STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 24
How " The Nutcracker " endures
by Melissa Mitchell University of IllinoisArts and Humanities
" T
he Nutcracker ” is a fantasy ballet set to an adaptation of E . T . A . Hoffmann ' s original tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ' s score when it was first performed in St . Petersburg , Russia , in 1892 .
University of Illinois professor Donna Buchanan , whose specialization is Russian and Balkan music , teaches courses focusing on Russian art music , including " The Nutcracker ."
Nutcracker scene from Act I - Sergei Legat as Nutcracker as performed in St . Petersburg , Russia in 1892 .
How do you account for The Nutcracker ’ s widespread and
enduring popularity ?
Buchanan : This probably has to do
with the whimsical , fantastical allure of the plot , which appeals to imaginations young and old ; the lyrical , singable quality of melodies ; the coloristic , pictorial orchestrational effects ; and the swirling , vivid , almost kaleidoscopic dance scenes . It ' s a bit like watching an early Disney animated film , like " Snow White ," unfold on the stage with real live characters . For youngsters , the effect can be spellbinding . Orchestras and dance companies across the U . S . have made the work a seasonal standard ; the fact that children play the main roles in the story and that Tchaikovsky wrote the music with the world of the child in mind is also important . After all , every 5-year-old ballerina wants to waltz like a flower !
Is it true that the music from the ballet was actually performed more often than the ballet itself for many years ?
Buchanan : It is true that critics grumbled about the ballet ' s lack of drama and overly lavish production aesthetics following its premiere , while praising the music , but I ' m not sure this is the whole story . " The Nutcracker " resulted from a collaboration between Marius Petipa , the renowned French dance master of the St . Petersburg Imperial Ballet , and Tchaikovsky . Petipa provided the composer with a descriptive pro-
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