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P.Chaikovsky
THE NUTCRACKER
ballet-fairy tale in two acts
Libretto by Maruis Petipa
after E.T.A. Hoffman’s story
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Act I Guests are arriving for a Christmas Eve party at the
Stahlbaum’s wealthy house. Drosselmeyer, the skilled
clock and toy maker, arrives disguised with a mask and
brings many presents, as well as puppets which he uses
to put on a puppet show. He is always full of surprises
and is believed to be a real wizard, so he is always the
children’s favourite. The puppets Colombina, Harlequin
and many Saracens dance in front of the young audience
which excitedly approves of the performance.
All the children in the house wait impatiently for the
moment when the lights on the beautiful Christmas
tree will be lit. Drosselmeyer removes the mask from
his face and reveals his identity to the children. Clara
and Fritz, Stahlbaum’s children, ask him to give them
one of the two life-size puppets, which were the main
attraction of the party, but meantime the puppets have
been taken away from the room. Drosselmeyer tries to
calm the two children down and gives them other gifts.
Clara receives a beautiful Nutcracker shaped like a toy
soldier, which Fritz grabs from his sister’s hands and
accidentally breaks. Clara tenderly caresses the broken
Nutcracker and puts it to sleep in bed.
The guests dance, and as the evening grows late, leave the party. The Stahlbaums retire for the evening. *** Night time. The room with the Christmas tree seems mysterious and enchanted. Clara fights with her fear of the darkness and arrives to check on her beloved “ill” Nutcracker. The girl looks at the clock and as it strikes midnight strange things begin to happen: the cuckoo in the clock turns into Drosselmeyer, who looks at the girl with evil eyes. Many giant mice, led by the Mouse King, appear in the room at the wizard’s signal. Clara wants to run away, but she feels too feeble. She comes near the Christmas tree and the mice disappear, but then the tree itself starts to grow high above her. Everything around her changes. The toys around the tree come to life. Suddenly the mice and their King arrive again. |
The tin soldier raises the alarm. The brave Nutcracker awakens and courageously leads his army of toy soldiers into a battle with the Mouse King. In the one-sided battle Clara, seeing that her beloved toy is in danger, grabs her shoe and throws it, hitting the Mouse King. Scared, the mice run away and leave the Nutcracker lying on the floor. Clara approaches it and then a miracle happens: the Nutcracker turns into a handsome youth, Prince Nutcracker. He looks thankfully at Clara.The room transforms into a winter forest wonderland where light snowflakes spin around in a miraculous dance. Clara and Prince Nutcracker are attracted by the star nestling on the tree’s top, as they would be attracted to a wonderful dream. They sit in a fairy tale boat and set off on a journey to the Puppets’ land. Act II
Clara and the Prince’s journey continues. They
have nearly reached the top of the tree when the evil
mice catch them again. The Nutcracker bravely starts
to fight and wins.
*** Clara and the Prince find themselves in the Puppets’ Land. Twelve pages welcome them as they arrive. The Prince tells everyone about his adventures and how Clara managed to save his life. A big celebration starts in Clara and the Prince’s honour. *** In the morning. Christmas Eve is gone, as is Clara’s beautiful dream and the fairy tale wonderland. The girl is again at home, and the toy nutcracker is in front of her.
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