Arts & EntertainmentTheater

Ballet "The Nutcracker": summary, libretto

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

History of creation

The libretto is based on a fairy tale, the author of which is ETA Hoffmann. The "Nutcracker", a brief summary of which will be presented in this article just below, is one of PI Tchaikovsky's later works. This ballet occupies a special place in the composer's work, since it is innovative.

The French writer Alexander Dumas made the arrangement of the fairy tale, in which the libretto of the ballet was created, in 1844 . The premiere show of the play was held in 1892, on December 18, at the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg. In the role of Fritz and Clara, children who studied at the St. Petersburg Imperial Theater School acted. The role of Clara was performed by S. Belinskaya, and the part of Fritz by V. Stukolkin.

Composer

The author of music for the ballet, as already mentioned above, is PI Tchaikovsky. He was born on April 25, 1840 in Votkinsk, a small town in the Vyatka province. He wrote more than 80 masterpieces, including ten operas (Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, The Enchantress and others), three ballets (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty), four suites, more Hundreds of romances, seven symphonies, as well as a large number of works for pianoforte. Pyotr Ilyich also conducted pedagogical activities and was a conductor. At first the composer studied law, but then he devoted himself entirely to music and in 1861 entered the Russian Musical Society (music classes), which in 1862 was transformed into a conservatory.

One of the teachers of the great composer was another great composer - A. G. Rubinshtein. PI Tchaikovsky was one of the first students of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He studied in the composition class. After graduation, he became a professor at the conservatory, which had just opened in Moscow. Since 1868 he acted as a music critic. In 1875 a textbook of harmony was published, authored by Peter Ilyich. The composer died on October 25, 1893, from cholera, which he contracted by drinking unboiled water.

Ballet Characters

The main heroine of the ballet is the girl Clara (Marie). In different editions of the ballet, it is called in different ways. In the fairy tale of ETA Hoffmann, she bears the name of Marie, and Clara is called her doll. After the First World War, the heroine began to be called Masha for patriotic reasons, and her brother Fritz was left with a German name, because he is a negative character. Stallbaums are the parents of Masha and Fritz. Drosselmeier - the godfather of the main character. The Nutcracker is a doll, an enchanted prince. Other characters - the fairy Dragee, Prince of Pertussis, Marianne - niece Stalbaumov. The Mouse King is a three-headed, the main enemy of the Nutcracker. And also relatives Shtalbaumov, guests at the holiday, toys, servants and so on.

Libretto

The famous ballet master Marius Petipa is the author of the libretto "The Nutcracker".

Summary of the first scene of the first action:

Last preparations before the Christmas holiday, vanity. The action takes place in the kitchen. Cooks and cooks prepare festive dishes, the owners come in with the children to check how the preparations are going. Fritz and Marie are trying to eat dessert, the boy is treated with candy - he is a favorite of parents, and from Marie they wave off. The action is transferred to the dressing room, where the Stalbaum spouses choose the outfits for the holiday, the children revolve next to them. Fritz receives a gift of a cocked hat, and Marie remains with nothing. A guest appears in the house - this is Drosselmeier. Thus begins the ballet The Nutcracker.

Summary of the second scene of the first action:

Dances begin. Godfather Marie brings gifts - mechanical dolls. All the toys are dismantled. Marie gets the Nutcracker, which no one has chosen. But the girl likes it, because it deftly sticks nuts, besides, she feels that he is not just a toy. The holiday is over, the guests are leaving, everyone is going to sleep, except Marie. She makes her way to the living room to see the Nutcracker again. At this time in the room dancing rats, dressed like aristocrats. 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 action:

Marie comes to herself and sees that the room has become huge, and she is now the size of a Christmas tree toy. The Nutcracker with the army of toy soldiers comes into battle with the Mouse King and his mice. Marie is frightened from hiding in her grandfather's old shoe, but to help the Nutcracker, she throws a slipper into the King of the rats. Mouse Emperor in confusion. The Nutcracker strikes him with a sword. Kind Marie feels sorry for the vanquished, and she bandages his wound. The army of rats is broken. Marie the Nutcracker takes away her fabulous trip over the night city in the old grandfather's shoe.

The summary of the fourth scene of the first action:

The Nutcracker and Marie arrive at the old cemetery. The blizzard begins, and the evil snowflakes with their Queen try to ruin Marie. Drosselmeier stops the evil blizzard. And the girl is rescued by the Nutcracker.

Summary of the first scene of the second action:

The Nutcracker brings Marie to the fabulous town of Confurutingburg. It is full of sweets and cakes. In the city live funny people who are very fond of sweets. The inhabitants of Confiturenburg dance in honor of the arrival of the dear guests. Marie enthusiastically rushes to the Nutcracker and kisses, and turns into Prince Nutcracker.

Summary of the epilogue:

The Christmas night passed, and Marie's magic dream melted. The girl and her brother are playing with the Nutcracker. Drosselmeyer comes to them, with his nephew who resembles the prince in whom the Nutcracker turned into Marie's fairy-tale dream. The girl rushes to meet him, and he embraces her.

And, of course, it's better to see the production with your own eyes. You can buy tickets for the "Nutcracker" through the service http://bolshoi-tickets.ru/events/shelkunchik/. There all the latest information about the dates of the productions. Keep an eye out for the poster!

The most significant productions

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

Similar articles

 

 

 

 

Trending Now

 

 

 

 

Newest

Copyright © 2018 en.birmiss.com. Theme powered by WordPress.