Ballet fairy tale nutcracker summary. Everything you wanted to know about The Nutcracker

Before Saturday's concert, some inspiration for you.
A wonderful cartoon from our childhood, but it still looks good now. It is a pity that the restorers have not yet restored the image, it is worth it! You can watch with the baby, introduce him to the music that he will hear at the concert.

The second cartoon on the theme of the Nutcracker - "Fantasy" - was filmed by Walt Disney studios in 1940. You can watch an excerpt from it to Tchaikovsky's music "Waltz of the Flowers".

The premiere of the ballet The Nutcracker and the opera Iolanta took place on December 6 (18), 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. And this was the last performance of Tchaikovsky that he had a chance to see on stage. Mariinsky Theater. The Nutcracker is still going on at the Mariinsky.

History of ballet
The glory of P. I. Tchaikovsky by the beginning of the 90s of the XIX century spread throughout the world. At the turn of the century, Russian ballet entered one of the most brilliant periods in its history. Tchaikovsky's ballet reform, begun by him in Swan Lake, which turned Sleeping Beauty into a choreographic symphony, ended with the creation of The Nutcracker.
"Iolanthe" and "The Nutcracker" latest works Tchaikovsky for musical theatre, this is the "spiritual testament" of the composer. The path of choreographers to comprehend the music of The Nutcracker turned out to be long and thorny, but at the same time, the score of The Nutcracker remains incredibly attractive for modern ballet theater XXI century.

Painting by Zinaida Serebryakova. Snowflakes. Nutcracker. 1923

The birth of The Nutcracker was due to the director of the imperial theaters - I. A. Vsevolozhsky. At the end of January 1890, after the triumphant success of the Sleeping Beauty ballet, an idea arose for a performance that combined two one-act performances - the opera Iolanthe and the ballet The Nutcracker in one evening. This idea was suggested to Vsevolozhsky by the example Paris Opera, That's why new production the 1891/92 season was supposed to be a "Russian zest", a performance - an extravaganza with the indispensable participation of a foreign prima ballerina, a mass of original finds in the design of scenery and costumes. P. I. Tchaikovsky welcomed this kind of new synthetic performance.

Sketches of costumes by I. A. Vsevolozhsky for the ballet The Nutcracker.
First staging. Mariinsky Theatre, 1892

Literary basis

The literary basis for the creation of the ballet was the fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (German: Nußknacker und Mausekönig). Hoffmann's tale was first published in 1816 in Berlin. The plot was that the twelve-year-old girl Marichen Stahlbaum received a Christmas present from her godfather Drosselmeyer a nutcracker doll for cracking nuts. On Christmas night, the Nutcracker came to life and entered the fight with the mouse army. In the morning, Drosselmeyer told the story of his nephew, who was bewitched by the mouse king. And at night, Marihen, her favorite doll Clara and the Nutcracker were again attacked by the mouse army, fought with mice and, having won, went to the doll kingdom, where Marihen was elected princess.

Scene from the ballet The Nutcracker. First staging.
The Nutcracker - Sergei Legat, Clara - Stanislava Belinskaya. Mariinsky Theatre, 1892

Characters

There are several editions of the Nutcracker ballet. In different editions there are discrepancies in the name of the main character: Clara and Marie. IN original work Hoffmann, the name of the girl is Marihen (in French - namely french translation got to I. Vsevolozhsky - Marie), and Clara is her favorite doll. But in the stage interpretation, the role of the doll disappeared altogether and its actions were transferred to the main character of the work - in some editions, along with the name.
In productions in the USSR since the mid-1930s, in connection with the general ideological setting, the plot of the ballet was Russified, and main character began to be called Masha, and her brother - originally Fritz - Misha. The original feast of Christmas was Soviet years replaced by New Year.

Despite the fact that Tchaikovsky highly appreciated the achievements of Petipa and consulted with him when working with sketches, nevertheless the music of the ballet turned out to be quite difficult for a stage solution - the composer went more and more forward, towards the symphonization of the ballet, and the thought of the choreographer, as well as the level of the ballet theater of that time, did not keep up with him. As a result, the ballet was staged by the choreographer L. Ivanov, the scenery was created by artists - K. Ivanov, M. Bocharov, the costumes were made according to the sketches of I. Vsevolozhsky.
After Lev Ivanov, many major choreographers in Russia, such as A. Gorsky, F. Lopukhov, V. Vainonen, Yu. Grigorovich, I. Belsky, I. Chernyshev, took on the difficult role of interpreters of The Nutcracker. Each of them took into account the experience of their predecessors, but each offered an original version, focusing on their own understanding of Tchaikovsky's music, personal aesthetic inclinations and the demands of the time.

Variations on music

The music from the ballet, which has become classical, is being modernized with completely different plots (see productions by Maurice Bejart (France) - 1999 and humorous (including with black humor) by Matthew Bourne (England) - 2003).
If Béjart's performance, although far from a well-known plot, still claims to be improvisation according to classical dance, then Bourne's choreography does not claim to be him. But that doesn't matter. Both ballets were recognized as interesting and deserved the understanding of the viewer and therefore require a certain amount of attention.
The Nutcracker by Maurice Bejart appeared in 1999. To the immortal music of the ballet and in the background modern dance Maurice Béjart tells his own biography- in French. But the language of dance, plasticity and facial expressions makes his performance understandable for everyone.
"The Nutcracker" by the English choreographer Matthew Bourne (Matthew Bourne) is completely different in genre, staged at the Sadler's Wells Theater. The action is moved to Dr. Dross's orphanage for homeless children. This ballet by Matthew Bourne caused a lot of controversy. No matter how they called him: both “strange”, and “unexpected”, and simply “who knows what” - and in all languages. But there was a critic who defined Born's work (meaning this particular production) with the following words: “In the end, classical ballet- an extremely conservative genre, it is not customary to make any significant changes in new productions. But apart from classical productions"The Nutcracker" appear non-classical. Matthew Bourne directs ballets in modern technology dance: jazz and contemporary. He takes classical music, which has already been played in theaters a million times, and shows something unusual under it. He interprets it in his own way and composes a new fairy tale.

Ballet "The Nutcracker": a summary

First action

The Stahlbaum family is celebrating the new year. Friends at home come to the reception. One of the guests is the godfather of the owners of the house, Marie and Fritz. His name is Drosselmeyer. He is the most welcome guest, because he brought gifts for the children, including a funny Nutcracker.

A few moments of agonizing anticipation. And then, finally, it happened: the doors swing open, and a Christmas tree shining with lights appears before the excited children. The holiday begins.

Suddenly, a master puppeteer appears from somewhere. It's Drosselmeyer, but he's wearing a mask, and the kids think he's another guest. Dolls come to life in his hands. Children are shocked, interested, only the master himself scares them a little. A good godfather opens his face, and all fears immediately disappear.

Marie asks her godfather for permission to play with the dolls a little, but it turns out that they have already been put away in the closet. Only the Nutcracker remains, which Drosselmeyer gives to the girl. The funny wooden soldier evokes sympathy in Marie, and she willingly plays with him.

But here the obnoxious brother Fritz intervenes in the game, who, like all boys, begins to experiment with the mechanism of the doll. The Nutcracker is not just a doll, it is designed in such a way that it can crack nuts. In the inept hands of Fritz, the toy eventually breaks. Marie is very sorry for the Nutcracker. She takes him in her arms and cradles him. The merry boys make fun of Marie, dressed up in mouse masks. But, fortunately, the holiday ends. The guests dance the last dance and begin to disperse.

As soon as everyone in the house falls asleep, Marie quietly returns to the room with the Christmas tree. The lights are extinguished, and the festive tree itself is mysteriously illuminated by the moon, which peers through the window. A little scary, but Marie bravely finds the crippled Nutcracker left under the tree and again takes him in her arms to pity and console him.
And then the wizard comes. He has the face of a good godfather, but this time he performs real miracles. Drosselmeyer waves his hands, and the world is transformed. The room turns into a huge hall, the tree grows rapidly up and down. Dolls and other toys-decorations also increase and come to life. The holiday must continue.

But suddenly an army of mice appears, led by their King. There is panic among the toys, only the brave Nutcracker knows what to do. At his call to battle with mice, a formation of tin soldiers appears. There are just more mice. They overturn the line of toy soldiers, and the brave Nutcracker is left alone against the enemy army.

Marie is very frightened and turns to the wizard for help. He offers the girl a burning candle. Marie throws it at the mice and puts them to flight. The Nutcracker is saved, but something seems to have happened to him. He still lies alone on the deserted battlefield. Marie and her doll friends run towards him.

And here something incredible happens! Instead of the clumsy, albeit cute Nutcracker, the beautiful Prince rises from the floor and holds out his hands to Marie.

And the world is changing again. The ceiling and walls of the house disappear altogether. All that remains is the Christmas tree and the stars in the sky above. But the star at the top of the tree shines brightest of all. Marie and the Nutcracker, in the form of a prince, get into a magical sledge and rush towards her. And all the toys run after them.

Second act

The Nutcracker Prince and Marie swim among the spruce paws right to the top of the New Year's tree. They are accompanied by toy friends. There is very little left to reach the destination. But the mice rushing in pursuit overtake the travelers. The Nutcracker Prince is once again forced to fight them. Marie and the dolls are very worried, but this time the prince defeats the enemies.

And the holiday begins. Everyone is so happy that the dastardly Mouse King has been defeated. The dolls start to dance. The tree is flooded with lights. The Nutcracker Prince and Marie realize that they have reached the place where all dreams come true. They are very happy.

Marie takes off, soars, soars ... and wakes up. It was just a vision, a dream. In the hands of the girl is the same wooden Nutcracker. But Marie is no longer the same. She visited the country where wishes come true, and now she knows how happiness is obtained.

The ballet "The Nutcracker" is a true symbol of the New Year and Christmas, just like the Christmas tree and gifts.
Did you know that he turned 120 this year!
And this fairy tale, according to a long tradition, is present in the repertoire of various leading theaters of the world on New Year's Eve.
Imagine how many generations of children have already watched it!
From generation to generation, parents take their children to this ballet during the winter holidays.
For me, this ballet is a real memory of my childhood.
And when to fall into childhood, if not on New Year's Eve?
Are we falling?
Let knowledgeable balletomanes forgive me, but I don’t want to systematize information and keep within limits and canons.
I decided to put photos from performances in various editions, as I prepared the post for the little princess just to please her.
So let's just plunge into the fairy tale!

Summary of the ballet "The Nutcracker".

Ballet in two acts;
libretto by M. Petipa based on the fairy tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
music - P.I. Tchaikovsky
First staging:
St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre, 1892.

Act one

Christmas is coming. Invisible to respectable citizens, Fairies wish everyone happiness and love.
In the house of Mr. Stahlbaum, they are preparing for the holiday. Kids receive long-awaited gifts. They are in awe of the green wonder, decorated with candles, toys and sweets.
Suddenly, a man in a strange outfit appears in the living room, frightening children and adults.
This is the eccentric Drosselmeyer, the puppet master - the godfather of Marie and Fritz, the children of the Stahlbaums. As always, he prepared surprises. This time they were bizarre puppets - Pajac, Ballerina and Arap. But Marie doesn't want to play. The kind girl was offended by the godfather because he scared everyone. The upset Drosselmeyer takes out another toy - a clumsy, ugly, but good-natured Nutcracker. The kids don't like the freak. Only Marie carefully presses the toy to her.
The mischievous Fritz takes away the amusing little man from his sister and ... breaks it. Drosselmeyer calms the inconsolable girl, fixes the Nutcracker and returns it to Marie.
Meanwhile, the holiday is in full swing. Drunk adults in carnival masks become like scary monsters, and the respectable grossvater dance turns into something threatening and full of danger. Or maybe that's just what Marie thinks? At midnight the guests disperse. Lulled good fairies, Marie falls asleep, hugging the Nutcracker...
Whether in a dream, in reality, suddenly the girl is surrounded by a horde of gray mice.
And among them flash those same terrible carnival masks that scared Marie so much at the holiday. And what is most surprising, this whole army seems to be headed by the godfather Drosselmeyer. But a miracle happened: the wooden Nutcracker suddenly came to life. In front of the astonished Marie, he began to gather an army of tin soldiers and gingerbread horses to protect her.
A battle broke out, but the forces were not equal. Furious monsters surrounded the Nutcracker more and more. Overcoming her fear, Marie threw off her shoe and with all her might launched it into the thick of the enemy hordes. At the same moment everything disappeared, and Marie fell unconscious.
When she came to herself, she saw Drosselmeyer, but no longer an eccentric old man, but a wonderful magician (after all, a magician is hiding in every real master artist). The godfather called to the world of eternal joy and beauty.
True, to get there, you need to go through a snow blizzard and other tests.
Hand in hand, Marie and the Nutcracker hit the road.

Action two

In the city of Confiturnburg, everything is ready to receive guests. Dragee Fairy and Prince Orshad, surrounded by elegant sweets and friendly dolls, meet Marie and the Nutcracker. Having solemnly dedicated Marie to the Princess (and only a very kind and very brave girl can become a Princess here), they open the ball.
The courtiers perform "tasty" dances for Marie: Spanish - "Chocolate", Arabic - "Coffee", Chinese - "Tea", Russian - "Gingerbread", French - "Marshmallow".
And, finally, the rulers of the realm of sweets themselves are dancing - Dragee Fairy and Prince Orshad.
Godfather Drosselmeyer brings Marie back from her magical journey.
But the girl will never forget beautiful fairy tale in which goodness and beauty reign.

Ballet "The Nutcracker" performed by the American ballet Brandywine Ballet.

Ballet "The Nutcracker" performed by the English Royal Ballet Company.
Choreography: Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.
Soloists: Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez.

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann knew how to be a magician!
He composed the story about the Nutcracker while playing with the children of his friend Hitztg - Marie and Friedrich.
They became the prototypes young heroes"The Nutcracker" - the children of the medical adviser Stahlbaum.
The reader gets to know them by opening the first page of Hoffmann's tale.
The first production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker took place in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre.
Marius Petipa, who was going to compose a ballet, fell ill, the production was entrusted to the second choreographer of the theater - Lev Ivanov.
The ballet was considered unsuccessful, it has not survived (with the exception of some dances). Yes, and the music was difficult to stage.
In the future, the greatest Russian choreographers of the 20th century tried, each in their own way, to combine the libretto and their understanding of music, to give the ballet a more mystical character, characteristic of Hoffmann's fairy tale.
Petipa mistakenly named the girl Clara - this name in the fairy tale is actually her doll.
In Russia, the heroine was given back the name given to her by Hoffmann: Marie, or Masha, but in the West she continues to move from performance to performance under the name of her doll.

Every year on stage Bolshoi Theater there is a magic that gives us the play "The Nutcracker".
A cute children's fairy tale turned into stage action, full of mystery, mysticism and magic, the struggle of complex and deep human feelings.

I really liked these mass scenes - a real winter fairy tale!
The legendary ballet production of George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" performed by the New York City Ballet.
The magical music of Tchaikovsky, incredible costumes, a real spruce that grows during the performance, and, of course, the world-famous story about the girl Marie and the wooden prince, who won together mouse king.
The production features over 70 ballet dancers, accompanied by a live orchestra from the New York City Ballet.
The children's parts are performed by 50 young dancers from the School of American Ballet, the official division of the City of New York Ballet.

And these are photos of the performance Cheryl Cencich \ Port Huron, MI - United States \
I think it turned out to be a very beautiful story!
After all, whatever the productions, the ageless fairy tale of Hoffmann, magical music Tchaikovsky, winter fairy-tale scenery - all this makes The Nutcracker an immortal classic.
The story captivates the heart fairyland, and the ballet remains in the memories of young viewers as a wonderful symbol of the New Year holidays.

But such Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden - the Nutcrackers.
For a smile!)))
Hoffmann in his tale speaks of the appearance of the Nutcracker with great tenderness.
Probably because he looks at him through the eyes of sweet Marie.
Here is the dictionary German language compiled by the Brothers Grimm in mid-nineteenth century, describes the Nutcracker (Nussknacker) differently: "most often it has the form of an ugly little man, into whose mouth a nut is inserted and pricked with a special lever."
The “parents” of ordinary figurines for chopping nuts were craftsmen who lived in Sonneberg, in the Ore Mountains (Germany).
Quite quickly, wooden nutcrackers ceased to be used for their intended purpose.
They began to make them so cute that from the second half of XIX they have become a Christmas decoration of the interior.

And finally, a small gift - you can imagine yourself in the fairy tale "The Nutcracker" and try to revive the toys.
Hint - first click the mice on the picture and get right under the tree, and then you need to poke the mice on the mouse - right on the belly.
Very important - in the very center. Otherwise it won't start!

In my understanding, the New Year is my native Omsk, where there is a lot of fluffy, snow-white snow, a real Siberian jelly in every kitchen, a skating rink, after which you run to the nearest coffee shop, warm yourself with something tasty and very hot, watching from the window sparkling with multi-colored lights children who run with sleds towards the city Christmas tree and, of course, a traditional trip to Musical Theatre to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's fabulous ballet The Nutcracker. People in Omsk love to celebrate the New Year and love to go to the theatre. I happened to be in different cities of our country, but since they applaud in Omsk, they do not applaud anywhere else. If Feodosia is a city of museums, then Omsk is a real city of theaters.

Omsk musical theater

I have always been interested in how composers write music for ballet. In particular, I have always wondered why Tchaikovsky decided to write the ballet The Nutcracker, which takes place in one of the German principalities in the era of Hoffmann, namely in the fabulous town of Konfiturenburg. Once Pyotr Ilyich received an order from the directorate of the Imperial Theaters for a one-act opera and a two-act ballet to be staged in one evening. Tchaikovsky chose for the opera the work of the Danish writer H. Herz "The Daughter of King René" ("Iolanthe"), and famous fairy tale Hoffmann "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" for ballet. This tale was taken in a French retelling, which was made by A. Dumas - the father and was called "The Story of the Nutcracker".

First, Tchaikovsky outlined the plot of The Nutcracker in writing, and only then began to work with the great choreographer Marius Petipa, who made detailed plan- order and choreographer's exposition. By that time, Petipa served Russia for more than forty years and staged more than one performance. The illustrious master gave Tchaikovsky detailed recommendations and advice on what music should be for this magical and winter fairy tale. In 1891 Tchaikovsky traveled to the USA for Grand opening Carnegie Hall, but he continued to compose music even when he was sailing on a steamboat. Realizing that he is not in time for the deadline, he sends a letter from Paris with a request to postpone the premieres of The Nutcracker and Iolanthe to the next season. The work went more actively when Pyotr Ilyich returned from his trip. The ballet was completed during January and February 1892. One of symphony orchestras Russian musical society performed suites from the music for the ballet The Nutcracker under the baton of the composer himself. Six numbers sounded, of which five were repeated at the request of the public - it was a resounding success.

The production of the ballet will be completed by the second choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater, L. Ivanov, according to the exact scenarios and instructions of the seriously ill Petipa. Lev Ivanovich Ivanov owned performances of Polovtsian dances in Borodin's Prince Igor and dances in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera-ballet Mlada. Rehearsals for The Nutcracker began at the end of September 1892, and the premiere took place on 18 December. Surprisingly, the criticism was different, both positive and sharply negative. Nevertheless, no criticism prevented the ballet from staying in the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater for more than thirty years. In 1923 the ballet was restored by choreographer F. Lopukhov. In 1929 he creates a new choreographic version of the play. What changed? Initially, the heroine of the ballet was called Clara, in the Soviet years they began to call her Masha. (Marie at Dumas). Later, productions of The Nutcracker on different stages of the country were carried out by different choreographers.

Why do we love The Nutcracker so much on New Year's Eve? It all starts with Christmas Eve in the Zilbergauz house, when guests gather for a holiday. Clara, Fritz and their little guests enter the hall. In the center of attention of absolutely everyone is a fluffy and elegant Christmas tree. The clock strikes midnight, and with their last blow, Clara's godfather, the mysterious Drosselmeyer, appears, who brings huge mechanical dolls as a gift to the children - the Candidate, the Soldier, the Harlequin and Columbine. Zilbergauz, fearing that the children will ruin the gifts, orders them to be taken to his office. The children are terribly upset and Drosselmeyer, in order to console them, takes out a strange toy from his pocket - a funny little Nutcracker and shows how he gnaws nuts. Fritz forces the Nutcracker to crack the hardest nuts, and the Nutcracker's jaw breaks. Then the annoyed Fritz throws the toy on the floor, but Clapa picks him up, rocks him to sleep, puts him on the bed of his favorite doll and wraps him up. warm blanket. Zilbergauz orders the furniture to be taken out of the living room, the ball begins.

At the end of the celebration, the children are sent to bed, and the guests and hosts disperse. Soft moonlight penetrates the window of the empty hall, and fluffy snow flakes slowly fall outside the window. Clara can't sleep. She worries about the Nutcracker. Suddenly, rustle, running and scratching are heard. The girl gets frightened and wants to run away, but the big wall clock starts to strike the time. Clara sees that instead of an owl, Drosselmeister is sitting on the clock, waving the caftan flaps like wings. Small lights flicker on all sides as mice fill the room. Clara runs to the Nutcracker's bed. But suddenly, the tree begins to grow and becomes huge, the dolls come to life and run around in fright. The gingerbread soldiers line up and the battle with the mice begins. The Nutcracker, getting up from his bed, orders to sound the alarm. Boxes with tin soldiers are opened, the Nutcracker's army is built in a battle square. The mouse army attacks, but the soldiers bravely resist the onslaught, and the mice retreat. Then the insidious Mouse King enters the duel. He wants to kill the Nutcracker, but Clara takes off her slipper and throws it at the King. The Nutcracker wounds him, and he, along with the rest of the army, flees from the battlefield. The Nutcracker approaches Clara with a drawn sword in his hand. He turns into a beautiful young man and asks the girl to follow him. Both are hiding in the branches of the Christmas tree. This is where the real New Year's magic begins, because the hall turns into a real winter forest. Snow falls in large flakes and a real blizzard rises. Snowflakes, driven by the wind, dance. IN fabulous city In Confiturünburg, the arrival of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince is already awaiting in the Palace of Sweets Fairy Dragee and Prince Whooping Cough. In a boat made of gilded shells, Clara and the Nutcracker sail to the palace, where everything is prepared for the upcoming celebration. Begins beautiful holiday, in which the mistress of sweets Fairy Dragee herself, Mother Zhigon and other fairy-tale characters take part.

The Nutcracker is the composer's last ballet. Here, Tchaikovsky turns to a theme that has already "sounded" in "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" - this is the theme of overcoming evil spells with the powerful force of love. In The Nutcracker, music is enriched with all sorts of expressive means. In this ballet, there is an amazing fusion of fine and expressive, theatricality and psychologism. The music very subtly embodies everything that happens on the stage: the growth of the Christmas tree, the shouts of the sentry, drumming, toy fanfare, the squeak of a mouse and the miraculous transformation of the Nutcracker. When shiny and light snowflakes dance, the music magically conveys the feeling of cold, the game moonlight and the feelings of the heroine, who suddenly found herself in a mysterious and fairy world. Various dances are heard in the second act: the dance of chocolate, coffee, tea (brightly characteristic, Chinese full of comic effects), as well as a lively Russian trepak in the folk spirit, an elegant and stylized dance of shepherdesses, and the comical dance of Matushka Zhigon. Of course, the peak of the divertissement is the famous Waltz of the Flowers with its variety of melodies, symphonic development, pomp and solemnity. Surprisingly graceful and subtle is the dance of the Dragee Fairy. The lyrical culmination of the whole ballet, from which goosebumps, is the adagio, which was originally staged for the Dragee Fairy and the Prince, now for Clara and the Nutcracker.

Russian ballet and Russian composers are, of course, golden business card our country. It will forever remain a mystery to us how Tchaikovsky heard all this majestic music, what exactly inspired him to write it, and what feelings he experienced when he created his immortal masterpieces. Pyotr Ilyich was brilliant composer and left us a huge and beautiful musical legacy. Unfortunately, Feodosiya does not yet have a theater where it would be possible to stage ballets and host artists from other theaters in our country. But we hope that this situation will change in the near future. It is very important for all of us, and especially our children, to listen to the music of the great Russians and foreign composers. As for the ballet, it is separate, Magic world where the grace of dance is subtly intertwined with the beauty of the soul, its pain and joy. It's just incredibly beautiful. This is art, this is our culture, without which we cannot have a decent future. Today, all Feodosians have the opportunity to touch the work of the great composer by attending a concert dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Ilyich.

Characters

Silbergaus

Clara (in the modern version - Masha) and Fritz, their children

Drosselmeyer

Nutcracker

Nutcracker Prince

Clara Princess

Fairy Dragee

Prince Whooping Cough

majordomo

mouse king

Action one.

Small German town. There is a holiday in the Zilbergaus house. Many guests are invited to the Christmas tree.

Luxuriously decorated, it delights the children of Silberghaus - Clara, Fritz and their little guests. The children frolic, admiring the gifts received.

Guests arrive. The clock strikes midnight. But old Drosselmeyer, the godfather of little Clara, is not visible among the guests. And here he is! His appearance brings a new revival. old weirdo always comes up with something funny. Today, too, he presents children with four large mechanical dolls in the costumes of a canteen, a soldier, Harlequin, and Columbine.

The wound up dolls are dancing.

The children are delighted, but Zilbergaus, fearing that the intricate toys will deteriorate, orders them to be taken away for the time being.

This causes distress to Clara and Fritz.

Wishing to console the children, Drosselmeyer takes out a new funny doll, the Nutcracker, from the suitcase. She knows how to crack nuts. The old man shows the children how to put the doll into action.

The mischievous Fritz grabs the Nutcracker and puts the biggest nut in his mouth. The Nutcracker's teeth are broken. Fritz throws the toy. But Clara picks up the mutilated Nutcracker from the floor, ties his head with a scarf and puts him to sleep on the bed of his beloved doll. The guests perform an old dance.

The ball is over. Everyone disperses. It's time for the kids to sleep. Little Clara can't sleep. She gets out of bed and approaches the Nutcracker, who has remained in the dark hall. But what is it? From the cracks in the floor, many brilliant lights appear. These are the eyes of mice. How scary! There are more and more of them. The room is filled with mice. Clara runs to the Nutcracker to seek protection.

The rays of the moon flood the hall with their magical light. The tree begins to grow and reaches gigantic proportions. Dolls and toys come to life, bunnies sound the alarm. The sentry at the booth salutes with a gun and shoots, the pupae run in fright, looking for protection.

A squad of gingerbread soldiers appears. The mouse army is coming. Mice win and triumphantly devour trophies - pieces of gingerbread.

The Nutcracker orders the bunnies to sound the alarm again. The lids fly off the boxes in which the tin soldiers lie: there are grenadiers, and hussars, and artillerymen with cannons.

The Mouse King orders the army to resume the attack and, seeing failure, enters into single combat with the Nutcracker. Clara takes off her shoe and throws it at the Mouse King. The Nutcracker seriously wounds his enemy, who, together with the mouse army, flees. And suddenly the Nutcracker turns from a freak into a handsome young man. He kneels before Clara and invites her to follow him. They approach the tree and hide in its branches.

Action two.

The hall turns into a winter spruce forest. The snow is falling more and more, the blizzard is rising. The wind drives the dancing snowflakes. A snowdrift is formed from living figures of sparkling snowflakes. Gradually the blizzard subsides, the winter landscape is illuminated by moonlight.

Confiturenburg - the palace of sweets. The Dragee Fairy and Prince Whooping Cough live in a sugar palace decorated with dolphins, from whose mouths fountains of currant syrup, orshad, lemonade and other sweet drinks beat.

Fairies of melodies, flowers, paintings, fruits, dolls, fairies of the night, fairies of dancers and dreams, fairies of caramel sweets appear; barley sugar, chocolate, cakes, mints, dragees, pistachios and biscuits appear. Everyone bows before the Pellet fairy, and the silver soldiers salute her.

The majordomo arranges little Moors and pages, whose heads are made of pearls, their bodies are rubies and emeralds, and their feet are pure gold. They hold burning torches in their hands.

In a boat in the form of a gilded shell, Clara and the Nutcracker are slowly floating down the river. Here they are on the beach. Silver soldiers salute them, and little Moors in costumes of hummingbird feathers take Clara by the arms and help her enter the palace.

From the rays of the scorching sun, the palace on the pink river begins to gradually melt and finally disappears. The fountains stop beating.

The Dragee Fairy with Prince Whooping Cough and the princesses, sisters of the Nutcracker, greet the arrivals; the retinue bows respectfully to them, and the major-domo greets the Nutcracker with a safe return. The Nutcracker takes Clara by the hand and tells those around him that he alone owes his salvation.

The holiday begins: dance Chocolate ( spanish dance), Coffee ( arabic dance), Tea (Chinese dance), clowns (dance of buffoons), lollipops (dance of tubes with cream); Polichinelle dances with mother Zhigon.

In conclusion, the Dragee fairy appears with her retinue and Prince Whooping Cough and takes part in the dance. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince are beaming with joy.

The apotheosis of the ballet depicts a large beehive with flying bees vigilantly guarding their wealth.