''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
(""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...
with a score by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (german: Nussknacker und Mausekönig) is a Short story, story written in 1816 by Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker doll, Nutcracker, come ...
".
Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. The complete ''Nutcracker'' has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from performances of ''The Nutcracker''. The ballet's score has been used in several film adaptations of Hoffmann's story.
Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta, an instrument that the composer had already employed in his much lesser known symphonic ballad '' The Voyevoda'' (1891).
Ivan Vsevolozhsky
Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky (russian: Иван Александрович Всеволожский; 1835–1909) was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia from 1881–98 and director of the Hermitage from 1899 to his death in 190 ...
, the director of the Imperial Theatres, commissioned Tchaikovsky to compose a double-bill program featuring both an opera and a ballet. The opera would be ''
Iolanta
''Iolanta'', Op. 69, (russian: Иоланта, links=no ) is a lyric opera in one act by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It was the last opera he composed. The libretto was written by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, and is based on the Danish play ...
''. For the ballet, Tchaikovsky would again join forces with Marius Petipa, with whom he had collaborated on ''The Sleeping Beauty.'' The material Vsevolozhsky chose was an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann's story "
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (german: Nussknacker und Mausekönig) is a Short story, story written in 1816 by Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker doll, Nutcracker, come ...
", by Alexandre Dumas called "The Story of a Nutcracker".Anderson, J. (1958). ''The Nutcracker Ballet'', New York: Mayflower Books. The plot of Hoffmann's story (and Dumas' adaptation) was greatly simplified for the two-act ballet. Hoffmann's tale contains a long flashback story within its main plot titled "The Tale of the Hard Nut", which explains how the Prince was turned into the Nutcracker. This had to be excised for the ballet.Hoffmann, E. T. A., Dumas, A., Neugroschel, J. (2007). ''Nutcracker and Mouse King, and the Tale of the Nutcracker'', New York
Petipa gave Tchaikovsky extremely detailed instructions for the composition of each number, down to the tempo and number of bars. The completion of the work was interrupted for a short time when Tchaikovsky visited the United States for twenty-five days to conduct concerts for the opening of Carnegie Hall. Tchaikovsky composed parts of ''The Nutcracker'' in
Rouen, France
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population o ...
.
History
Saint Petersburg premiere
The first performance of ''The Nutcracker'' was not deemed a success. The reaction to the dancers themselves was ambivalent. While some critics praised Dell'Era on her pointework as the Sugar Plum Fairy (she allegedly received five curtain-calls), one critic called her "corpulent" and "podgy". Olga Preobrajenskaya as the Columbine doll was panned by one critic as "completely insipid" and praised as "charming" by another.
Alexandre Benois
Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бенуа́, also spelled Alexander Benois; ,Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by ...
described the choreography of the battle scene as confusing: "One can not understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards – quite amateurish."
The libretto was criticized as "lopsided" and for not being faithful to the Hoffmann tale. Much of the criticism focused on the featuring of children so prominently in the ballet, and many bemoaned the fact that the ballerina did not dance until the '' Grand Pas de Deux'' near the end of the second act (which did not occur until nearly midnight during the program). Some found the transition between the mundane world of the first scene and the fantasy world of the second act too abrupt. Reception was better for Tchaikovsky's score. Some critics called it "astonishingly rich in detailed inspiration" and "from beginning to end, beautiful, melodious, original, and characteristic". But this also was not unanimous, as some critics found the party scene "ponderous" and the ''Grand Pas de Deux'' "insipid".
Subsequent productions
In 1919, choreographer
Alexander Gorsky
Alexander Gorsky (August 6, 1871 – 1924), a Russian ballet choreographer and a contemporary of Marius Petipa, is known for restaging Petipa's classical ballets such as ''Swan Lake'', ''Don Quixote'', and ''The Nutcracker''. Gorsky “sought grea ...
staged a production which eliminated the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier and gave their dances to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, who were played by adults instead of children. This was the first production to do so. An abridged version of the ballet was first performed outside Russia in Budapest (Royal Opera House) in 1927, with choreography by Ede Brada. In 1934, choreographer
Vasili Vainonen
Vasili Ivanovich Vainonen, also spelled Vasily (russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Вайно́нен) (1901-1964), was a renowned Ingrian Soviet choreographer, mainly for the Kirov Ballet, now known as the Mariinsky Ballet, with which h ...
staged a version of the work that addressed many of the criticisms of the original 1892 production by casting adult dancers in the roles of Clara and the Prince, as Gorsky had. The Vainonen version influenced several later productions.
The first complete performance outside Russia took place in England in 1934, staged by
Nicholas Sergeyev Nicholas Grigoryevich Sergeyev (1876–1951) (russian: Никола́й Григорьевич Серге́ев, variously written in the Latin alphabet as Nicholas or Nikolai Sergeev, Sergueev or Sergueeff etc.) was a Russian ballet dancer, cho ...
after Petipa's original choreography. Annual performances of the ballet have been staged there since 1952. Another abridged version of the ballet, performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, was staged in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 1940, Alexandra Fedorova – again, after Petipa's version. The ballet's first complete United States performance was on 24 December 1944 by the
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
, staged by its artistic director,
Willam Christensen Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001)Was born Christian William Christensen, until his mother changed his name to William Farr Christensen, to include her maiden name. As a professional dancer in San Francisco, Christensen ...
, and starring Gisella Caccialanza as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Jocelyn Vollmar as the Snow Queen. After the enormous success of this production, San Francisco Ballet has presented ''Nutcracker'' every Christmas Eve and throughout the winter season, debuting new productions in 1944, 1954, 1967, and 2004. The original Christensen version continues in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
, where Christensen relocated in 1948. It has been performed every year since 1963 by the Christensen-founded
Ballet West
Ballet West is an American ballet company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet by Willam F. Christensen, the company's first artistic director, and Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. ...
.
The
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
gave its first annual performance of George Balanchine's reworked staging of ''The Nutcracker'' in 1954. The performance of
Maria Tallchief
Elizabeth Marie Tallchief ( Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American ballerina. She was considered America's first major prima ballerina. She was the first Native American (Osage Nation) to ...
in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy helped elevate the work from obscurity into an annual Christmas classic and the industry's most reliable box-office draw. Critic Walter Terry remarked that "Maria Tallchief, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, is herself a creature of magic, dancing the seemingly impossible with effortless beauty of movement, electrifying us with her brilliance, enchanting us with her radiance of being. Does she have any equals anywhere, inside or outside of fairyland? While watching her in ''The Nutcracker,'' one is tempted to doubt it."
Since Gorsky, Vainonen and Balanchine's productions, many other choreographers have made their own versions. Some institute the changes made by Gorsky and Vainonen while others, like Balanchine, utilize the original libretto. Some notable productions include
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet.
History
Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004.
The company consists of 49 dan ...
Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
Matthew Bourne
Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre.
Choreographer
In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...
, and Mikhail Chemiakin have appeared; these depart radically from both the original 1892 libretto and Vainonen's revival, while
Maurice Béjart
Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born dancer, choreographer and opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, talking vast th ...
's version completely discards the original plot and characters. In addition to annual live stagings of the work, many productions have also been televised or released on home video.
Roles
The following extrapolation of the characters (in order of appearance) is drawn from an examination of the stage directions in the score.
Act I
Act II
Plot
Below is a synopsis based on the original 1892 libretto by Marius Petipa. The story varies from production to production, though most follow the basic outline. The names of the characters also vary. In the original Hoffmann story, the young heroine is called Marie Stahlbaum and Clara (Klärchen) is her
doll
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...
's name. In the adaptation by Dumas on which Petipa based his libretto, her name is Marie Silberhaus. In still other productions, such as Baryshnikov's, Clara is Clara Stahlbaum rather than Clara Silberhaus.
Act I
''Scene 1: The Stahlbaum Home''
The ballet is set on Christmas Eve, where family and friends have gathered in the parlor to decorate the beautiful Christmas tree in preparation for the party. Once the tree is finished, the children are summoned. They stand in awe of the tree sparkling with candles and decorations.
The party begins. A march is played. Presents are given out to the children. Suddenly, as the owl-topped grandfather clock strikes eight, a mysterious figure enters the room. It is Drosselmeyer— a local councilman, magician, and Clara's godfather. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought with him gifts for the children, including four lifelike dolls who dance to the delight of all. He then has them put away for safekeeping.
Clara and her brother Fritz are sad to see the dolls being taken away, but Drosselmeyer has yet another toy for them: a wooden
nutcracker
A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells.
A decorative version portrays a person w ...
carved in the shape of a little man, which the other children ignore. Clara immediately takes a liking to it, but Fritz accidentally breaks it. Clara is heartbroken, but Drosselmeyer fixes the nutcracker, much to everyone's relief.
During the night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Clara returns to the parlor to check on her beloved nutcracker. As she reaches the little bed, the clock strikes midnight and she looks up to see Drosselmeyer perched atop it. Suddenly, mice begin to fill the room and the Christmas tree begins to grow to dizzying heights. The nutcracker also grows to life size. Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of gingerbread soldiers and the mice, led by their king. The mice begin to eat the gingerbread soldiers.
The nutcracker appears to lead the soldiers, who are joined by
tin soldier
Tin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are very popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic. Of ...
s, and by dolls who serve as doctors to carry away the wounded. As the seven-headed Mouse King advances on the still-wounded nutcracker, Clara throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the nutcracker to stab him.
''Scene 2: A Pine Forest''
The mice retreat and the nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which the snowflakes dance around them, beckoning them on to his kingdom as the first act ends.
Act II
''Scene 1: The Land of Sweets''
Clara and the Prince travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince's place until his return. He recounts for her how he had been saved from the Mouse King by Clara and transformed back into himself.
In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, tea from China, and candy canes from Russia all dance for their amusement; Danish shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Ginger has her children, the Polichinelles, emerge from under her enormous hoop skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a dance.
A final waltz is performed by all the sweets, after which the Sugar Plum Fairy ushers Clara and the Prince down from their throne. He bows to her, she kisses Clara goodbye, and leads them to a reindeer-drawn sleigh. It takes off as they wave goodbye to all the subjects who wave back.
In the original libretto, the ballet's apotheosis "represents a large beehive with flying bees, closely guarding their riches". Just like '' Swan Lake'', there have been various alternative endings created in productions subsequent to the original.
Musical sources and influences
''The Nutcracker'' is one of the composer's most popular compositions. The music belongs to the
Romantic period
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and contains some of his most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. (They are often heard in TV commercials shown during the
Christmas season
The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
.)
Tchaikovsky is said to have argued with a friend who wagered that the composer could not write a melody based on a one-octave scale in sequence. Tchaikovsky asked if it mattered whether the notes were in ascending or descending order and was assured it did not. This resulted in the Adagio from the , which, in the ballet, nearly always immediately follows the "Waltz of the Flowers". A story is also told that Tchaikovsky's sister Alexandra (9 January 1842 — 9 April 1891) had died shortly before he began composition of the ballet and that his sister's death influenced him to compose a melancholy, descending scale melody for the adagio of the Grand Pas de Deux. However, it is more naturally perceived as a dreams-come-true theme because of another celebrated scale use, the ascending one in the ''Barcarolle'' from '' The Seasons''.
Tchaikovsky was less satisfied with ''The Nutcracker'' than with ''The Sleeping Beauty''. (In the film '' Fantasia'', commentator
Deems Taylor
Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music."
Earl ...
observes that he "really detested" the score.) Tchaikovsky accepted the commission from Vsevolozhsky but did not particularly want to write the ballet (though he did write to a friend while composing it, "I am daily becoming more and more attuned to my task").
Instrumentation
The music is written for an
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
with the following instrumentation.
Woodwind
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and re ...
s
: 3
flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
: 4
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
s in F
: 2
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s in A and B
: 2
tenor trombone
A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
:
Timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
Triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
:
Tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
:
Castanets
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...
:
Tam-tam
A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
Keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
harps
The High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) is a high-precision echelle planet-finding spectrograph installed in 2002 on the ESO's 3.6m telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile. The first light was achieved in February 2003. ...
:
Violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
I's
: Violin II's
:
Viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
s
:
Violoncellos
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...
:
Double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
es
Musical scenes
From the Imperial Ballet's 1892 program
Titles of all of the numbers listed here come from Marius Petipa's original scenario as well as the original libretto and programs of the first production of 1892. All libretti and programs of works performed on the stages of the Imperial Theatres were titled in French, which was the official language of the Imperial Court, as well as the language from which balletic terminology is derived.
''Casse-Noisette''. ''Ballet-féerie'' in two acts and three tableaux with apotheosis.
Act I
# ''Petite ouverture''
# ''Scène: Une fête de Noël''
# ''Marche et petit galop des enfants''
# ''Danse des incroyables et merveilleuses''
# ''Entrée de Drosselmeyer''
# ''Danses des poupées mécaniques—''
#
''Le Casse-Noisette—Polka et la berceuse''
# '' Danse "Großvater"''
# ''Grand scène fantastique: la métamorphose du salon''
# ''La bataille de Casse-Noisette et du Roi des souris''
# ''Le voyage''
# ''Valse des floçons de neige''
Act II
#
''Grand divertissement—''
#
''Pas de deux—''
# ''Coda générale''
# ''Apothéose: Une ruche''
Structure
List of acts, scenes (tableaux) and musical numbers, along with tempo indications. Numbers are given according to the original Russian and French titles of the first edition score (1892), the piano reduction score by
Sergei Taneyev
Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.
Life
Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russia ...
(1892), both published by
P. Jurgenson
P. Jurgenson (in Russian: П. Юргенсон) was, in the early twentieth century, the largest publisher of classical sheet music in Russia.
History
Founded in 1861, the firm — in its original form, or as it was amalgamated in 1918 with ...
in Moscow, and the Soviet collected edition of the composer's works, as reprinted Melville, New York: Belwin Mills .d.ref name="score">Tchaikovsky, P. (2004). ''The Nutcracker: Complete Score'', Dover Publications.
Concert excerpts and arrangements
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet before the ballet's December 1892 première, forming ''The Nutcracker Suite'', Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. The suite was first performed, under the composer's direction, on 19 March 1892 at an assembly of the Saint Petersburg branch of the Musical Society. The suite became instantly popular, with almost every number encored at its premiere, while the complete ballet did not begin to achieve its great popularity until after the George Balanchine staging became a hit in New York City. The suite became very popular on the concert stage, and was excerpted in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's '' Fantasia'', omitting the two movements prior to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy . The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the ''Nutcracker Suite'' made by the composer:
Grainger: ''Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz'', for solo piano
The ''Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz'' is a successful piano arrangement from one of the movements from ''The Nutcracker'' by the pianist and composer
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
.
Pletnev: Concert suite from ''The Nutcracker'', for solo piano
The pianist and conductor
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Life and career
Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...
adapted some of the music into a virtuosic concert suite for piano solo:
Contemporary arrangements
* In 1942,
Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...
and his orchestra recorded ''The Nutcracker Suite for Dance Orchestra'' on a set of 4 10-inch 78-RPM records. An arrangement of the suite that lay between dance music and jazz, it was released by RCA Victor.
* In 1947,
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
and His Pennsylvanians recorded "The Nutcracker Suite" on a two-part Decca Records 12-inch 78 RPM record with one part on each side as Decca DU 90022, packaged in a picture sleeve. This version had custom lyrics written for Waring's chorus by among others, Waring himself. The arrangements were by
Harry Simeone
Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song " The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit.
Early years
Simeone was born ...
.
* In 1952, the Les Brown big band recorded a version of the ''Nutcracker Suite'', arranged by
Frank Comstock
Frank G. Comstock (September 20, 1922 – May 21, 2013) was an American composer, arranger, conductor and trombonist. For television, Comstock wrote and arranged music for major situation comedies and variety shows; his theme and incidental mus ...
, for
Coral Records
Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer.
Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head of ...
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
interpretations of pieces from Tchaikovsky's score, recorded and released on LP as '' The Nutcracker Suite''. In 1999, this suite was supplemented with additional arrangements from the score by David Berger for ''The Harlem Nutcracker'', a production of the ballet by choreographer Donald Byrd (born 1949) set during the Harlem Renaissance.
* In 1960,
Shorty Rogers
Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arrang ...
released ''
The Swingin' Nutcracker
''The Swingin' Nutcracker'' is a 1960 RCA Victor album by American jazz trumpeter and arranger Shorty Rogers performing compositions adapted from ''The Nutcracker'' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's bes ...
wrote verses inspired by the ballet, and these verses have sometimes been performed in concert versions of the ''Nutcracker Suite''. It has been recorded with Peter Ustinov reciting the verses, and the music is unchanged from the original.
* In 1962 a novelty
boogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...
piano arrangement of the "Marche", titled " Nut Rocker", was a No.1 single in the UK, and No.21 in the USA. Credited to
B. Bumble and the Stingers
B. Bumble and the Stingers was an American instrumental ensemble in the early 1960s, specializing in rock and roll arrangements of classical melodies. The band's biggest hits were "Bumble Boogie", which reached number 21 in the US, and " Nut Roc ...
Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...
(drums),
Tommy Tedesco
Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...
(guitar) and Red Callender (bass). "Nut Rocker" has subsequently been
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
by many others including
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
,
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
,
The Ventures
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...
The Brian Setzer Orchestra
The Brian Setzer Orchestra (sometimes known by its initials BSO) is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1998, for their breakout album '' The Dirty Boogie'', the group covered Louis Prima's " Jump, ...
, and the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
. The Ventures' own
instrumental rock
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...
cover of "Nut Rocker", known as "Nutty", is commonly connected to the
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
team, the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
, from being used as the theme for the Bruins' telecast games for over two decades, from the late 1960s. In 2004, The Invincible Czars arranged, recorded, and now annually perform the entire suite for rock band.
* The
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
's first album, ''
Christmas Eve and Other Stories
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, i ...
'', includes an instrumental piece titled "A Mad Russian's Christmas", which is a rock version of music from ''The Nutcracker.''
* On the other end of the scale is the comedic
Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...
version released in December 1945 as "Spike Jones presents for the Kiddies: The Nutcracker Suite (With Apologies to Tchaikovsky)", featuring humorous lyrics by Foster Carling and additional music by Joe "Country" Washburne. An abridged version was released in 1971 as part of the long play record ''Spike Jones is Murdering the Classics'', one of the rare comedic pop records to be issued on the prestigious RCA Red Seal label.
* International choreographer
Val Caniparoli
Val Caniparoli is an American ballet dancer and international choreographer. His work includes more than 100 productions for ballet, opera, and theater for over 50 companies, and his career as a choreographer progressed globally even as he continu ...
has created several versions of The Nutcracker ballet for
Louisville Ballet
The Louisville Ballet is a ballet school and company based in Louisville, Kentucky and is the official state ballet of The Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is led by artistic and executive director Robert Curran, an Australian dancer and choreograp ...
,
Cincinnati Ballet
The Cincinnati Ballet is a professional ballet company founded in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States and had its first performance in 1964. The current artistic director is Victoria Morgan.
Founding
Organizing founders Nancy Bauer, Virgini ...
,
Royal New Zealand Ballet
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company.
History
New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...
, and Grand Rapids Ballet. While his ballets remain classically rooted, he has contemporarized them with changes such as making Marie an adult instead of a child, or having Drosselmeir emerges through the clock face during the overture making "him more humorous and mischievous." Caniparoli has been influenced by his simultaneous career as a dancer, having joined San Francisco Ballet in 1971 and performing as Drosselmeir and other various Nutcracker roles ever since that time.
* The
Disco Biscuits
The Disco Biscuits are an American jam band from Philadelphia. The band consists of Allen Aucoin (drums), Marc "Brownie" Brownstein (bass guitar, vocals), Jon "The Barber" Gutwillig (guitar, vocals), and Aron Magner (keyboards, synths, voca ...
, a trance-fusion jam band from Philadelphia, have performed "Waltz of the Flowers" and "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on multiple occasions.
* The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) recorded the Suite arranged for four acoustic guitars on their CD recording ''Dances from Renaissance to Nutcracker'' (1992, Delos).
* In 1993, guitarist Tim Sparks recorded his arrangements for acoustic guitar on '' The Nutcracker Suite''.
* The Shirim Klezmer Orchestra released a klezmer version, titled "Klezmer Nutcracker," in 1998 on the Newport label. The album became the basis for a December 2008 production by
Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner (born October 6, 1955) is an American writer of fantasy novels. From 1996 until 2010, she was the host of the radio program '' Sound & Spirit'', produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.
Background ...
, titled ''The Klezmer Nutcracker'' and staged off-Broadway in New York City.
* In 2002, The Constructus Corporation used the melody of ''Sugar Plum Fairy'' for their track "Choose Your Own Adventure".
* In 2009, Pet Shop Boys used a melody from "March" for their track "All Over the World", taken from their album ''Yes''.
* In 2012, jazz pianist
Eyran Katsenelenbogen
Eyran Katsenelenbogen (born July 5, 1965) is an Israeli jazz pianist.
Background
Katsenelenbogen was born in Israel and was first taught by Aida Barenboim, mother and teacher of pianist/conductor Daniel Barenboim. He went on to complete his ...
released his renditions of ''Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy'', ''Dance of the Reed Flutes'', ''Russian Dance'' and ''Waltz of the Flowers'' from the ''Nutcracker Suite''.
* In 2014, Pentatonix released an a cappella arrangement of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on the holiday album ''
That's Christmas to Me
''That's Christmas to Me'' is the third studio album by a cappella group Pentatonix. It is their sixth release overall and their second holiday release following their 2012 EP ''PTXmas''. It only features previously unreleased material (except " Le ...
'' and received a Grammy Award on 16 February 2016 for best arrangement.
* In 2016, Jennifer Thomas included an instrumental version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on her album '' Winter Symphony''.
* In 2017,
Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling (born September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, songwriter, and dancer. She presents choreographed violin performances, in live and music videos found on her official YouTube channel, which she created in 2007.
Stirling pe ...
released her version of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" on her holiday album '' Warmer in the Winter''.
* In 2018, Pentatonix released an a cappella arrangement of "Waltz of the Flowers" on the holiday album ''
Christmas Is Here!
''Christmas Is Here!'' is the seventh studio album by American a cappella group Pentatonix. It is also their third full-length holiday album following ''A Pentatonix Christmas'' in 2016.
It was released on RCA Records, and the first single is a co ...
''.
* In 2019, Madonna sampled a portion on her song "Dark Ballet" from her '' Madame X'' album.
* In 2019, Mariah Carey released a normal and an a cappella version of 'Sugar Plum Fairy' entitled the 'Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude' to open and close her 25th Deluxe Anniversary Edition of Merry Christmas.
* In 2020,
Coone
Koen Bauweraerts (born 30 May 1983), better known by his stage name Coone, is a Belgian hardstyle producer and DJ.
Career
Coone first started producing in 1998 at age 15. He released his first EP in 2002, "Protect The Innocent". Under the ...
made a hardstyle cover version titled "The Nutcracker".
Selected discography
Many recordings have been made since 1909 of the ''Nutcracker Suite'', which made its initial appearance on disc that year in what is now historically considered the first
record album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...
. This recording was conducted by
Herman Finck
Herman Finck (November 4, 1872 – April 21, 1939) was a British composer and conductor of Dutch extraction.
Born Hermann Van Der Vinck in London, he began his studies training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established a care ...
and featured the London Palace Orchestra. But it was not until the LP album was developed that recordings of the complete ballet began to be made. Because of the ballet's approximate hour and a half length when performed without intermission, applause, or interpolated numbers, it fits very comfortably onto two LPs. Most CD recordings take up two discs, often with fillers. An exception is the 81-minute 1998
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
recording by
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...
that fits onto one CD because of Gergiev's somewhat brisker speeds.
* In 1954, the first complete recording of the ballet was released, a 2-LP set in mono sound released by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
. The cover design was by George Maas with illustrations by Dorothy Maas. The music was performed by the
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
History
Em ...
, conducted by
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943.
Biography
Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a vi ...
. Doráti later re-recorded the complete ballet in stereo, with the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
in 1962 for Mercury and with the Amsterdam
Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
in 1975 for
Philips Classics
Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...
. According to Mercury Records, the 1962 recording was made on 35mm magnetic film rather than audio tape, and used album cover art identical to that of the 1954 recording. Dorati is the only conductor so far to have made three different recordings of the complete ballet. Some have hailed the 1975 recording as the finest ever made of the complete ballet. It is also faithful to the score in employing a boys' choir in the ''Waltz of the Snowflakes''. Many other recordings use an adult or mixed choir.
* In 1956,
Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodziński (2 January 1892 – 27 November 1958) was a Polish-American conductor of orchestral music and opera. He began his career after World War I in Poland, where he was discovered by Leopold Stokowski, who invited him to be his ass ...
Westminster Records
Westminster Records was an American classical music record label, issuing original recordings until 1965. It was co–founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida (who later founded Musical Heritage Society), the owner of the Westminster Record Shop in New Y ...
.
* In 1959, the first stereo LP album set of the complete ballet, with
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor.
Biography
Ansermet ...
conducting the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
History
Er ...
, appeared on Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US.
* The first complete stereo ''Nutcracker'' with a Russian conductor and a Russian orchestra appeared in 1960, when
Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor.
Biography
Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. ...
's recording of it, with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, was issued first in the Soviet Union on
Melodiya
Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) record label. It was the state-owned major record company of the Soviet Union.
History
Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm ...
, then imported to the U.S. on
Columbia Masterworks
Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation.
History ...
. It was also Columbia Masterworks' first complete ''Nutcracker''.
With the advent of the stereo LP coinciding with the growing popularity of the complete ballet, many other complete recordings of it have been made. Notable conductors who have done so include
Maurice Abravanel
Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years.
Life
Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Otto ...
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
,
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he w ...
Alexander Vedernikov
Alexander Alexandrovich Vedernikov (; 11 January 1964 – 29 October 2020) was a Russian conductor. He held major posts with the Bolshoi Theatre the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Opera, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre.
Biography
Born ...
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Life and career
Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...
, and most recently, Simon Rattle. A CD of excerpts from the Tilson Thomas version had as its album cover art a painting of Mikhail Baryshnikov in his Nutcracker costume; perhaps this was due to the fact that the Tilson Thomas recording was released by CBS Masterworks, and CBS had first telecast the Baryshnikov "Nutcracker".
* The soundtrack of the 1977 television production with Mikhail Baryshnikov and
Gelsey Kirkland
Gelsey Kirkland (born December 29, 1952) is an American ballerina. She received early ballet training at the School of American Ballet. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age 15, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was ...
, featuring the
National Philharmonic Orchestra
The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA Records producer and conductor Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader and contractor Sidney Sax. The orchestra was creat ...
conducted by
Kenneth Schermerhorn
Kenneth Dewitt Schermerhorn ( ; November 20, 1929 – April 18, 2005) was an American composer and orchestra conductor. He was the music director of the Nashville Symphony from 1983 to 2005.
Early life
Schermerhorn was born on November 20, 1 ...
CBS Masterworks
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
2 LP-set, but it has not appeared on CD. The LP soundtrack recording was, for a time, the only stereo version of the Baryshnikov ''Nutcracker'' available, since the show was originally telecast only in mono, and it was not until recently that it began to be telecast with stereo sound. The sound portion of the DVD is also in stereo.
* The first complete recording of the ballet in digital stereo was issued in 1985, on a two-CD
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
set featuring
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer.
Early life and education
Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
conducting the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. This album originally had no "filler", but it has recently been re-issued on a multi-CD set containing complete recordings of Tchaikovsky's two other ballets, '' Swan Lake'' and '' The Sleeping Beauty''. This three-ballet album has now gone out of print.
There have been two major theatrical film versions of the ballet, made within seven years of each other, and both were given soundtrack albums.
* The first theatrical film adaptation, made in 1985, is of the Pacific Northwest Ballet version, and was conducted by Sir
Charles Mackerras
Mackerras in 2005
Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...
. The music is played in this production by the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
. The film was directed by Carroll Ballard, who had never before directed a ballet film (and has not done so since). Patricia Barker played Clara in the fantasy sequences, and Vanessa Sharp played her in the Christmas party scene. Wade Walthall was the Nutcracker Prince.
* The second film adaptation was a 1993 film of the New York City Ballet version, titled ''George Balanchine's The Nutcracker'', with
David Zinman
David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist.
Education
After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. H ...
conducting the New York City Ballet Orchestra. The director was
Emile Ardolino
Emile Ardolino (May 9, 1943 – November 20, 1993) was an American television and film director and producer, best known for his work on the films '' Dirty Dancing'' (1987) and ''Sister Act'' (1992). He has won an Academy Award for Best Document ...
, who had won the Emmy, Obie, and Academy Awards for filming dance, and was to die of AIDS later that year. Principal dancers included the Balanchine muse
Darci Kistler
Darci Kistler (born June 4, 1964) is an American ballerina. She is often said to be the last muse for choreographer George Balanchine.
Early life
Kistler was born in Riverside, California, the fifth child (with four older brothers) of a medic ...
Kyra Nichols
Kyra Nichols (born July 2, 1958) is an American retired ballet dancer and teacher. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1974 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1979. She is one of the last dancers to have worked with George Balanchine, a ...
. Two well-known actors also took part:
Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. Often regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prom ...
appeared as the Nutcracker/Prince, and Kevin Kline served as the offscreen narrator. The soundtrack features the interpolated number from ''The Sleeping Beauty'' that Balanchine used in the production, and the music is heard on the album in the order that it appears in the film, not in the order that it appears in the original ballet.
* Notable albums of excerpts from the ballet, rather than just the usual ''Nutcracker Suite'', were recorded by
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...
Columbia Masterworks
Columbia Masterworks was a record label started in 1924 by Columbia Records. In 1980, it was separated from the Columbia label and renamed CBS Masterworks. In 1990, it was revived as Sony Classical after its sale to the Sony Corporation.
History ...
, and
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to ...
and the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...
for RCA Victor.
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one ...
and the
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same ...
(for
Telarc
Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner (recording engineer), Jack Renner and Robert Woods (producer), Robert Woods. ...
) have also recorded albums of extended excerpts. The original edition of
Michael Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of ...
CBS Masterworks
Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
was complete, but is out of print; the currently available edition is abridged.
Neither Ormandy, Reiner, nor Fiedler ever recorded a complete version of the ballet; however, Kunzel's album of excerpts runs 73 minutes, containing more than two-thirds of the music. Conductor
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...
has recorded act 2 of the ballet complete, along with excerpts from '' Swan Lake''. The music is played by the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...
.
* Many famous conductors of the twentieth century made recordings of the suite, but not of the complete ballet. These include Arturo Toscanini, Sir
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
,
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
,
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
, Sir
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the ...
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
,
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the fou ...
Dance Magazine
''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Point ...
'' printed the opinions of three directors. Ronald Alexander of Steps on Broadway and
The Harlem School of the Arts
Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City.
Harlem School of the Arts was founded in 1964, by soprano Dorothy Maynor. Maynor was succeeded by mezzo-soprano Betty Allen as President in 1979, when a new 3 ...
said the characters in some of the dances were "borderline caricatures, if not downright demeaning". He also said some productions had made changes to improve this. In the Arabian dance, for example, it was not necessary to portray a woman as a "seductress", showing too much skin. Alexander tried a more positive portrayal of the Chinese, but this was replaced by the more traditional version, despite positive reception. Stoner Winslett of the
Richmond Ballet
The Richmond Ballet, named the State Ballet of Virginia in 1990 by then Governor Douglas Wilder, is an education and performance institution, founded in 1957.
Founding
In 1957, the Ballet Impromptu, founded by Richmond natives Robert C. Watkin ...
said ''The Nutcracker'' was not racist and that her productions had a "diverse cast". Donald Byrd of Spectrum Dance Theater saw the ballet as Eurocentric and not racist. Chloe Angyal, in Feministing, referred to "unbelievably offensive racial and ethnic stereotypes". Some people who have performed in productions of the ballet do not see a problem because they are continuing what is viewed as "a tradition". According to George Balanchine, "Coffee" was a sensuous belly dance intended for the fathers, not the children.
In ''The New Republic'' in 2014, Alice Robb described white people wearing "harem pants and a straw hat, eyes painted to look slanted" and "wearing chopsticks in their black wigs" in the Chinese dance. The Arabian dance, she said, has a woman who "slinks around the stage in a belly shirt, bells attached to her ankles". One of the problems, Robb said, was the use of white people to play ethnic roles, because of the directors' desire for everyone to look the same.
Among the attempts to change the dances were Austin McCormick making the Arabian dance into a
pole dance
Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in strip club, gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated da ...
, and
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
dragon dance
Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible ...
.
Alastair Macaulay
Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for '' The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at '' The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater ...
of ''The New York Times'' defended Tchaikovsky, saying he "never intended his Chinese and Arabian music to be ethnographically correct". He said, "their extraordinary color and energy are far from condescending, and they make the world of 'The Nutcracker' larger." To change anything is to "unbalance ''The Nutcracker''" with music the author did not write. If there were stereotypes, Tchaikovsky also used them in representing his own country of Russia. Moreover, the
Votkinsk
Votkinsk (russian: Во́ткинск; udm, Вотка, ''Votka'') is an industrial town in the Udmurt Republic, Russia. Population:
History
It was established in April 1759, initially as a center for metallurgical enterprises, and the economic ...
-born composer is perceived as a part of cultural heritage of
Finnic peoples
The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...
(non-Indo-European).
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
professor Jennifer Fisher said in 2018 that a two-finger salute used in the Chinese dance was not a part of the culture. Though it might have had its source in a Mongolian chopstick dance, she called it "heedless insensitivity to stereotyping". She also complained about the use in the Chinese dance of "bobbing, subservient '
kowtow
A kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverenc ...
' steps, Fu Manchu mustaches, and ... yellowface" makeup, compared to blackface. One concern she had was that dancers believed they were learning about Asian culture, when they were really experiencing a cartoon version.
Fisher went on to say some ballet companies were recognizing that change had to happen.
Georgina Pazcoguin
Georgina Pazcoguin is an American ballerina. She is a soloist with the New York City Ballet, and is known for challenging racism in ballet, and for performing on Broadway.
Early life
Pazcoguin was born and raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She ...
of the
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
and former dancer Phil Chan started the "Final Bow for Yellowface" movement and created a web site which explained the history of the practices and suggested changes. One of their points was that only the Chinese dance made dancers look like an ethnic group other than the one they belonged to. The New York City Ballet went on to drop
geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...
wigs and makeup and change some dance moves. Some other ballet companies followed.
In popular culture
Film
Several films having little or nothing to do with the ballet or the original Hoffmann tale have used its music:
* The 1940
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated film '' Fantasia'' features a segment using The Nutcracker Suite. This version was also included both as part of the 3-LP soundtrack album of ''Fantasia'' (since released as a 2-CD set), and as a single LP, with ''
Dance of the Hours
''Dance of the Hours'' (Italian: ') is a short ballet and is the act 3 finale of the opera '' La Gioconda'' composed by Amilcare Ponchielli. It depicts the hours of the day through solo and ensemble dances. The opera was first performed in 1876 ...
'', another ''Fantasia'' segment, on the reverse side.
* '' The Spirit of Christmas'', a 1950
marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
made-for-TV featurette in color narrated by Alexander Scourby, utilizes the poem ''
A Visit from St. Nicholas
''A Visit from St. Nicholas'', more commonly known as ''The Night Before Christmas'' and ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'' from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title ''Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas'' i ...
'', and this sequence also includes music from ''The Nutcracker''.
* A 1951 thirty-minute short, ''Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen'', issued on DVD by Something Weird Video, features several dances from ''The Nutcracker''.
* ''The Nutcracker'' (1973) features a nameless girl (slightly similar to Clara) who works as a maid. She befriends and falls in love with a nutcracker ornament, who was a young prince cursed by the three headed Mouse King.
*
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
released a stop-motion adaptation of The Nutcracker entitled ''
Nutcracker Fantasy
is a Japanese-American stop motion animated film produced by Sanrio, very loosely based on Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet ''The Nutcracker'' and E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It is directed by Takeo Nakamura and writ ...
'' in 1979.
* In 1988, ''
Care Bears Nutcracker Suite
''Care Bears Nutcracker Suite'' is an animated television film featuring the Care Bears characters. Produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana in 1988, it is loosely based on the 1892 ''Nutcracker'' ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (ad ...
'' was produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana and featured the Care Bears characters.
* A 1990 animated film titled ''
The Nutcracker Prince
''The Nutcracker Prince'' is a 1990 Canadian animated Romance film, romance fantasy film directed by Paul Schibli based on the screenplay by Patricia Watson. It is a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse ...
'' was released and distributed by
Warner Brothers Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and uses cuts of the music throughout and its story is based heavily on that of the ballet.
* A 1999 animated film titled '' The Nuttiest Nutcracker'' featured the voices of Cheech Marin,
Jim Belushi
James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...
, and
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and ...
, and followed a group of anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables.
* In 2001,
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
appeared in her first film, ''
Barbie in the Nutcracker
''Barbie in the Nutcracker'' is a 2001 computer-animated fantasy film directed by Owen Hurley and written Linda Engelsiepen and Hilary Hinkle from a screenplay by Rob Hudnut. Featuring the voice of Kelly Sheridan as Barbie, it marked the first ...
''. It used excerpts by Tchaikovsky, which were performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Though it heavily altered the story, it still made use of ballet sequences which had been
rotoscope
Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced o ...
d using real ballet dancers.
* In 2007, '' Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale'' also used ''The Nutcracker'' excerpts, which were performed by the
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is an American chamber orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal concert venue is the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, of which the orchestra is a founding ...
.
*
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
announced that a remake of The Nutcracker would be directed by Robert Zemeckis through the use of motion capture, a technique that was used in
The Polar Express
''The Polar Express'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detai ...
Mars Needs Moms
''Mars Needs Moms'' is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated science fiction film co-written and directed by Simon Wells, produced by ImageMovers Digital and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Berkeley Breathed book of the same ti ...
.
* In 2010, ''
The Nutcracker in 3D
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' with
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...
abandoned the ballet and most of the story, retaining much of Tchaikovsky's music with lyrics by
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...
. The $90 million film became the year's biggest
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
.
*In 2016, the
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...
presented ''A Nutcracker Christmas;'' a tele-film that contains a number of selected scenes of the 1892 two-act Nutcracker ballet.
*In 2017, the
Athens State Orchestra
The Athens State Orchestra () is a Greek symphony orchestra based in Athens, which is consistently ranked in the top handful of orchestras of the country.
Principal conductors
* Filoktitis Εkonomidis (1942–1957)
* Theodoros Vavagiannis ( ...
in collaboration with Cinecreed productions (former name: 1895 cinematic creations) presented "A Different Nutcracker" animation film, directed by Yiorgos Molvalis. At the premiere (Chr. Lamprakis,
Athens Concert Hall
The Athens Concert Hall (Greek: Μέγαρον Μουσικής Αθηνών, ''Mégaron Mousikis Athinon'') is a concert hall located on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue in Athens, Greece.
The Hall was inaugurated in 1991 with two halls. Since then it ...
, December 26, 2017) as Silent animation, the film was recorded live by the Athens State Orchestra. In 2020 the official recording was integrated in to the film marking its completion and making it available for screenings without the need to have the orchestra present.
* In 2018, the Disney live-action film '' The Nutcracker and the Four Realms'' was released with Lasse Hallström and
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' (1989), ''Jumanji'' (1995 ...
as directors and a script by Ashleigh Powell.
Television
* A 1954 Christmas episode of ''
General Electric Theater
''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
Radio
After an audition show ...
'' featured
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
and his choral group, the Pennsylvanians, singing excerpts from ''The Nutcracker'' with specially written lyrics. While the music was being sung, the audience saw ballet dancers performing. The episode was hosted by Ronald Reagan.
* The 1987
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...
miniseries '' Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder'' opens every episode with the first notes of the ballet amid scenes of Frances Schreuder's daughter dancing to it in ballet dress.
* "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" plays in the gabian dubbing version of ''
El Chapulín Colorado
''El Chapulín Colorado'' (English: ''The Red Grasshopper'') is a Mexican television comedy series that ran from 1973 to 1979 and parodied superhero shows. It was created by Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Chespirito), who also played the main char ...
'' episode "El Mistério Del Hombre De Las Nieves" while Chapolin and his friends Carlos and Florinda use sleeping bags for themselves to sleep at home until the music is interrupted after a fake
Garfield and Friends
''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994.
The sho ...
'' episode, "Caped Avenger", "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" plays briefly while a shadow kidnaps Pooky.
* The "Toon TV" episode of ''
Tiny Toon Adventures
''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...
'' features an arcade-themed song called "Video Game Blues", set to "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and "The Russian Dance".
* '' Batman: The Animated Series'' episode, "Christmas with the Joker",
The Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...
plays, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", and later, "The Russian Dance" on a record player to distract Batman and Robin.
* A 1996 episode of ''
The Magic School Bus
''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise that includes a book series, a TV series, a streaming series, and video games. Each of the stories within the franchise centers on the antics of a fictional elementary sch ...
'' ("Holiday Special", season 3, episode 39), Wanda is planning to see a performance of ''The Nutcracker''. Some of the music for this episode was based on the score of the ballet.
* The
Barney & Friends
''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
TV Christmas episode features its own version of the Nutcracker with
Barney the Dinosaur
''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
as the narrator, dressed up in a tuxedo vest and matching cuffs.
* ''
Princess Tutu
is a Japanese magical girl anime series created by illustrator and animator Ikuko Itoh. Inspired by ballet and fairy tales, particularly '' The Ugly Duckling'' and ''Swan Lake'', the story follows a duck who is transformed into the mythical ...
'', a 2002
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series that uses elements from many ballets as both music and as part of the storyline, uses the music from ''The Nutcracker'' in many places throughout its run, including using an arranged version of the overture as the theme for the main character. Both the first and last episodes feature ''The Nutcracker'' as their 'theme', and one of the main characters is named Drosselmeyer.
* An arrangement of this the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy can be heard in Episode 8 of
Girls und Panzer
, abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese anime franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu ...
.
* Arrangements of the Waltz of the flowers can be heard in Episode 7 of
Guilty Crown
is a 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by Production I.G which aired on Fuji TV's noitamina program block from October 13, 2011. The story revolves around Shu Ouma, a high school boy who comes into possession of an ability ...
.
* The 2015 Canadian television film '' The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale'', based on an autobiographical short story by onetime Canadian ballet student Vickie Fagan, centres on a young ballet student preparing to dance the role of Clara in a production of ''The Nutcracker''.
Video games
* In the
NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
version of ''
Tetris
''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'', the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is available as background music (referred to in the settings as "Music 1"), and the same arrangement was later remixed for the Game Boy Advance version of ''
Tetris Worlds
''Tetris Worlds'' is a version of the video game ''Tetris''. Originally released in 2001 for Microsoft Windows and Game Boy Advance, it was later released for Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 in 2002. In 2003, an Xbox Live version and a singl ...
''.
* In the
NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
game ''
Winter Games
''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.
A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...
'', "Waltz of the Flowers" is used as the music for the
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...
event.
* In the game ''
BioShock
''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the BioShock (series), ''BioShock'' series, it was released f ...
'', the main character Jack meets an insane musician named Sander Cohen who tasks Jack with killing and photographing four of Sander's ex-disciples. When the third photograph is given to Sander, in a fit of pique he unleashes waves of splicer enemies to attack Jack while playing "Waltz of the Flowers" from speakers in the area.
* In the original ''
Lemmings
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
'' "Dance of the Reed Flutes" and "Miniature Overture" is used in several levels.
* In '' Weird Dreams'', there is also a plus sized ballerina dancing to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" in the Hall of Tubes.
* In the Baby Bowser levels of ''
Yoshi's Story
Yoshi's (also known as Yoshi's Jazz Club and Yoshi's Oakland) is a nightclub located in Jack London Square in Oakland, California, United States. The venue originally opened in 1972 as a restaurant in Berkeley, later moving to Claremont Avenue ...
'', a variation of the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is used as the background music.
* In ''
Mega Man Legends
''Mega Man Legends'' is a series in the ''Mega Man'' franchise. While the classic series is known for its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay with very little story, this series instead features 3D action-adventure gameplay and a robust story ...
'', the "Waltz of the Flowers" can be heard in the Balloon Fantasy minigame.
* In ''
Crash Tag Team Racing
''Crash Tag Team Racing'' is a 2005 kart racing game developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games under the Sierra Entertainment label for the GameCube (NGC), PlayStation 2 (PS2), Xbox, and the P ...
'', the "Trepak" are the background themes played during Tire & Ice track as a part with "
Kalinka Kalinka may refer to:
Places
*Kalinka, Kardzhali Province, Kardzhali Municipality, Bulgaria
*Kalinka Temple, a temple in northern India
*Kalinka, Lublin Voivodeship, a village in the Lublin Voivodeship, Poland
*Kalinka, Russia, the name of several ...
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...
event. In the Nintendo DS version, the "Marche" and "Trepak" are used.
* In '' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' the "Waltz of Flowers", "The Arabian Dance", "The Russian Dance", "The Dance of the Reed Flutes" and "The Chinese Dance" are the background themes that play when Riku is in the world based on Disney's '' Fantasia''.
* In '' Hatoful Boyfriend'', the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is used as the character theme for Iwamine Shuu.
* In a TV advertisement for '' Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2'', the plastic army men work together using a train playset to move a firecracker under the Christmas tree and place it between the Nutcracker doll's legs, while "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" plays.
* In '' Fantasia: Music Evolved'', a medley of "The Nutcracker" is listed and consists of the "Marche", "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", and "Trepak"; besides the original mix, there is also the "D00 BAH D00" mix and the "DC Breaks" mix.
* In ''
Dynamite Headdy
''Dynamite Headdy'' is a platform video game developed by Treasure and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1994. The game follows a puppet named Headdy in his efforts to stop an evil puppet king from taking over his world. Headdy can throw ...
'', the "March" is used in the Mad Dog boss battle.
* In '' Grand Theft Auto V'' one of the classical horns, that can be bought for cars, plays the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".
* The "Waltz of the Flowers" appears during a baby's death scene in ''
What Remains of Edith Finch
''What Remains of Edith Finch'' is a first-person adventure game developed by Giant Sparrow and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released in April 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One; for Nintendo Switch ...
''.
* In the game "Cell to Singularity," "Waltz of the Flowers" is heard in the background when new creatures are created.
* In ''
LittleBigPlanet 3
''LittleBigPlanet 3'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Sumo Digital for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide through November and December 2014, and it is the third entry in the main ''LittleBigPlanet'' series, ...
'', a remix of "Waltz of the Flowers" is used as background music in the level "Tutu Tango" and is an unlockable music track in Create Mode.
* The "Kids Mode" of '' Just Dance 2021'' and ''
Just Dance 2022
''Just Dance 2022'' is a 2021 dance rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 12, 2021, during the Ubisoft Forward E3 web presentation as the thirteenth main installment of the series, and was released on November 4, ...
'' features the song "Dance of the Mirlitons" on the soundtrack.
Children's recordings
There have been several recorded children's adaptations of the E.T.A. Hoffmann story (the basis for the ballet) using Tchaikovsky's music, some quite faithful, some not. One that was not was a version titled ''The Nutcracker Suite for Children'', narrated by Metropolitan Opera announcer
Milton Cross
Milton John Cross (April 16, 1897 – January 3, 1975) was an American radio announcer famous for his work on the NBC and ABC radio networks.
He was best known as the voice of the Metropolitan Opera, hosting its Saturday afternoon radio broadca ...
, which used a two-piano arrangement of the music. It was released as a 78-RPM album set in the 1940s. For the children's label
Peter Pan Records
Peter Pan Records is an American record label specializing in children's music. The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey until the 1970s.
The label became ...
, actor
Victor Jory
Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...
narrated a condensed adaptation of the story with excerpts from the score. It was released on one side of a 45-RPM disc. A later version, titled ''The Nutcracker Suite'', starred
Denise Bryer
Denise Bryer (5 January 1928 – 16 October 2021) was an English actress, known for her voice roles on television and radio.
Career
Best remembered in her UK homeland for her work on the Gerry Anderson series, ''Terrahawks'', where she voiced ...
and a full cast, was released in the 1960s on LP and made use of Tchaikovsky's music in the original orchestral arrangements. It was quite faithful to Hoffmann's story ''
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (german: Nussknacker und Mausekönig) is a Short story, story written in 1816 by Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in which young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker doll, Nutcracker, come ...
'', on which the ballet is based, even to the point of including the section in which Clara cuts her arm on the glass toy cabinet, and also mentioning that she married the Prince at the end. It also included a less gruesome version of "The Tale of the Hard Nut", the tale-within-a-tale in Hoffmann's story. It was released as part of the
Tale Spinners for Children
Tale Spinners for Children was a series of stories and novels adapted for young audiences on vinyl records in the early 1960s. They included a collection of old fairy tales, folklore, literary classics such as ''Don Quixote'' and ''Robinson Cruso ...
series.
Spike Jones produced a 78 rpm record set "Spike Jones presents for the kiddies The Nutcracker Suite (with Apologies to Tchaikovsky)" in 1944. It includes the tracks: "The Little Girl's Dream", "Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy", "The Fairy Ball", "The Mysterious Room", "Back to the Fairy Ball" and "End of the Little Girl's Dream". This is all done in typical Spike Jones style, with the addition of choruses and some swing music. The entire recording is available at archive.com
Journalism
* In 2009, Pulitzer Prize–winning dance critic Sarah Kaufman wrote a series of articles for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' criticizing the primacy of ''The Nutcracker'' in the American repertory for stunting the creative evolution of ballet in the United States:
* In 2010,
Alastair Macaulay
Alastair Macaulay is an English writer and dance critic. He was the chief dance critic for '' The New York Times'' from 2007 until he retired in 2018. He was previously chief dance critic at '' The Times'' and Literary Supplement and chief theater ...
, dance critic for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' (who had previously taken Kaufman to task for her criticism of ''The Nutcracker'') began ''The Nutcracker Chronicles'', a series of blog articles documenting his travels across the United States to see different productions of the ballet.
* In 2014, Ellen O’Connell, who trained with the Royal Ballet in London, wrote, in Salon (website), on the darker side of ''The Nutcracker'' story. In E.T.A. Hoffmann's original story, the ''Nutcracker and Mouse King,'' Marie's (Clara's), journey becomes a fevered delirium that transports her to a land where she sees sparkling Christmas Forests and Marzipan Castles, but in a world populated with dolls. Hoffmann's tales were so bizarre,
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...
wrote about them in ''The Uncanny.''
Popular music
* The song "Dance Mystique" (track B1) on the studio album '' Bach to the Blues'' (1964) by the
Ramsey Lewis Trio
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' T ...
is a jazz adaptation of Coffee (Arabian Dance).
* The song "Fall Out" by English band
Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone.
It was announced ...
from their 1998 album
Six
6 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
6 or six may also refer to:
* AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era
* 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era
* The month of June
Science
* Carbon, the element with atomic number 6
* 6 Hebe, an asteroid
People ...
heavily relies on the celesta theme from the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
* The song " Dark Ballet" by American singer-songwriter Madonna samples the melody of Dance of the Reed Flutes (Danish Marzipan) which is often mistaken for Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The song also relied on the lesser-known harp cadenza from Waltz of the Flowers. The same Tchaikovsky sample was earlier used in internationally famous 1992 ads for Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut with 'Madonna' as the singing chocolate bar (in Russian version the subtitles "'This Is Madonna'" ( rus, Это Мадонна, Eto Madonna) were displayed on a screen.