This day, March 19 (1892), Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous The Nutcracker Suite from the ballet premieres in St. Petersburg. In Western countries, The Nutcracker has become perhaps the most popular of all ballets, performed primarily around Christmas time.
The Nutcracker (Russian Shchelkunchik, French Casse-Noisette) is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, Op.71, which Tchaikovsky composed in 1891-1892, choreographed by Ivanov, libretto by Petipa based on a Christmas story by E.T.A. Hoffmann's "The Nutcracker and the King of the Mice" or "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King."
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Two other prominent choreographers of this ballet are George Balanchine and Rudolf Nurevev, among others.
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An orchestral suite of eight numbers, Op.71a, was arranged by Tchaikovsky in 1892.
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The form of the music is the Suite, as we are most familiar with today. It should be noted that during the time it was first performed, the suite form was already known and extremely popular. The critics found The Nutcracker rather long, and even the composer himself considered it inferior to Sleeping Beauty.Â
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It really doesn't matter. To millions of people who love Tchaikovsky's ballets, The Nutcracker Suite has its brilliant moments. And, who can forget the famous "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from Act II? Â It's special because it features the solo tone of the celesta, an instrument that the master himself has imported all the way from Paris.
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That's right, the score of The Nutcracker Suite is significantly noted for the celesta, the instrument that Tchaikovsky already enjoyed in his lesser known symphonic ballet The Voyevoda premiered a year earlier, in 1891.
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New versions of the ballet were introduced from 1934 onwards. Today, we especially remember Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker when it was first performed more than a century ago. Perhaps you can play your CD if you have a copy.
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Interesting Links:
Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet, CD, Â amazon.com
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