When was the first production of the Nutcracker?
Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, c. 1900 In 1919, choreographer Alexander Gorsky 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.
Where did Tchaikovsky compose parts of the Nutcracker?
Tchaikovsky composed parts of The Nutcracker in Rouen, France.
What was the critics reaction to the Nutcracker?
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”.
Who was the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker?
Olga Preobrajenska as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nikolai Legat as Prince Coqueluche in the Grand pas de deux in the original production of The Nutcracker. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg,…
When was the first performance of the Nutcracker?
But of course it once was heard for the very first time, one week before Christmas in 1892, by the sold-out audience of the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. The now-beloved and perhaps overly familiar holiday ballet premiered as a double feature with Tchaikovsky’s opera “Iolanta,” with Czar Alexander III in attendance.
Why was The Nutcracker important to the Revolution?
“The Nutcracker” overcame its initial failure through revolution, defection and adoption. Despite lingering messages about female disenfranchisement, its beloved music and inclusive theme of Christmas magic provide an escape from the tedium of the commercial holiday season, securing “The Nutcracker” a place in the pantheon of Western art.
Why did Petipa write the music for the Nutcracker?
He reportedly wrote the music to the Grand Pas de Deux on a bet (his friend wagered that he could not write a piece of music based on the notes of the octave in sequence). Ballet master Petipa fell ill for the duration of rehearsals, and the real choreographic work fell to his assistant.
Why did Marie fall into a glass cabinet in the Nutcracker?
In one gruesome battle between this nutcracker prince and the seven-headed mouse king, Marie falls, ostensibly in a fevered dream, into a glass cabinet, cutting her arm badly.
