipped it in ink and... Suddenly the ringing of crystal bells was heard, the emerald snakes moved on the tree and the work “The Golden Pot” was created. The year was 1814.

"Fantasies in the manner of Callot"

Hoffmann finally realized that his destiny lay in literature; the gates of an amazing and magical country opened before him. However, it is worth noting that he wrote before, for example, in 1809 “Cavalier Gluck” was created. Soon, entire notebooks were covered with fairy tales, and then they were included in the book “Fantasies in the Manner of Callot.” Many people liked the works, and Hoffmann immediately gained fame. Even now, if you ask modern child, who wrote “The Nutcracker”, he will most likely answer correctly.

Great mystery

Hoffmann said that he, like a child born on Sunday, notices what is not seen ordinary people. The author's stories and fairy tales could be funny and frightening, kind and terrible, but the mystical in them appeared unexpectedly, from the simplest things, sometimes as if out of thin air. This was great secret, which the writer was the first to comprehend. Gradually, Hoffmann became more and more famous, but this did not add money to him. Therefore, the storyteller again had to become an adviser to justice, this time in

Creation of famous works

The author of The Nutcracker called this city a human desert; he felt very uncomfortable here. However, it was in Berlin that almost all of its famous works. These are “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, “Night Stories” (they will take your breath away), “Little Tsakhes”, “Everyday views of the cat Murr”, “Princess Brambilla” and others. Over time, Hoffmann made friends with the same rich inner world and a developed imagination, like his own. They often had serious and funny conversations about psychology, art and much more. And it was on the basis of these conversations that the four volumes of The Serapion Brothers were created. By opening any of these books, you can find out who wrote the Nutcracker included in one of them. The author's name appears on the first page.

Tragic Event, Creation of the "Lord of the Fleas"

Hoffmann had many new ideas and plans, the service did not take very much time, and everything would have gone well if not for one tragic incident. The writer once witnessed how they wanted to put an innocent man in prison, and he stood up for this man. But the police director named von Kamptz was infuriated by this act. Moreover, the brave author of The Nutcracker portrayed this unjust man in The Lord of the Fleas, which was written in 1822. He gave him the surname Knarrpanty and described how he first detained people and then charged them with suitable offenses. Von Kamptz was simply furious and turned to the king with a request to destroy the manuscript of this story. So a lawsuit was initiated, and only the help of friends and a serious illness helped the writer avoid unpleasant consequences.

End of the road

Hoffman lost the ability to move, but until the end he believed in recovery. At the end of his life, the story “Corner Window” was created - the last gift to the writer’s admirers. But the vast majority of people remember him thanks to the famous Christmas tale that won many hearts. By the way, many children learn about who the author of “The Nutcracker” is at school.

Most famous work

Separately, it should be said about the work “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, included in the book “The Serapion Brothers”. This tale is best read at Christmas as it takes place during this time. Hoffmann was inspired to create this masterpiece by the children of his friend Julius Hitzig, whom he met in the capital of Poland. Their names and some personal qualities awarded the characters of his work. When the fairy tale was ready, the author himself read it to the children. “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is a great work, they thought.

Marie Hitzig, who in the fairy tale bears the surname Stahlbaum, unfortunately died early. And her brother named Fritz, who gave commands to the tin soldiers in The Nutcracker, trained as an architect and became the director of the Academy of Arts located in the capital of Germany.

We are just puppets...

Have you ever wondered why the main character of the work was a toy? It’s just that the writer, who was interested in theater for some time, was close to puppets and dolls. His friend said that Hoffmann had a whole closet full of toys. The writer believed that people are just puppets, and Fate itself pulls the strings, which is not always favorable to us. He often repeated that everything would be as the gods wanted.

So you remembered who wrote the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”, which your parents probably read to you.

For several generations now, for many children and adults, the dream of going to the ballet “The Nutcracker” has remained constant. If you listen closely to this word - “Nutcracker” - something very close and dear appears before each of us. This kind and beloved friend came to visit us more than once. But everyone has their own Nutcracker.

Some people remember the wonderful one, but in 2004 another, Russian-German, was released, also based on the fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann and using music from the ballet “The Nutcracker” by P.I. Tchaikovsky.

Lovers feature films could see the New Year's film in 3D format “The Nutcracker and the Rat King”, shot by Andrei Konchalovsky.

Someone remembers and loves this hero simply from the fairy tale of the same name by Ernst Hoffmann. Well, in the end, there are those who were lucky enough to see the ballet “The Nutcracker” live on stage, with which they fell in love with all their hearts after the first viewing. At first they visited it as children with their parents, and now with pleasure, on their own, they come to see “The Nutcracker” over and over again with their children.

This is a fairy tale with magnificent music by the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker has become a symbol of the New Year holiday not only because the story itself takes place on Christmas, but also because it contains a lot of magic, wonderful transformations and mysterious adventures. That is why, according to tradition, many theaters add the ballet “The Nutcracker” to their repertoire on New Year’s days.

This tale by Ernest Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was published in 1816. Its main characters are a girl named Marichen (in different editions the girl is called Clara or Marie) Stahlbaum and a strange toy - nutcrackers in the shape of a soldier, the same legendary Nutcracker that was given to Marichen by her godfather, the storyteller Drosselmeyer. Only he knew that the Nutcracker was not an ugly toy, but a handsome prince who had been bewitched by the evil queen Myshilda.

On Christmas night, fabulous transformations begin, thanks to which the Nutcracker comes to life and enters into battle with mice. In this battle, Marichen’s animated toys also help him. And so happy ending– The Nutcracker kills the Mouse King, thereby dispelling the evil spell. And Marikhen, who fell in love with the ugly toy, sees in front of her a disenchanted prince. He invites her to his country, where he declares Marichen his princess.

The ballet “The Nutcracker” was first shown in St. Petersburg in December 1892, on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. Staging this fairy tale, told at Christmas, has become traditional on New Year's Eve. This performance is liked by everyone without exception, and both children and adults enjoy it.

The performance "The Nutcracker", shown for the first time in December 1892, immediately won the hearts of the audience. After all, the most famous artists were involved in this production. In addition, it was then that the tradition arose of distributing small roles in ballet among students of choreographic schools. This tradition has been preserved to this day, and not only in the Mariinsky Theater. That is why among those who attend the performance there are always friends and parents of young debutants.

We can fully explain the success of this fairy tale. After all, this is not just a fairy tale story. She teaches us selflessness and honor, the ability to stand up for ourselves, to fight injustice and evil, even if it is stronger than you and has magical powers on its side. Without being afraid to lose this battle, boldly rushing into battle - this is the only way we can win. The heroic Nutcracker teaches this to children. This immortal story, told to us by Ernst Amadeus Hoffmann and carefully transferred into the musical dimension by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, reminds adults that not everything in the world can be bought. There are also real, genuine feelings!

The history of the ballet

The libretto for the ballet was created by Marius Petipa based on the fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by Ernst Hoffmann (1816; the libretto was based on the adaptation of the fairy tale made in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas the father), but the Theater Encyclopedia erroneously names Dumas the son as the author of the adaptation.

The ballet premiered on December 6 (18), 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on the same evening as the opera Iolanta. The roles of Clara and Fritz were performed by children studying at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School, which both graduated only a few years later in 1899. The part of Clara was performed by Stanislava Belinskaya, Fritz by Vasily Stukolkin. Other performers: Nutcracker - S. Legat, Sugar Plum Fairy - A. Del-Era, Prince Whooping Cough - P. Gerdt, Drosselmeyer - T. Stukolkin, Niece Marianna - L. Rubtsova; choreographer L. Ivanov, conductor R. Drigo, designers M. Bocharov and K. Ivanov, costumes - I. Vsevolozhsky and E. Ponomarev.

Characters:

Some interesting facts related to this ballet:

• a total of 57 people work behind the scenes to set up the scenery and change costumes throughout the performance;
• During each performance of the play, 150 different costumes are shown on stage;
• between 600 and 700 lighting fixtures are used to illuminate the performance;
• The Sugar Plum Fairy performer's tutu contains 7 layers of tulle;
• the Christmas tree on stage is 16.4 meters high and weighs 1 ton;
• Dewdrop's costume is decorated with 65 dew crystals;
• the orchestra consists of 62 musicians;
• the “coffee dance” music is based on a Georgian lullaby;
• during the snowflake dance performance, about 20 kg of confetti pours onto the stage;
• the orchestra consists of 62 musicians.