Classic Ephemera by Darren Henley

Author:Darren Henley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elliott & Thompson

FAMOUS BALLETS: WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON?

NO. 4: TCHAIKOVSKY: NUTCRACKER (OR AND HERE IT IS, MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY’S GOING NUTS)

Nutcracker was the third of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Big Three’ ballets, following on from Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. It was based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, Der Nussknacker und der Mäusekönig, which translates as The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It received its premiere in December 1892, by which time, Tchaikovsky had already stolen the best bits of music from himself for a little suite and this was proving very popular. The ballet didn’t do nearly so well at first, and its place as part of the Christmas routine didn’t really start to be established until as late as the 1950s. Maybe post-war Europe needed a little sugar sweet, escapist fantasy. One of the undoubted stars of the show, though, was neither a ballerina nor a tune… it was an instrument. The celesta was one of those instruments that Tchaikovsky simply HAD to have. It was only invented in 1886 and, when Tchaikovsky heard it in France, he wrote letters home about wanting to be the first person in Russia to use it. His wish was granted in his orchestral piece The Voyevoda, in 1891.

It’s interesting to note that the celesta, which is a sort of glockenspiel built into a small case so that you can play it like a piano, is still used to inspire the same sense of magic and wonder today: think of John Williams’ Harry Potter soundtracks and, in particular, the amazing celesta sounds used in Hedwig’s Theme.

Act 1

There’s a party going on. There’s always a party going on. This time, it’s because it’s Christmas Eve, and it’s at the Stahlbaum’s house. Mr and Mrs Stahlbaum have two children, Clara and Fritz. They also have a huge house – one room of which alone is as big as the Royal Opera House stage – and a strange line in godfathers. The godfather to their children is called Herr Drosselmeyer. Herr, mind. Not John or Alan or Barry. He’s always addressed as ‘Herr’. When he enters, he does so with a flourish, producing a huge sack of gifts for all the children. Fritz is given three life size dolls, which can come to life and dance. Nice thought. However, Clara, his sister, is seemingly overlooked and throws a hissy fit. So, Herr Drosselmeyer fumbles in his pockets and comes up with … a nutcracker in the shape of a toy soldier. Most people wouldn’t have risked it and would have gone for tokens, but Clara seemed to quite like it. Fritz, though, now sees himself as hard done by. After all, he only got strangely magical, life-size dolls that could defy reason, come alive and dance. ‘And she got a nutcracker!’ Incensed at the unfairness, not to say weirdness of it all, he too throws a hissy fit and in doing so, breaks the nutcracker. Herr D. repairs it and, after a communal dance – in this instance, it’s the traditional Grosvater Tanz but today you might substitute the Macarena – all go to bed.

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