Whether you’re familiar with the world of ballet or not, chances are that you have heard of the Christmas fairytale ballet ‘The Nutcracker’. The two-act classic, following Clara or Marie (depending on production) and her nutcracker prince to the Land of Sweets, has since its original premiere in 1892, been performed by countless ballet companies and schools around the world. For many, it is an annual tradition, and Christmas would not be complete without.

A Christmas fairytale

The ballet is an adaptation of the E. T. A. Hoffman fairytale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, from 1816, and although there are various different productions, the outline of the story generally remains the same.

It all begins at the Stahlbaum (or Silberhaus) household and their annual Christmas Eve party, where extended family and friends are gathered. At some point during the celebrations a man named Drosselmeyer enters the party. Depending on production, he is portrayed as a clockmaker, a local councilman, magician, toymaker or, the main character of the story, Clara’s (or Marie) grandfather. Drosselmeyer comes bearing gifts for all the children, some of which being lifesize dolls who dance for the guests’ amusement. The final gift from Drosselmeyer is a wooden nutcracker doll, which Clara is either given directly or takes a liking to when the other children ignore the doll. In many versions, Friz, Clara’s brother, breaks the nutcracker, which leaves Clara heartbroken. 

Eventually, the party ends, the guests leave and everyone goes to sleep. As the clock strikes midnight, something mysterious happens. Suddenly the living room is filled with mice, and Clara who tiptoes downstairs to check on the nutcracker doll, suddenly finds herself in the middle of a battle between the mice king and an army of gingerbread men and tin soldiers, who all come to life as the Christmas tree grows and grows. The nutcracker, who has now also come to life, leads the soldiers in the battle against the mice, but when he is injured, and the Mouse King advances on him, Clara throws her slipper at the enormous mouse which distracts him long enough for the nutcracker to end him. 

At the death of the Mouse King, the nutcracker is transformed into a prince who escorts Clara into a pine forest. There they are surrounded by snowflakes performing the famous Waltz of the Snowflakes, which concludes the first act of the ballet. 

The second act is set to the magical Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. A feast is put on to celebrate the prince’s return, and Clara as his heroine, showcasing treats; chocolate, coffee, tea and candy canes, all dance for Clara and the prince. Then, the dance of the red flutes (also sometimes known as marzipan) is performed, followed by Mother Ginger and the Polichinelles who appear from under her enormous skirt, before the beautiful Waltz of the Flowers takes the stage. The feast ends with the Grand Pas de Deux (a dance for two) between the Sugarplum fairy (who in some versions Clara herself becomes) and her cavalier. 

The ballet comes to an end with Clara and the prince leaving the stage in a beautiful, sometimes flying, carriage. 

From unsuccessful premiere to an annual classic

Originally, the ballet was commissioned by the director of the Imperial Theatres of the Russion Empire as a double bill featuring both opera and ballet with music composed by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikavsky. Tchaikavsky began working on The Nutcracker in February 1891, and while journeying through Paris on his way back to Russia from an American tour later that year, he discovered a new instrument - the celesa, also known as bell piano - which he immediately recognised as the ‘voice’ of his Sugarplum fairy. 

Marius Petipa, one of the most influential ballet masters in history, started choreographing for Tchaikavsky’s double-bill in August 1982, however due to illness, his assistant, Lev Ivanov, had to finish the ballet. After the premiere at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1892, the ballet was not deemed a huge success, due to mixed critiques, and Tchaikavsky himself allegedly even wrote in a letter to a friend that the ballet “turned out to be rather boring”. 

Despite the unsuccessful original production, the fairytale lived on. In 1919, the Russian choreographer Alexander Gorsky staged a new version of the ballet, addressing most of the criticism the original production received, notably casting the roles of Clara and the prince as adult dancers, rather than children as in Petipa’s version, which allowed them to more actively participate in the dancing. Other productions of the ballet were later staged by various choreographers; the first outside Russia was Nicholas Sergeyev’s version performed in England in 1934, and the first full performance of the ballet in the United States was William Christensen’s version performed by the San Francisco Ballet on Christmas Eve 1944. A decade later, in 1954, George Balanchine premiered his version of the ballet with his company, the New York City Ballet, bringing children back on stage in the roles as Clara/Marie and the nutcracker. Balanchine’s The Nutcracker was highly welcomed by the American audience, and has been performed every year since its premiere. Soon after, this tradition spread across most of North America, and since the late 1960s the ballet has found its role as an annual Christmas production in numerous ballet companies, primarily in Europe and North America. 

The Nutcracker in 2020

With the pandemic still affecting the world, live performances of The Nutcracker is unfortunately not happening most places this year. However, many companies have found ways to still bring you the nutcracker magic - in your own home. Some companies offer recordings of previous year’s productions to be viewed online, while others have even created new productions for television!

A few places to watch The Nutcracker this year
New York City Ballet (online)
Boston Ballet (TV / online)
Norwegian National Ballet (TV / online. Only available in Norway)
San Francisco Ballet (online)
+ Various productions are available for free on YouTube