Everything you wanted to know about the ballet “The Nutcracker”. The Nutcracker - the history of the creation of the brilliant ballet Ballet the Nutcracker summary characters

In my understanding, the New Year is my native Omsk, where there is a lot of fluffy, snow-white snow, real Siberian jellied meat in every kitchen, an ice skating rink, after which you run to the nearest coffee shop, warm up with something tasty and very hot, watching from the window sparkling with multi-colored lights. children running with sleds towards the city Christmas tree and, of course, a traditional trip to the musical theater to see Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s fairy-tale ballet “The Nutcracker”. People in Omsk love to celebrate the New Year and love to go to the theater. I have been to different cities of our country, but the way they applaud in Omsk, they don’t applaud anywhere else. If Feodosia is a city of museums, then Omsk is a real city of theaters.

Omsk Musical Theater

I have always been interested in how composers write music for ballet. In particular, I have always been interested in why Tchaikovsky decided to write the ballet “The Nutcracker”, the action of which takes place in one of the German principalities in the era of Hoffmann, namely in the fairy-tale town of Confiturenburg. One day, Pyotr Ilyich received an order from the management of the Imperial Theaters for a one-act opera and a two-act ballet to be staged in one evening. Tchaikovsky chose the work of the Danish writer H. Hertz “King René’s Daughter” (“Iolanta”) for the opera, and the famous fairy tale by Hoffmann “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” for the ballet. This fairy tale was taken in a French retelling, which was made by A. Dumas, his father, and was called “The Story of the Nutcracker.”

First, Tchaikovsky outlined the plot of “The Nutcracker” in writing and only then began working with the great choreographer Marius Petipa, who made a detailed plan - an order and a choreographer’s exposition. By that time, Petipa had served Russia for more than forty years and staged more than one performance. The renowned master gave Tchaikovsky detailed recommendations and advice on what the music should be for this magical and winter fairy tale. In 1891, Tchaikovsky traveled to the United States for the grand opening of Carnegie Hall, but he continued to compose music even while he was on the boat. Realizing that he does not meet the deadline, he sends a letter from Paris with a request to postpone the premieres of “The Nutcracker” and “Iolanta” to the next season. The work became more active when Pyotr Ilyich returned from his trip. The ballet was completed during January and February 1892. One of the symphony orchestras of the Russian Musical Society performed suites from the music for the ballet “The Nutcracker” under the baton of the composer himself. Six numbers were performed, five of which were repeated at the request of the public - it was a resounding success.

The production of the ballet will be completed by the second choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater L. Ivanov, according to the exact scenarios and instructions of the seriously ill Petipa. Lev Ivanovich Ivanov choreographed the Polovtsian dances in Borodin’s “Prince Igor” and the dances in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera-ballet “Mlada.” Rehearsals for The Nutcracker began at the end of September 1892, and the premiere took place on December 18. Surprisingly, the criticism was varied, both positive and sharply negative. However, no criticism prevented the ballet from remaining in the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater for more than thirty years. In 1923, the ballet was restored by choreographer F. Lopukhov. In 1929 he created a new choreographic version of the performance. What has changed? Initially, the heroine of the ballet was called Clara, but in the Soviet years they began to call her Masha. (Marie at Dumas). Later, productions of “The Nutcracker” on different stages of the country were carried out by different choreographers.

Why do we love The Nutcracker so much on New Year's Eve? It all starts with Christmas Eve in the Silberghaus house, when guests gather for the holiday. Clara, Fritz and their little guests enter the hall. The center of attention of absolutely everyone is the fluffy and elegant Christmas tree. The clock strikes midnight, and with its last strike, Clara’s godfather, the mysterious Drosselmeyer, appears, who brings huge mechanical dolls as a gift to the children - the Cantante, the Soldier, the Harlequin and Columbine. Zilbergaus, fearing that the children will spoil the gifts, orders them to be taken to his office. The children are terribly upset and Drosselmeyer, to console them, takes out a strange toy from his pocket - a funny little Nutcracker and shows him gnawing nuts. Fritz forces the Nutcracker to crack the hardest nuts, and the Nutcracker's jaw breaks. Then the irritated Fritz throws the toy on the floor, but Klara picks him up, rocks him to sleep, puts him on the bed of his favorite doll and wraps him in a warm blanket. Zilberghaus orders the furniture to be taken out of the living room, and the ball begins.

At the end of the celebration, the children are sent to bed, and the guests and hosts disperse. Soft moonlight penetrates the window of the empty hall, and fluffy snow flakes slowly fall outside the window. Clara can't sleep. She is worried about the Nutcracker. Suddenly, rustling, running and scratching are heard. The girl gets scared and 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, waving the skirts of his caftan like wings. Small lights flicker on all sides as mice fill the room. Clara runs to the Nutcracker's crib. But suddenly, the tree begins to grow and becomes huge, the dolls come to life and run around in fear. The gingerbread soldiers line up and the battle with the mice begins. The Nutcracker, rising from bed, orders the alarm to be sounded. Boxes with tin soldiers are opened, the Nutcracker army is formed into a battle square. The mouse army attacks, but the soldiers bravely resist the onslaught, and the mice retreat. Then the treacherous Mouse King enters the duel. He wants 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. This is where the real New Year's magic begins, because the hall turns into a real winter forest. Snow falls in large flakes and a real blizzard arises. Snowflakes, driven by the wind, dance. In the fairy-tale city of Confiturenburg, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Whooping Cough are already awaiting the arrival of Clara and Prince Nutcracker in the Palace of Sweets. In a boat made of a gilded shell, Clara and the Nutcracker sail to the palace, where everything is prepared for the upcoming celebration. A beautiful holiday begins, in which the mistress of sweets herself, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mother Zhigon and other fairy-tale characters take part.

"The Nutcracker" is the composer's last ballet. Here, Tchaikovsky turns to a theme that has already “sounded” in “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty” - this is the theme of overcoming evil spells with the powerful power of love. In The Nutcracker, the music is enriched with all kinds of expressive means. In this ballet there is an amazing fusion of visual and expressive, theatrical and psychological. The music very subtly embodies everything that happens on stage: the growth of the Christmas tree, the shouts of the sentry, the beating of drums, toy fanfares, the squeaking of mice and the wonderful transformation of the Nutcracker. When shiny and light snowflakes dance, the music magically conveys the feeling of cold, the play of moonlight and the feelings of the heroine, who suddenly found herself in a mysterious and fairy-tale world. In the second act, various dances are performed: the dance of chocolate, coffee, tea (a brightly characteristic Chinese dance, full of comic effects), as well as a lively, folk-inspired Russian trepak, an elegant and stylized dance of shepherdesses, and the comic dance of Mother Zhigon. Of course, the pinnacle of the divertissement is the famous Waltz of the 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, which gives goosebumps, is the adagio, which was originally staged for the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince, now for Clara and the Nutcracker.

Russian ballet and Russian composers are, of course, the golden calling card of our country. It will forever remain a mystery to us how Tchaikovsky heard all this majestic music, what exactly inspired him to write it, and what feelings he experienced when he created his immortal masterpieces. Pyotr Ilyich was a brilliant composer and left us a huge and wonderful musical heritage. Unfortunately, in Feodosia there is not yet a theater where it would be possible to stage ballets and host artists from other theaters in our country. But we hope that this situation will change in the near future. It is very important for all of us, and especially our children, to listen to the music of great Russian and foreign composers. As for ballet, it is a separate, magical world where the grace of dance is subtly intertwined with the beauty of the soul, its pain and joy. It's just extraordinarily beautiful. This is art, this is our culture, without which we cannot have a decent future. Today, all Feodosians have the opportunity to touch the work of the great composer by coming to a concert dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Ilyich.

On the twenty-fourth of December, Fritz and Marie, the children of medical adviser Stahlbaum, are sitting in the bedroom waiting for Christmas gifts, installed along with the Christmas tree in the hallway. The girl is looking forward to a wonderful present from her godfather, senior court adviser Drosselmeyer, who every year makes another unusual toy, but understands that gifts from mom and dad are better, since they are not taken away immediately after the holiday. Older sister Louise assures the little ones that the Christ Child will make sure that they are given the most desired toys.

Present

Under a large, magnificently decorated Christmas tree, Marie finds many elegant dolls, toy dishes and a silk dress. Fritz receives a new bay horse and a squadron of hussars for Christmas. Godfather Drosselmeyer gives the children a wonderful castle with moving gentlemen, ladies and a small senior court adviser. Children watch the toy for a while, but then they get bored with it.

Favorite

Marie notices under the tree a modestly standing, dandy-looking little man, bought by his father for cracking nuts. She takes him under her wing, putting the smallest nuts in his mouth. Fritz, on the contrary, forces the Nutcracker to crack only hard and large nuts, which leads to the loss of three teeth and the lower jaw of the toy to sag. Marie hides the patient from Fritz in her handkerchief. The father forbids the boy to touch the Nutcracker. The girl ties up the Nutcracker's injured jaw with a white ribbon from her dress and cradles the wounded man all evening.

Miracles

In the doll's room, on the bottom shelf of the glass cabinet in the living room, Marie is having a tea party with a new doll named Clerchen. When her parents and Fritz go to bed, she asks the new toy to give way in bed to the sick Nutcracker. At twelve, quiet whispering begins in the living room. The wall clock wheezes. Marie sees godfather Drosselmeyer instead of an owl. Mice appear in the room. The Mouse King emerges from under the floor - a huge mouse with seven heads, each of which is decorated with a small luminous crown. The mouse army is moving towards the girl clinging to the glass cabinet. Marie breaks the door with her left elbow. Mice run into holes. The closet begins to glow. Vanity begins in it. The Nutcracker calls on his faithful followers to fight the mice. Clerchen catches him in her arms and asks him to refrain from fighting until he is completely recovered. The Nutcracker refuses the sash offered by the doll, pointing to the ribbon given to him by Marie.

Battle

The Nutcracker orders the drummer to beat the general advance. Fritz's troops set out on a campaign. Pantalone is appointed general. The mice suffer losses from sugar jelly beans and round gingerbread cookies and fire silver pills at the enemy. As they begin to gain victory, Nutcracker commands a retreat on the right flank. The left flank, consisting of surprise dolls, also begins to suffer losses over time. The reserve of gnomes quickly surrenders - the mice gnaw their legs. Klerchen and Trudchen faint. When two enemy archers cling to the Nutcracker's cloak, and the Mouse King aims his seven heads at him, Marie takes off the shoe from her left foot and throws it at the latter. The mice run away. The girl loses consciousness.

Disease

Marie comes to her senses in bed. The room is flooded with bright sunshine. The girl finds surgeon Wendelstern next to her. Mom scolds Marie for her self-will and talks about how she found her, bleeding, at midnight among scattered toys, with the Nutcracker in her left hand and without one shoe. The medical adviser and surgeon Wendelstern consider the girl's story about the battle between mice and toy soldiers to be a fever caused by a wound.

Marie spends several days in bed. Mom reads fairy tales to her in the evenings. One day, godfather Drosselmeyer visits the girl. Marie accuses him of being an owl, turning off the clock and calling the Mouse King into the living room. The senior court adviser sings the watchmaker's song to the goddaughter and gives the cured Nutcracker. He asks Marie not to worry about the mice and offers to tell her a story.

The Tale of the Hard Nut

Little Princess Pirlipat was a very beautiful girl - the favorite of her parents and the entire royal court. By order of the queen, the baby's cradle was guarded by six nannies with cats, who were ordered to pet them all night long so that they would purr. Once a holiday was held in the palace with tournaments, feasts and balls, to which all the surrounding kings and princes gathered. The Queen personally began making sausages, the king’s favorite delicacy. Myshilda, who lived in the palace, asked her for some salsa. The queen agreed to treat her “sister” by rank, but the mouse brought with her numerous relatives, who almost ate all the lard. The Chief Chamberlain drove away the uninvited guests. At the sausage feast, the king, who did not find enough lard in the sausage, fell into depression. The Queen threw herself at his feet and told him about Myshilda. The king decided to take revenge: he took the queen of mice from her possessions and ordered the court wizard and watchmaker Drosselmeyer to find a way to finally expel the impudent creature from the palace. The latter came up with skillful machines, which caught Myshilda’s seven sons and numerous relatives. The queen of mice left the palace in grief, but not before threatening to bite the princess to death.

Continuation of the tale of the hard nut

One night, when all the nannies and cats fell asleep, Myshilda turned the beautiful princess into an ugly one. Drosselmeyer was ordered to return Pirlipat to its previous appearance within a month. Together with his friend, the court astrologer, he found out that this could be done using the kernel of the Krakatuk nut, which should be presented to the princess in a special way - by a young man who had never shaved or worn boots.

The end of the tale of the hard nut

Drosselmeyer and the astrologer traveled around the world for fifteen years in search of the Kratkatuk nut. Longing for their native Nuremberg, they returned home. Drosselmeyer's cousin, toy maker Christoph Zacharius, discovered the required item in his workshop. His son Handsome Nutcracker cast a spell on Princess Pirlipat, but on the seventh step he tripped over Myshilda and turned into an ugly toy. Pirlipat refused to marry the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer and the astrologer were expelled from Nuremberg.

Uncle and nephew

Marie takes the tale told by her godfather seriously.

Victory

The Mouse King blackmails Marie. First, the girl gives him her jelly beans and marzipan, then some pretty sugar dolls. Fritz offers to take the baker's cat for the night, and his father suggests setting up a mousetrap. The Mouse King demands picture books and a new Christmas dress from Marie. The girl complains to the Nutcracker that soon she will have nothing to give to the blackmailer except herself. The toy comes to life, asks you to get her a saber and not worry about anything. The next night, the Nutcracker kills the Mouse King and presents Marie with seven golden crowns.

Puppet kingdom

The Nutcracker promises to show Marie many wonders. He leads the girl to an old wardrobe. Following her father's fox fur coat, she ends up in Candy Meadow. Through the Almond and Raisin Gate, through the Christmas Forest with sugar shepherdesses and shepherdesses, along the Orange Creek, which flows into the Lemonade River, flowing into the Almond Milk Lake, past the Gingerbread Village, located near the Honey River, through Confetenhausen, Marie and the Nutcracker come to the Pink Lake.

Capital

Through the Candied Grove the heroes find themselves in Confetenburg. In the Marzipan Castle, Marie is received by four beautiful princesses. The girl helps the Nutcracker's sisters pound caramels in a golden mortar and falls asleep.

Conclusion

Parents laugh at their daughter's dream. As proof of her rightness, Marie shows the seven crowns of the Mouse King. Parents scold their daughter and ask her to tell her where she got them? Godfather Drosselmeyer helps the girl out, saying that this is his gift for her second birthday. One day, Marie admits to her godfather that she would never have rejected the Nutcracker because of his ugliness. There is a crash. The girl falls from the chair. Drosselmeyer's nephew appears at the Stahlbaums' house. He proposes to Marie and a year later takes her to the Doll Kingdom.

Prologue

On Christmas Eve, medical adviser Stahlbaum gathers guests at his house. The owner himself and his wife with their children, Marie and Franz, warmly welcome those who come to the holiday.

ACT ONE

In a cozy home, everything is ready for the holiday. Children are looking forward to Christmas gifts. The Christmas tree lit up with colorful lights, and adults and children began dancing. Parents give gifts to children. Suddenly a masked stranger appears on the threshold of the living room. He takes it off, and everyone recognizes the good Drrosselmeyer, Marie’s godfather. Drrosselmeyer performs magic tricks and then takes out the Nutcracker and begins to talk about the history of this doll.

The fairy tale is over, everyone applauds Drrosselmeyer. Marie asks to give her the Nutcracker. At this moment, Franz takes the doll away and breaks it. Drrosselmeyer drives away the obnoxious boy, repairs the Nutcracker and gives it to Marie.

The festive evening ends, the last dance is performed - the Grossvater. The guests leave. The Christmas tree goes out. Marie sneaks into the empty living room to take another look at the Nutcracker, who remains under the tree. As the clock strikes, as if by magic, Drosselmeyer appears.

Everything around begins to transform: the Christmas tree grows, and with it the room turns into a huge hall. The Nutcracker and toys also grow larger and come to life. Suddenly mice, led by the Mouse King, appear in the room. They are opposed by the brave Nutcracker with a small army of Christmas tree decorations. The battle begins: The Nutcracker bravely fights the mouse army, but the forces are not equal. A little more... and the Mouse King will gain the upper hand. Drrosselmeyer hands Marie a burning candle, which she, in despair, throws at the Mouse King. At this time, the Nutcracker managed to free himself. He pierces the Mouse King with his saber, and the remnants of the “gray” army flee in panic to their holes. The enemy is defeated. The spell has broken: Marie sees the handsome Prince in front of her.

Holding hands, Marie and the Prince join the magical round dance of snowflakes and rush through the starry sky to the Prince’s kingdom.

ACT TWO

Marie and the Prince admire the starry sky. Drrosselmeyer follows them relentlessly. The magic ball on which they fly lands in front of the walls of the fairy-tale city. Drrosselmeyer goes to the castle gates and opens them with a magic key, then disappears unnoticed. Marie and the Prince enter the throne room. They are met by the King, Queen and a ceremonial retinue. Residents of the magical city present gifts and organize an extraordinary celebration, at the end of which Marie and the Prince dance.

Epilogue

Suddenly the figure of Drrosselmeyer appears... Everything froze: the castle walls disappear, the living room of the Stahlbaums’ house appears. In the corner of the room is a sleeping Marie with a Nutcracker doll. Waking up, the girl sees Drrosselmeyer. She runs up to him to thank him for the wonderful Christmas story.

December 24, house of medical adviser Stahlbaum. Everyone is preparing for Christmas, and the children - Fritz and Marie - are guessing what the inventor and artist godfather, senior court adviser Drosselmeyer, who often repaired the clock in the Stahlbaums' house, will give them as a gift this time. Marie dreamed of a garden and a lake with swans, and Fritz said that he preferred gifts from his parents that he could play with (the godfather’s toys were usually kept away from children so that they wouldn’t break them), but the godfather couldn’t make a whole garden.

In the evening, the children were allowed to see the beautiful Christmas tree, near and on which there were gifts: new dolls, dresses, hussars, etc. The godfather made a wonderful castle, but the dolls dancing in it performed the same movements, and it was impossible to get inside the castle, so The children quickly became tired of the miracle of technology - only the mother became interested in the complex mechanism. When all the gifts were sorted out, Marie saw the Nutcracker. The ugly-looking doll seemed very cute to the girl. Fritz quickly broke a couple of the Nutcracker's teeth, trying to crack the hard nuts, and Marie began to take care of the toy. At night, the children put their toys in a glass cabinet. Marie lingered at the closet, accommodating her charge with all the comforts, and became a participant in the battle between the seven-headed mouse king and the army of dolls led by the Nutcracker. The dolls surrendered under the pressure of the mice, and when the mouse king had already approached the Nutcracker, Marie threw her shoe at him...

The girl woke up in bed with her elbow cut by broken cabinet glass. No one believed her story about the night's incident. The godfather brought the repaired Nutcracker and told a fairy tale about a hard nut: the king and queen gave birth to the beautiful princess Pirlipat, but Queen Myshilda, avenging the relatives killed by the mousetraps of the court watchmaker Drosselmeyer (they ate the lard intended for the royal sausages), turned the beauty into a freak. Now only the cracking of nuts could calm her down. Drosselmeyer, under penalty of death, with the help of the court astrologer, calculated the princess's horoscope - the Krakatuk nut, split by the young man using a special method, will help her regain her beauty. The king sent Drosselmeyer and the astrologer in search of salvation; both the nut and the young man (the watchmaker's nephew) were found with Drosselmeyer's brother in his hometown. Many princes broke their teeth over Krakatuk, and when the king promised to marry his daughter to the savior, his nephew stepped forward. He cracked the nut and the princess, having eaten it, became a beauty, but the young man could not complete the whole ritual, because Myshilda threw herself at his feet... The mouse died, but the guy turned into the Nutcracker. The king expelled Drosselmeier, his nephew and astrologer. However, the latter predicted that the Nutcracker would be a prince and the ugliness would disappear if he defeated the mouse king and a beautiful girl fell in love with him.

A week later, Marie recovered and began to reproach Drosselmeyer for not helping the Nutcracker. He replied that only she could help, because she ruled the kingdom of light. The Mouse King got into the habit of extorting Marie for her sweets in exchange for the safety of the Nutcracker. The parents were alarmed that there were mice. When he demanded her books and dresses, she took the Nutcracker in her arms and sobbed - she was ready to give everything, but when there was nothing left, the mouse king would want to kill her herself. The Nutcracker came to life and promised to take care of everything if he got the saber - Fritz, who had recently dismissed the colonel (and punished the hussars for cowardice during the battle), helped with this. At night, the Nutcracker came to Marie with a bloody saber, a candle and 7 golden crowns. Having given the trophies to the girl, he led her to his kingdom - the Land of Fairy Tales, where they got through her father's fox fur coat. While helping the Nutcracker's sisters with housework, offering to crush caramel in a golden mortar, Marie suddenly woke up in her bed.

Of course, none of the adults believed her story. About the crowns, Drosselmeyer said that this was his gift to Marie for her second birthday and refused to recognize the Nutcracker as his nephew (the toy stood in its place in the closet). Dad threatened to throw away all the dolls, and Marie did not dare to stutter about her story. But one day Drosselmeyer’s nephew appeared on the threshold of their house, who privately admitted to Marie that he had ceased to be the Nutcracker, and made an offer to share the crown and throne of Marzipan Castle with him. They say she is still the queen there.

Ballet extravaganza in two acts and three scenes

The two-act ballet “The Nutcracker” was commissioned from Tchaikovsky by the directorate of the imperial theaters at the beginning of 1891. Soon the composer received from Petipa a written detailed program for The Nutcracker. And on February 25, Tchaikovsky already reported in one of his letters that he was working on the ballet “with all his might.” and in January-February 1892 the ballet was already ready and fully instrumented .

The music of “The Nutcracker” was first performed on March 7, 1892 at one of the St. Petersburg symphony concerts of the Russian Musical Society (RMS). According to the composer’s brother, “the success of the new work was great. Of the six numbers in the suite, five were repeated at the unanimous request of the public.”

The theatrical premiere of the ballet, which took place on December 6, 1892 in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, was also a success. The director of The Nutcracker was D. Ivanov, who replaced the seriously ill M. Petipa at the beginning of work on the play. The scenery of the first act belonged to K. M. Ivanov, the second - to academician of painting M. I. Bocharov. The costumes were prepared according to the sketches of I. A. Vsevolozhsky. The day after the premiere, the composer wrote to his brother: “Dear Tolya, the opera and ballet were a great success yesterday. Everyone especially liked the opera... The staging of both is magnificent, and in the ballet it is even too magnificent - the eyes get tired of this luxury.” But press reviews were far from unanimous. Among the statements about music, along with the most enthusiastic ones, there were also the following: “The Nutcracker” “did not bring anything except boredom”, “its music is far from what is required for ballet” (“Petersburgskaya Gazeta”).

The libretto of “The Nutcracker” was composed by M. Petipa based on the famous fairy tale by E. T. Hoffmann “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (from the series “Serapion’s Brothers”) in the French adaptation by A. Dumas. The libretto falls into two very separate parts, different in style and artistic merit. The first act - children's scenes in Zilbergaus's house - is organically connected with the world of Hoffmann's fairy tales, full of originality and subtle theatricality. The second act - “the kingdom of sweets” - bears a noticeable stamp of the obsessive “luxurious” spectacle of old ballets, violating the modesty and fairy-tale conventions of the narrative of the last chapters of “The Nutcracker” (“The Puppet Kingdom”, “Capital”). And only the richness and imaginative content of Tchaikovsky’s music make it possible to forget about the spectacular excesses of this action. As B. Asafiev correctly noted, the composer here overcame the traditional ballet “ trifle“, because wherever possible, “he smuggled in the line of symphonic development.” (B.V. Asafiev. Selected works, vol. IV. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, M., 1955, p. 107).

In its general ideological meaning, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” has much in common with his other ballets: here is the same basic motive of overcoming “evil spells” with the victorious power of love and humanity. The evil, hostile to man, is personified in the images of the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer, the owl on the clock and the mouse kingdom. They are contrasted with the world of a child's soul - still timid, fearful, but precisely because of this it is especially touching in its cordiality and instinctive desire for good. Clara's tender devotion defeats Drosselmeyer's witchcraft, frees the beautiful young Nutcracker from captivity, and affirms light and joy.

The second act of the ballet is a final festive divertissement that has grown to grandiose proportions. Its main part is a motley gallery of characteristic dances, where Tchaikovsky’s inexhaustible imagination and brilliant skill were revealed. Each of the characteristic miniatures of this suite is a new, unique find in the field of instrumentation. The “sultry” and languid sound of the strings in the oriental dance, the piercing whistling melody of the piccolo flute in the toy “Chinese” dance, the melting crystal chords of the celesta in the variation of the Sugar Plum Fairy - all this makes up the unique originality and special charm of the Nutcracker score.

The composer's concern was the invention of special timbre effects that could convey all the fabulous originality of the second act of the ballet. In this regard, apparently, he drew attention to the then recently invented celesta. Tchaikovsky was one of the first to introduce the transparent, “melting”, truly magical sound of the celesta into the symphony orchestra. In The Nutcracker, along with the celesta, other timbres and timbre combinations also play an important role (in particular, the choir of children’s voices in the Waltz of the Snowflakes), creating the impression of fairy-tale enchantment. The children's musical instruments used by Tchaikovsky in the scenes of the sick Nutcracker rocking to sleep (lullaby from No. 5) and the battle of mice with tin soldiers (No. 7) add a characteristic flavor.

Among the colorful divertissement miniatures of the second act of the ballet, “Waltz of the Flowers” ​​and “Pas de deux” stand out for their monumentality. Both are among the outstanding examples of great symphonized Tchaikovsky's dance. In both, enormous emotionality clearly does not fit within the framework of the plot and “overwhelms” them like a stormy stream. This is especially felt in the music “Pas de deux"with its powerful and majestic major in the extreme parts and a flash of sorrow in the middle episode.

The score of “The Nutcracker” entered musical culture as one of the most precious pages of Tchaikovsky’s legacy. Here, with classical clarity and completeness, the best features of his musical dramaturgy and his mature symphonic art were combined.

Characters:

President Zilbergauz

Clara [Marie], Fritz - their children

Marianna, niece of the President

Councilor Drosselmeyer, godfather of Clara and Fritz

Nutcracker

Sugar Plum Fairy, mistress of sweets

Prince Whooping Cough [Orshad]

Majordomo

Columbine

Mother Zhigon

Mouse King

Relatives, guests, costumed children, servants, mice, dolls, bunnies, toys, soldiers, gnomes, snowflakes, fairies, sweets, moors, pages, princesses - the Nutcracker's sisters, clowns, flowers and others.

The music of the overture immediately introduces the listener to the world of images of The Nutcracker. The drama plays out among children and dolls. Everything here is miniature, mobile, naively graceful, everything is childlike, concrete, there is a lot of cheerful and crafty play and toy mechanicalness. A presentation of two themes and a modestly varied repetition of them (exposition and reprise) - this is the laconic form of the overture, corresponding to the general expressive, precise and concise style of the children's scenes of The Nutcracker.

The first theme is a fast, light march, later decorated with transparent variation patterns. The second theme is more melodious and freely lyrical. Its relationship with the first is felt as an expressive contrast between “action” and an ardent childhood dream.

Act one

Scene I. Living room in the Zilberghaus house.

Scene of preparation for a children's party. The owners of the house and guests decorate the Christmas tree. Servants serve food. New guests arrive all the time, and the excitement intensifies. It strikes nine. With each strike, the owl on the clock flaps its wings. The music at the beginning of the scene conveys a cheerful and cozy atmosphere of a home holiday. The theme of the striking clock sounds with mysterious chords and fancy bass clarinet moves.

Finally, the tree is decorated and lit. Children run in in a noisy crowd. They stop, admiring the decorations and bright lights. The owner of the house orders marches to be played and begins distributing gifts.

The procession of young guests receiving gifts is accompanied by the characteristic music of the “children's march”. Here, as in the overture, one can feel the miniature and elastic lightness of children's movements, naive seriousness and boyish enthusiasm. After the gifts are distributed, the dancing begins.

A short gallop of children is followed by a slow dance in the movement of a minuet: the entrance of smartly dressed guest parents. After this, a lively dance Allegro is performed in tarantella rhythm.

A new guest appears in the hall - Councilor Drosselmeyer. He instills fear in children. At this moment the clock strikes again and the owl flaps its wings. The children huddle close to their parents in fear, but the sight of the toys that the guest brought gradually calms them down.

The mysterious guest orders two boxes to be brought: from one he takes out a large head of cabbage - this is a gift for Clara, from the other - a large pie, this is for Fritz. The kids and the adults look at each other in surprise. Drosselmeyer, smiling, orders both gifts to be placed in front of him. He starts the mechanisms, and to the great surprise of the children, a doll comes out of the cabbage, and a soldier comes out of the pie. The animated toys are dancing.

The new wind-up dolls perform a “devil dance” with music that is bizarrely edgy and a little mysterious.

The children are delighted; Clara and Fritz want to take possession of the new toys, but Zilberghaus, fearing for the integrity of the expensive gifts, orders them to be taken away. To console the children, Drosselmeyer gives them a new funny toy - the Nutcracker: they can play with it.

The waltz-like music of the first part of the scene is replaced by a graceful polka, illustrating the game with a new doll. Drosselmeyer shows how the Nutcracker deftly cracks nuts. Clara especially likes the new toy; she feels pity and tenderness for the clumsy Nutcracker, she would like to take him and not give him to anyone. But the parents explain that the doll does not belong to her alone. Clara watches in horror as Fritz stuffs a large nut into the Nutcracker's mouth and the poor wooden doll's teeth break with a crash. Fritz throws the toy with a laugh. Clara picks up her pet and tries to console him.

Now the polka music (its chorus) loses its playful dance character and becomes childishly plaintive and heartfelt.

The girl rocks the sick Nutcracker to sleep, singing him a gentle lullaby, and mischievous Fritz and the boys continually interrupt her with the noise of drums and trumpets. The ensemble playing on stage includes children's trumpets and drums. The note to the score says: “In addition to these two instruments, children in this place, as well as in the next, similar one, can make noise through other instruments used in children's symphonies, such as cuckoos, quails, cymbals, etc. ." (P.I. Tchaikovsky. Complete collected works. vol. 13 (a), p. 131). This scene is accompanied by light and fragilely transparent lullaby music.

The owner invites the guest parents to dance. The old, rather heavy German dance “Grossvater” follows.

It's time for the children to go to bed. Clara asks permission to take the sick Nutcracker with her, but she is refused. She carefully wraps her favorite doll and sadly leaves. The theme of Clara’s lullaby sounds in calm and affectionately “sleepy” music.

The empty room is illuminated by moonlight pouring from the window. Everyone in the house has already settled down, but Clara wants to take another look at the sick Nutcracker and quietly makes her way into the living room. She's scared. She carefully approaches the doll's bed, from which, as it seems to her, a fantastic light is emanating. Midnight strikes, and the girl notices that the clock has turned into Advisor Drosselmeyer, who is looking at her mockingly. She hears mice scratching, and now the whole room is filled with mouse rustles and fussy running. Clara wants to take the Nutcracker with her and run, but her fear is too great, and she sinks helplessly into a chair. Night ghosts instantly disappear. The music of Clara’s night wanderings is acutely disturbing and ghostly, like vague visions flashing in a dream. It depicts the unfaithful reflections of moonlight trembling on the floor, and the strange transformation of an owl into a magician (Drosselmeyer's theme in a new, bizarre version), and the alarmingly fussy fuss of mice.

The moon, which had disappeared, illuminates again room. It seems to Clara that the tree is gradually beginning to grow and becomes huge, and the dolls on the tree come to life. In the music of this scene there is a grandiose rise in sonority, clearly illustrating Clara’s vision. At the same time, this is an expression of feelings, at first timid and mournful, like a passionate plea for freedom, then more and more blossoming and bright. The main theme of this episode develops in the form of “steps” rising to an infinite height.

Scene. War of toys and mice. The soldier sentry calls out: “Who’s coming?” Having heard no answer, he shoots. The dolls are scared. The sentry wakes up the drummer hares, and they sound the alarm. Gingerbread soldiers appear and line up in ranks. There is revival in the mouse army. The first battle begins. The mice win and greedily eat the gingerbread soldiers. Then the Nutcracker, despite his wounds, gets out of bed and convenes his old guard: tin soldiers come out of the boxes and form into regular squares. The Mouse King himself becomes the head of the enemy army. The second battle begins. This time the mice's attacks are unsuccessful. Their king enters into single combat with the Nutcracker and is ready to kill him, but at that moment Clara throws a shoe at the Mouse King, and the Nutcracker, taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion, plunges his sword into him. The mouse army scatters in fear. The Nutcracker turns into a handsome young prince. He kneels before Clara and invites her to follow him.

The music of this scene depicts all the vicissitudes of the toy war. There is a shout and a shot from a sentry, a combat alarm from the drummers (the drum roll is performed on two tamburiconglii- a children's percussion instrument - “rabbit drum”), and then the battle itself begins, where the sounds of toy fanfares are intertwined with the squeaking of mice.

After the first attack, the music expressively conveys the battle calls of the Nutcracker and the appearance of the terrible king of mice at the head of the enemy army. This is followed by a second battle, even more exciting, but ending suddenly. The bright ending depicts the wonderful transformation of the Nutcracker into a prince.

Dwarfs with torches line up under the trees. They greet Clara and the handsome young man accompanying her. The music of the light Andante sounds, reminiscent of the gradual increase in sound power and brightness of colors of the episode of Clara’s “vision” from the previous picture.

Large flakes of snow are falling. A whirlwind arises and the snowflakes spin quickly. Gradually the snowstorm subsides, the light of the moon sparkles on the snow. In this episode, danceability is combined with bright pictures: the music depicts a light and slightly ghostly whirling of snowflakes in the diffused light of the moon. At the same time, this is also a “mood picture”, where the anxiety and charm of Clara’s magical dream are expressed. The main, restlessly flickering theme of the waltz is remarkable.

The middle part of the waltz is brightly contrasting. The gloom of the anxious night suddenly dissipates, and the wonderful bright singing of children's voices sounds (the choir is behind the stage).

The choir's melody is repeated several times and is accompanied by fantastically colorful variations from the orchestra. The color of the music constantly brightens and reaches an extremely airy sonority in the last variation with the crystal ringing of a triangle. The waltz ends with a widely developed coda, where the main theme runs through the racing rhythm of the gallop.

Act two

The beginning of the action is preceded by a symphonic introduction. Festive music shimmers with a rainbow play of colors and airy flowing passages of harps and celestas. The development of this music, increasingly brighter and sparkling, is illustrated by the following scene.

In the fairy-tale kingdom of sweets, Prince Nutcracker and his deliverer Clara are awaiting the return. A magnificent celebration is being prepared. The Sugar Plum Fairy, her accompanying Prince Whooping Cough and her retinue leave the sugar pavilion. Fairies and various sweets bow to her, silver soldiers salute her. The mistress of the fairies asks that the guests be given a worthy welcome.

Clara and Prince Nutcracker sail along the river of pink water in a golden boat. The sound of the orchestra creates the impression of water jets sparkling in the sun. In the program that guided the composer, this scene is described as follows: “The river of rose water begins to visibly swell and on its raging surface Clara and the beneficent prince appear in a shell chariot strewn with stones, sparkling in the sun and drawn by golden dolphins with raised heads. They (dolphins) throw up columns of sparkling streams of pink moisture, falling down and shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.” Here, according to the program, “the music expands and arrives like raging streams.” Guests are greeted by little Moors in costumes made of hummingbird feathers and emerald-ruby pages with torches. They are joyfully greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her retinue, the princesses - the Nutcracker's sisters and the majordomo in a suit of gold brocade. The scene of the meeting of guests is illustrated by a new musical episode: an elegant and welcoming dance in the movement of a waltz.

The Nutcracker introduces his companion to the sisters. He talks about the battle with the mouse army and about his miraculous deliverance, which he owes only to Clara. The music of the Nutcracker story is full of passionate inspiration. In the middle part, where the events of the disturbing night are recalled, the theme of the “war of mice and soldiers” is heard again.

Trumpets signal the beginning of the celebration. At a sign from the Sugar Plum Fairy, a table with luxurious dishes appears. The majordomo orders the start of the dancing.

Bravura, brilliant dance in the Spanish style. The main theme is the solo trumpet.

Against a monotonous, barely flickering background (sustained fifths for cellos and violas), a gentle melody of the violins emerges. The composer used here the melody of the Georgian folk lullaby “Iav nana” (“Sleep, violet”), a recording of which he received from M.M. Ippolitova-Ivanova. This is the world of “sultry”, refined and bewitching lyrics of slow oriental dances. According to the librettist's definition, “sweet, enchanting music.”

While maintaining a constant bass background, the composer enriches the music with more and more colorful details and wonderful melodic patterns. In the middle part of the dance, exquisite chromaticisms and subtle vibrations of modal shades characteristic of oriental music appear. In the reprise, the combination of the main theme (in the thick vibrating voice of the strings) and the languid chromatic moves of the oboe sounds beautiful: as if a lonely voice is thoughtfully improvising on the theme of the song.

The music is unusually characteristic in its choice of timbres and presentation. The abrupt thirds of the low bassoons and against this background the piercing whistling melody of the piccolo flute with the caustic and jumping continuation of the pizzicato strings - all this creates the impression of an original comic toy. It seems as if funny porcelain figurines are dancing.

A lively, brightly temperamental dance in the Russian folk style. Towards the end it speeds up and ends with a real whirlwind of dance movement.

According to the librettist, the toy shepherdesses “dance, playing on pipes made of reeds.” A remarkable discovery of the composer is the main theme of the dance: the pastoral melody of three flutes. Its beauty is inseparable from the nature of the instrument: as if the very soul of the flute has infused this music, light and moving, like the breeze in the “ringing wells of empty reeds.”

A fast and sharply rhythmic dance of the Polichinelles, followed by a more moderate tempo comic dance of Mother Zhigon with her children crawling out from under her skirt; then a general group dance to the music of the Polichinelles.

A small man in gold brocade (majordomo) claps his hands: 36 dancers and 36 dancers dressed in flowers appear. They carry a large bouquet which they give to the bride and groom. After this, the general big waltz begins.

“Waltz of the Flowers”, along with the following “Pas de deux”, is the pinnacle of the festive divertissement of “The Nutcracker”. The waltz begins with an introduction with a large virtuoso harp cadenza. The main theme is assigned to the horns. Dominating throughout the entire waltz as an expression of its main mood - lush and solemn festivity - this theme, however, serves only as the first step in the ladder of melodic beauty that the composer’s imagination erects here. Already in the middle of the first part of the waltz, the music becomes more melodious. In the second (central) part, the composer gives us new, even broader and melodically fascinating themes: the melody of flutes and oboes (at the beginning of this part) and the continuing, lyrically rich melody of cellos. After the repetition of the first part of the waltz (reprise), there follows a conclusion where familiar themes develop, acquiring an even more lively and wildly festive character.

The scene begins with “colossal effect” (M. Petipa) Adagio. The significance of this Adagio is not only and not so much in its volume and external monumentality of sound, but in the internal emotional fullness and content, in the powerful force of symphonic development. Only thanks to these properties, Adagio dramaturgically “wins” next to the lush and, it would seem, culminating in emotionality “Waltz of the Flowers”. The first theme of Adagio is bright and triumphant. In the middle part the melody of a beautiful elegiac song sounds. This simple lyrical tune serves as the beginning of a new, richest phase of symphonic development. In the process of development, the elegiac image becomes more and more active and, at the same time, mournfully dramatic.

The theme of the first movement of Adagio runs through the harsh sound of trumpets and trombones: now it takes on a new look, reminiscent of the themes of gloomy and inexorable “sentences of fate” so typical of Tchaikovsky. The third movement of the Adagio is a repetition of the first in a new, even brighter and more elegantly festive presentation with a broad, pacifying conclusion.

The Adagio is followed by two solo variations and a general coda.

The dancer's variation is a tarantella with an imprint of soft sadness, unusual for this ebullient dance.

The ballerina's variation - Andante with a transparent, "melting" sound of celesta - is one of Tchaikovsky's most amazing coloristic discoveries. The idea of ​​this play was partly suggested by the program of Petipa, who wanted to hear “the falling of drops of water in the fountains.” Tchaikovsky's image, as always, turned out to be more psychological than pictorial. External coldness, a mysterious muted feeling, and somewhere in the depths there is tremulous excitement, anxious alertness - this is how I would like to define the complex emotional content of this lyrical miniature. In it, as in many episodes of the ballet, the richness and versatility of the concept of “The Nutcracker” are revealed: through the innocent fairy tale, the children’s idyll, the diversity of the theatrical spectacle, deep layers of the truth of life shine through - the bright dream is shaded by the first anxieties, sorrow and bitterness invade the boiling of young forces.

- all the participants in the previous scene dance.

and apotheosis. The common final dance of all participants is “fascinating and hot” (M. Petipa).

The waltz turns into serenely bright music of apotheosis, completing the entire ballet.

©Inna ASTAKHOVA

Based on materials from the book: Zhitomirsky D. Ballets by P.I. Tchaikovsky. Moscow, 1957.