A Teaching Guide to The Nutcracker
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The Original Story
The
ballet is based on "The
Nutcracker and The Mouse King" by E.T.A. Hoffman published in 1816.
Hoffman never intended this story about childhood to be for
children, as his words portrayed a bleak view of humanity and relationships. His
plot is centered around Marie, a German girl who lives in a loveless house.
Clara, the name of the central character in The Nutcracker ballet, was
the name of Marie's favorite doll. Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeier, gives her a
nutcracker doll for Christmas. But at night, the vicious seven-headed Mouse King
and his mouse soldiers appear and try to destroy her dolls. The Nutcracker comes
to life and battles in Marie's defense, but he is easily beaten by the Mouse
King. Marie does her best to defend herself by throwing her slipper at the Mouse
King. She then faints. The battle is unresolved.
Marie is found by her family lying in a pool of blood. Apparently she has fallen
into a toy cabinet and cut herself on the glass. Rather than comforting her,
Marie's parents scold her and send her to her room. During her convalescence
after the battle, Marie is visited by Herr Drosselmeier. Her tells her the story
behind the Nutcracker and the Mouse King: beautiful princess Pirlipat is cursed
to be forever ugly by the Mouse King's mother. The only way to stop the curse
and get the princess' hand in marriage is for a brave and handsome man to find
the hardest nut in the world, crack it with his teeth, and deliver the kernel to
the princess to eat. The king has promised his daughter's hand in marriage to
the man who breaks the spell.
Drosselmeier's nephew succeeds in cracking the nut and delivers the kernel to
the princess. As soon as she eats it, she becomes breathtakingly beautiful.
However, instead of a happy fairy tale ending, the nephew inherits the curse and
becomes a wooden-faced nutcracker! Disgusted with his appearance, the princess
has him banished by the king. During the confusion of the cure, curse transfer
and banishment, Drosselmeier accidentally steps on the Mouse King's mother,
killing her. The Mouse King vows vengeance on Drosselmeier and the Nutcracker.
Another battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker occurs. The Nutcracker
is victorious, and he takes Marie to a land where he is a prince. After a
marvelous journey, they return to the Marie's house. The story closes when Marie
meets and marries Drosselmeier's nephew.
The story was revised considerably by Alexander Dumas père and published as The
Nutcracker of Nuremberg. In 1891, Marius Petipa commissioned Tchaïkovsky to
write a ballet based on the Dumas revision. Petipa decided to simplify Hoffman's
story of princess Pirlipat. In the ballet, the Nutcracker manages to defeat the
Mouse King and all characters find their happy ending.
On December 17, 1892, the first showing of The Nutcracker took place at
the Mariinsky Theatre of Russia, home of the Kirov Ballet. The Nutcracker
made its way to Western Europe in the 1930's and to America by 1940, performed
by Ballet Russe. The
first American full length Nutcracker was performed by the San
Francisco Ballet, choreographed by William Christensen. The Nutcracker
has since become an annual holiday tradition.
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The Author
Ernest
Theodor (Wilhelm) Amadeus Hoffmann was born in 1776 in Köningsberg, Germany. He
changed his third name, Wilhelm, to Amadeus in 1813 in homage to the great
composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Originally educated as a jurist, he is one of the main figures of German
Romanticism as a writer, composer and artist. His works are eclectic and his
characters show an amazing world of fantasy which interacts with everyday life.
His literary work, which influenced Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, features
supernatural characters that reveal people's hidden secrets. The father of the
fantasy/horror story or novella, he was the forerunner of American authors
Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe. His literary
stories inspired many musicians: The Tales of Hoffman, by Offenbach or The
Nutcracker, by Tchaïkovsky. Hoffman died in Berlin in 1822.
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Historical Relevance
The
18th century was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. In both The
Nutcracker and Coppélia, E. T. A. Hoffman presents mechanical dolls
that are almost human. The doll makers in both stories are regarded as magicians
by the other characters, and have supernatural powers. What does this tell us
about the attitudes towards machines and their designers at this time?
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