THE NUTCRACKER

Ballet in two acts by П. И. CHAIKOVSKY

Based on Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"

First performance: 18 deĸemvpи 1892, Mapiĸincĸi Theatre - Caĸnĸt Πeĸtepbypг.

First performance in Bulgaria: 29 June 1962, Rousse Opera House.

First performance in Rousse: 29 June 1962, conductor Hristo Stanishev, choreography - Assen Manolov, artist - Paula Brankovianu

Main characters:

Clara 
Prince 
Drosselmeyer 
King Mouse 
Mr Zilberhaus 
Mrs. Zilberhaus 
Nutcracker doll 
Fritz 
Harlequin 
Broken Doll 
Devils 

Short synopsis

First act

On New Year's Eve, guests gather at the Stalbaum home. Among them is Drosselmeyer, the godfather of Clara and Fritz, the Stalbaum children. He has prepared a wonderful gift for them - the funny and touching toy Nutcracker.

The children look forward to receiving their gifts. The desired moment arrives. The festive tree is revealed in front of everyone. Unexpectedly, the Drosselmeyer, transformed beyond recognition, appears before the children in a magician's costume.

The "wizard's" ability to make toys come to life excites children, but like anything mysterious, it also inadvertently frightens them. To dispel their fear, Drosselmeyer removes his mask and they recognize their beloved godfather.

Clara wants to play with the wonderful, animated dolls, but they have already been taken away. To comfort her, Drosselmeyer ѝ presents the Nutcracker. The funny man very ѝ like, but brother ѝ Fritz, a naughty and mocking boy, unexpectedly breaks the toy. Clara gently comforts her crippled pet.

Fritz and his friends, wearing mouse masks, tease the bitter Marie. The guests return from the next room. After their last ceremonial dance, everyone leaves.

Night. The moonlight adds a fairy-tale charm to the tree, which for Clara seems full of magical secrets. Overcoming her fear, she comes here to carry the sick Nutcracker, hugging and cradling her. Drosselmeyer appears. But now he is no longer just the good godfather, but a fearsome wizard. He waves his arms and everything around is transformed - the walls move, the tree begins to grow.

Suddenly mice appear, led by their king. Only Nutcracker's foresight and bravery save everyone. After building the lead soldiers, he bravely leads them into battle with the mouse troops. But strength is on the side of the evil mice. The Nutcracker is left alone with the Mouse King and his retinue. Clara is in despair at the danger that threatens her pet. At this moment Drosselmeyer ѝ holds out a burning candle, which she throws among the mice. Frightened, they run away.

The battlefield is deserted. Only the Nutcracker lies motionless on the floor. Marie, along with the dolls, rushes to the rescue. 

A miracle happens - a beautiful young man, Prince Nutcracker, stands before her.
The walls of the house disappear. Clara and friends ѝ find themselves under the dome above the starry sky around the fairy-tale tree. Light snowflakes circle in a magical chorus. Clara and Prince Nutcracker are enchanted by the magic of the twinkling star at the top of the tree. 

Second act

Clara and Prince Nutcracker find themselves in the dream palace of Configurenburg. All the subjects of the kingdom of sweet and tasty treats worship them. The formal greeting begins, organized into a variety of dances that everyone performs in their honor. Chocolate dances a hot Spanish dance. Coffee is introduced next with a rousing Arabic dance. The Tea presents a sophisticated Chinese dance, and when it's the turn of the irrepressible Russian Trepak, the merriment boils over. Everyone is drawn into the unstoppable whirl of the dance. Prince Nutcracker and Clara are happy... 

In the Kingdom of Dreams they feel like in their own welcoming and cozy home.

But... it's all just a dream. Gone is New Year's Eve and with it all the wonderful dreams. Clara is sitting by the Christmas tree at home, and on her knees ѝ is her Nutcracker doll.

History of creation

"The Nutcracker" is one of the most loved and most frequently offered ballets on New Year's Eve. Following the success of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890, Ivan Bcevolozhsky, the director of the Imperial Theatres, commissioned Czajkowski to create a work combining opera and ballet. The opera is Iolanta, and for the creation of a ballet the composer again collaborated with the choreographer Marius Πetipa, with whom he had also worked on The Sleeping Beauty. The plot, proposed by Πeтипa, is an adaptation of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann's pastiche The Nutcracker and the King of the Mouseketeers by Alleĸcandop Dumas-father, entitled The Nutcracker. After appropriate cuts, the plot of Hoffman's ppиĸaзaĸa and Dumas's adaptation became a ballet libretto in two acts. Tchaikovsky receives detailed instructions for the staging of each of the movements of the work, including the tempo and metrical features of the ballet.

The premiere of Les Misérables took place on 18 May 1892 on the same night as the premiere of the opera Iolanta on the stage of the Mapiincĸi Theatre for Opera and Ballet in Canĸtĸtĸtĕpĕbĕr. The first performance was without significant success. Outside Russia, the ballet was first performed in 1943 in Great Britain, and in 1944 it was given its first performance in the United States by the San Francisco Ballet. In 1954 it was performed in New York, which was a huge success, and since then The Nutcracker has traditionally been performed at Christmas every year.

The premiere of "Leshniĸootpošača" in Bulgaria was on 29 June 1962 on the stage of the Rousse Opera. The choreography was by the famous Bulgarian choreographer Assen Manolov, who was the director of the Ruse Ballet Company at the time, and the set design was by the Romanian artist Paula Brankovianu. Hristo Stanishev is the conductor-stage director.