"The Nutcracker" is a ballet frequently associated with the holiday season. As November draws to a close, ballet companies and schools all over the world begin to perform this perennial favourite. However, it is interesting to note that when it was first performed in 1892, it was not a success. Reviews were mixed, with some critics expressing distaste for the ballerinas while still more panned the plot of the ballet itself. Even Tchaikovsky's score, now some of the most recognizable ballet music, did not delight all who heard it.

How did this ballet eventually become one of the most beloved?


The Origins of the Nutcracker Story

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (most commonly referred to as E.T.A. Hoffmann) was a writer, composer, jurist, critic, draftsman, and caricaturist in the late 1700s and early 1800s. His writings were very influential during the 19th century Romantic movement, with a flair for fantasy and horror that inspired later writers such as Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, Franz Kafka, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Interested in reading Hoffman's story? There's a free eBook on Google Books!


A French Translation

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas wrote a book called Histoire d'un casse-noisette—a French retelling of Hoffman's tale. This adaptation became the basis for the ballet. It was more likely to be read in Russia than the original story because French was the official language of the Russian Imperial court.

The Music of Tchaikovsky

In 1890, Tchaikovsky was commissioned to create a double-bill opera and ballet. Marius Petipa, who served as the choreographer for Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, chose the Alexandre Dumas story as his inspiration for the two-act ballet. (Due to illness, it appears that Petipa's assistant, Lev Ivanov, may have been responsible for much of the choreography.) The story was simplified, with "The Tale of the Hard Nut" removed. The little girl's name was changed from Marie to Clara. (In the story, Clara was the name of one of Marie's dolls.) The first act would focus on the Christmas party and fight between the mice and toys. The second act would show the magical kingdom of dolls, now referred to as the kingdom of sweets.

The Nutcracker contains some of Tchaikovsky's most well-known music. Some of the most famous movements are:
Trepak (or "Russian Dance")
Waltz of the Flowers
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Despite these highlights, some critics of the ballet argued that the music moved slowly and that the real world of the first act and the kingdom of sweets for the second were too different to fit together well.

Prior to the ballet's première, Tchaikovsky arranged what is known as The Nutcracker Suite: a selection of eight numbers from the ballet, intended for concert performance. The ending of the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is modified for this arrangement. This piece captured audiences the moment it was performed; with every selection encored at the initial performance. It remained popular for concert despite the lack of success for the ballet. In 1940, it was used in the Disney film Fantasia. The Nutcracker Suite contains:

Tchaikovsky used a new and exciting instrument in his composition: the celesta. Something the composer discovered in Paris, he was enamored with the light noise of the keyboard-operated struck idiophone. A celesta looks similar to a piano, but contains internal workings similar to a xylophone. Hammers strike metal bars, creating a bright and echoing tone. The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" features the celesta prominently. Tchaivosky was quite proud of the sound of the celesta in his composition; he wanted the work performed before the novelty of the new instrument wore off.

Learn more about the celesta (and hear its lovely sound) with this video!

The Ballet Embraced as a Wintertime Tradition

The ballet premiered on a double-bill with the opera Iolanta on December 18, 1892. The children in the cast, such as Clara, were played by actual children from the Imperial Ballet School of St. Petersburg. This received criticism from many reviewers, who felt the children should not have had such important roles. In many productions (even now), it is common to have feature roles like Clara danced by adults.

Others complained about the plot, which now lacked many details from the original Hoffman story. The transition between the first act's holiday party and the kingdom of sweets was criticized as nonsensical and confusing. Others disliked that the featured ballerinas were not performing until late in the second act.

The ballet was modified, reduced to showcase particular dances and alter roles from the original characters, but it was not yet an audience favourite. This changed in 1944, when it was performed in its entirety by the San Francisco Ballet, charming American audiences.

On February 2, 1954 a new version of this ballet was performed that would become the most famous production: Balanchine's Nutcracker. George Balanchine danced the role of the Nutcracker, Little Prince, and others as a young man in St. Petersburg, Russia. His staging of this emerging favourite was the first full-length production original to the New York City Ballet and helped cement Balanchine's role as a renowned contemporary ballet choreographer. Balanchine returned to the tradition of having children onstage—his Marie (still sometimes referred to as Clara, although he names her as Marie in the cast list) and Nutcracker (and Little Prince) are roughly 10 years old. They have simplified numbers suited to children, and primarily sit and watch during the dazzling ballet performances of the second act.

Throughout the 1960s The Nutcracker increased in popularity, particularly in the United States, and it is now performed during the winter season by virtually every ballet company and school. With a resurgence in casting children, particularly as more companies choreographed their own variations, it is now the first opportunity most ballet students have to perform on stage for an audience of more than their parents. Many young girls dream of being Clara in elementary school and the Sugar Plum Fairy when they are professional ballerinas.

Sources and Additional Reading:

My first exposure to The Nutcracker was actually the "Barbie in the Nutcracker" movie that came out when I was younger! That movie is the only reason why I know the music from the ballet, haha  I also remember never being able to figure out how to pronounce Tchaikovsky when I was younger xD

My first time seeing the Nutcracker ballet was with my Girl Scout Troop in Baltimore Maryland. To this day it's some of the holiday music I love to listen to.

I like the ballet and music a lot but its not my moms favorite. her loss

The ballet classes at the performing arts center where I play in an orchestra put this on every year. I've seen it twice I think. It's cool once or twice but the second act does drag a bit. One of those times a friend of mine was in it as a solider. I love the music to pieces though. Tchaikovsky is pretty much my favorite composer.

My father and I would see The Nutcracker every year, performed by the Houston Ballet Company, when I was a little girl. We went every year until I was about sixteen, which is when we switched to seeing A Christmas Carol. So, I probably saw about a dozen performances of The Nutcracker. Just last year the Houston Ballet Company switched to a different adaptation of The Nutcracker and I took my parents to see it.

Actually, one of my friends work as a techie for the Houston Ballet Company. He took me behind the stage after one performance to see the set and props for the previous adaptation. They had kept the same set pieces and props for decades and up close they looked like something out of a horror movie! But, of course, they looked amazing from the audience and I had no idea prior to that the pieces had deteriorated. Of course, now they have all new set pieces for the new adaptation and thankfully those pieces were in a special location and not destroyed during Hurricane Harvey. But so much else was for the Houston Ballet Company...

I have admittedly never watched the ballet of The Nutcracker, though I believe I've seen cartoon adaptations as a child. I am familiar with the music and every year theres a performance her ebut Ive yet to go. I should do that one day. D:

I first saw the Nutcracker as a little girl - one of my cousins was in a production and the whole family went to see it. Since then, I have not seen the entire ballet, though I have pulled up youtube videos of it every year for my nieces. I can't wait until the younger one (who loves music and dance) is old enough to sit through the whole thing!