The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker Premier

Early in 1891 the legendary composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky received a commission from the Imperial Theatre Directorate at St. Petersburg to compose a one-act lyric opera together with a ballet for presentation during the following season. Accepting Tchaikovsky's choice of subject for the opera, the Theatre Directorate selected Alexandre Dumas' French adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman's tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King for the ballet.

The first performance of the ballet was held as a double premiere together with Tchaikovsky's last opera Iolanta on 18 December 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Nutcracker Story

The Nutcracker is a holiday fairy tale about a young girl, Clara, and her favorite Christmas.

Clara's Godfather, Drosselmeier, is a magical, mysterious character in her life. This Christmas he has given her a special gift, a beautiful Nutcracker doll. Clara wants to stay awake with it all night, but her family sends her off to bed. After everyone is asleep, Clara sneaks downstairs to look at her Nutcracker doll. She eventually falls asleep, and with a little help from Drosselmeier's magic, she begins to dream...

Mice awaken her. The Mouse King appears and tries to kidnap her and take her to his kingdom. Then, soldiers arrive and behind them is the life-sized Nutcracker. He has come to save her from the Mouse King. After an exciting battle, the Nutcracker defeats the Mouse King. Clara has found her prince. Appearing through the smoke, the Nutcracker Prince has come to take her away to his special land and to show her his magnificent palace. Their journey takes them through enchanted lands where they meet a wide variety of fantasy characters.

The Prince escorts Clara to the Land of Sweets where they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Prince tells her about their daring battle with the army of mice and she rewards them with a celebration of dances.

Clara awakens from her dream and finds herself by her Christmas tree with her beloved Nutcracker.

Nutcracker History

It is estimated that the first Erzgebirge nutcracker, resembling a soldier, was made around 1870. In those days, all villagers were at the service of their officials and figures in uniforms. To have soldiers, though wooden, at their disposal in their homes must have given the townspeople a feeling of satisfaction.

Standing wooden nutcrackers in the form of soldiers and kings were shown in the Sonneberg and Erzgebirge regions of Germany by 1800 and in 1830, the term “Nussknacker” appeared in the dictionary of the Brothers Grim. It was defined as “often in the form of a misshaped little man, in whose mouth the nut, by means of a leaver or screw, is cracked open”. In 1872 Wilhelm Füchtner, known as the “father of the nutcracker,” made the first commercial production of nutcrackers using the lathe to create many of the same design.

Nutcrackers were given as a keepsake to protect ones home and as a symbol of good luck. They represented power and strength and served as guard to keep away evil spirits. With their fierce demeanor they bare their teeth to protect the home and are a t raditional figure of goodwill.

Nutcrackers became an ornament as much as it was a tool in village homes. Today, nutcracker designs, representing many hobbies and careers, are being made to respond to the interest of avid collectors all over the world