The Nutcracker by Peter Tchaikovsky

1281 Words3 Pages

Through hundreds of productions of The Nutcracker, that have thrilled several crowds, audiences have experienced the fear from oversized mice and the thrill of the Land of Sweets. Written by Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker is danced around Christmas annually. The Nutcracker was inspired by and based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novel, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (“The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet”). A girl named Clara receives a nutcracker as a Christmas present who comes to life to fight the Mouse King. Clara journeys through the Land of Sweets as audiences are mesmerized by the dancers with the extravagant, flamboyant, exaggerated, and bizarre costumes, props, and heavy make-up perform the famous piece. But why has this ballet maintained its mass appeal since its first performance in 1892? Perhaps it is because in an effort to outstage previous performances, directors continue to integrate elements of expressionism like plot distortion and stylized acting to create a fantasy world.

The Nutcracker, written by Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky in 1891, was first performed a week before Christmas in 1892 (History of the Nutcracker). Born in Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7, 1840, Tchaikovsky, the son of a mining engineer, had only occasional musical training as a youth (“Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky” 1). Around the age of twenty-one, he did serious musical study and graduated with a silver medal from the St. Petersburg Conservatory(1). He published his first orchestral works, a symphony and an opera, by 1869 (1). Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann’s libretto, Tchaikovsky wrote his best-recognized ballet, The Nutcracker (“Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky” 2).The Nutcracker lends an ironic understatement to Tchaikovsky because of the ballet’s cheerfulness and Tchaikovsk...

... middle of paper ...

...racker' Digital

image.Www.victoriaadvocate.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Ferreira, Blayne. The Impact of German Expressionist Films Upon the Modern Film Industry.

N.p.: n.p., n.d. PPT.

"German Expressionism and Its Influence on Alfred Hitchcock."Filmhistoryf13.wordpress.com.

N.p., 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.

"History of the Nutcracker." History of Nutcracker. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

Hudson, David. "German Expressionism." GreenCine | German Expressionism. N.p., n.d. Web.

10 Jan. 2014.

Josephs, Susan. “It’s Open to Interpretation.” Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 14 Dec.

2008: F.6. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.

“Peter IIych Tchaikovsky.” UXL Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L*, 2003. Student Resources in

Context. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.

"The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet." The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec.

2013.

Show More
Related

  • The Strange Case of Marlise Munoz and John Peter Smith Hospital

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    n.p.. 28 Jan. 2014. Web. The Web. The Web. 08 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Impact of Reaganomics on the American Economy

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Web. The Web. The Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Bartlett, Bruce.

    Read More

  • Batrolomeo Cristofori's Music: The Invention Of The Piano

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    While Tchaikovsky is known for his compositions of classical ballet, he was overall great as a pianist. Like most composers of music, his compositions reflected that of his feelings greatly, which helped him connect to the public and spread his music quite well. As a child, he became better than his teacher in one year, and at the age of ten went to the School of Jurisprudence and quickly completed the upper division classes. After graduating, he did four years at the Ministry of Justice, which didn’t really suite him well. Once out of the Ministry of Justice in the 1860s, he joined the Music Conservatory at the age of 22. Shortly after joining, he composed his first orchestral score in 1864. Two years later, he settled down in Moscow and started to increase his fame as a composer. In the following years he would tour around Europe and even into the United States. In 1893, six days after the premiere of his last piece he

    Read More

  • The Nutcracker: A Magical Story

    123 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Nutcracker is a magical story with many versions, including plays, ballets, stories, and movies. They might be different in ways, but the plot remains the same in all of them. In The Nutcracker, Clara, the main character, gets a nutcracker doll from her Uncle Drosselmeyer, also her godfather, her brother Fritz in some stories takes the doll and breaks it. In the end of all of them The Nutcracker turns out to be a prince, he and Clara dance in the Kingdom of Sweets, along with the sugar plum fairy, gumdrop people, and other candy people. The orgianal story

    Read More

  • Dance In The Nutcracker

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is the most famous version of the show, and it is performed every single year in New York. The leading roles, Clara and the Nutcracker, or Prince, are performed by children, which is highly unusual. Other important roles include: the Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, Coffee, Candy Cane, Drosselmeyer, and Drosselmeyer’s Nephew (“The Nutcracker (Balanchine)”). It is the dream of countless dancers to perform in The Nutcracker. The lead roles in ballets need strong technique, which is why it is abnormal for the leads to be danced by children in ballets, such as The

    Read More

  • First Ballet Experience: Ballet West's Madame Butterfly

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    On November 12, I had the incredible experience of seeing Ballet West’s Production of Madame Butterfly. I am so grateful for this experience because I was the first time I had ever seen a ballet performed. I enjoyed the evening immensely, and hope to be able to attend more ballets in the future.

    Read More

  • The Romantic Ideal: Ballet’s Supernatural

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    The stage that hosted the creation of illusion for those attending ballet after 1827 in its “golden age” (Guest, 1) introduced a new world, but one that could not be reached. These illusions were expressed through performance as “moods of Romanticism.” (5) The Romantic period of the early 19th century emphasized the alienation of an individual, the spectacle of that isolation, and the Romantic ideal that perfection remains mysterious and unattainable, as opposed to the late 18th century’s Enlightenment ideals that held rationality and tangible beings most profound. The spectacle of an estranged, supernatural being embodies these elements of Romanticism, as was represented in Romantic ballet. Coralli and Perrot’s 1841 ballet, Giselle, incorporated these Romantic elements into “each one of (the ballet’s) component parts - scenic design…choreography and dance style” (7), as well as with innovations in narrative. These narratives began to project women as powerful representations of the ethereal, supernatural being, as is specifically shown in the character of Giselle in Coralli and Perrot’s ballet. Through the novelties of Romantic visual presentation in scenery, movement, and narrative, the golden age of ballet was able to effectively “(reveal) the unattainable” (7) and supernatural.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Christmas And Opera

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Christmas and Opera did not merely seem to correlate, but understanding where the two events derived from can help one to understand the similarities and differences between them. The development of Christmas was different from the creation of opera because the working class was controlling the other social classes for profit. Whereas for opera, the different social classes unified to keep opera as entertainment and not a social event. Another difference came within the writing and context throughout the article and the presentation of information conveyed by the author. Yet the events share the similarity of both being refined and reinvented.

    Read More

  • The Nutcracker Analysis

    237 Words  | 1 Pages

    The story of the Nutcracker the protagonist is Clara. Clara is a little girl that grew up in Germany. The antagonist are Fritz, The Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy, godfather, and the mice. The story takes place on Christmas Eve in Germany. The conflict of the story is man v.s. man, but the man v.s. man is the nutcracker v.s. the mice. The rising action of the Nutcracker is when the Christmas Eve party is coming towards an end, God father arrives late and gives the children their presents. Clara got a nutcracker that looked like a soldier. Claire's brother fritz Snatched The Nutcracker right out of Clara's hands and broke it. Clara started to cry. The children went to bed and Godfather fixed the Nutcracker and then left. Clara woke

    Read More

  • Romantic Ballet

    3140 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.

    Read More

  • Mozart's The Magic Flute

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Countless dozens of Ph.D theses must be written about Mozart's The Magic Flute and yet it is so lively with elements of fantasy and free-flying imagination that it is often the first opera to which children are taken. It has a plot of such complexity that it takes several viewings for all but the most studious opera buffs to sort out the characters and follow the ins and outs of the multilevel story. At the same time it has so much easily accessible charm and so many glorious Mozart tunes that even the novice will be captivated.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    'It seems to me, my dear friend, that the music of this ballet will be one of my best creations. The subject is so poetic, so grateful for music, that 1 have worked on it with enthusiasm and written it with the warmth and enthusiasm upon which the worth of a composition always depends." - Tchaikovsky, to Nadia von Meck.

    Read More

  • My Passion, My Love, Dance

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I enter my third season with the company, I remain as grateful as ever, but attribute my success to years of hard work, dedication, and a natural eye for dance precision. Today as I prepare for our 2017 edition of the Nutcracker, I must arrive at rehearsals strong, fit, and prepared with a positive attitude. Rehearsals require endurance and focus: we practice approximately fifteen hours a week for four months to perfect the Nutcracker. I believe I have kept the sports tape industry in business by using it to prevent blisters from my pointe

    Read More

  • Gender Wage Inequality

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    N.p. 25 Oct. 2007. Web. The Web. The Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: A Career As A Dancer

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s the time of year where the Eugene Youth Ballet performs its annual Nutcracker tour. As a

    Read More

More about The Nutcracker by Peter Tchaikovsky

Open Document