The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (Russian: Щелкунчик, romanized as Shchelkunchik), is a 1892 two-act classical ballet written by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination, it is an adaptation of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was first choreographed by Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on The Sleeping Beauty, assisted by Lev Ivanov.
Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet before the its December 1892 première, forming The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. It was first performed under the composer's direction, on 19 March 1892 at an assembly of the Saint Petersburg branch of the Musical Society.
It is the music that was used in the episodes The Wind-Up Toy Prince and Animal Snack Time.
Summary[]
In Season 2[]
In The Wind-Up Toy Prince, the Nutcracker suite was used as the theme to reactivate the dancing toy prince with his musical wind-up key (winder-upper), and to rescue the inactive toy prince from the mouse king's jail cell.
In Animal Snack Time, the Nutcracker Suite was used as the main theme for the animal snacks. It is also used when the Little Einsteins are trying to retrieve the stolen snacks from Big Jet.
Structure[]
The Nutcracker Suite contains excerpts of the original music used in the Nutcracker ballet. The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the Nutcracker Suite made by the composer:
The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a[]
- I. Miniature Overture (B-Flat major)
- II. Characteristic Dances
- March (G major)
- Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (E minor) [ending altered from ballet version]
- Russian Dance (Trepak) (G major)
- Arabian Dance (Coffee) (G minor)
- Chinese Dance (Tea) (B-flat major)
- Dance of the Reed Flutes (Mirlitons) (D major)
- III. Waltz of the Flowers (D major)
Episode Appearances[]
Season 2[]
Game Appearances[]
- Little Einsteins (Game Boy Advance):
- March of the Toy Soldiers
- Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairies
Online Appearances[]
- June's Big Dance Recital:
- Trepak
- Dance of the Reed Flutes
Songs adapted from The Nutcracker[]
The Wind-Up Toy Prince[]
- We're Going To Save The Toy Prince, Yay
Animal Snack Time[]
- Stretch Your Neck Up High
- It's Animal Snack Time
Trivia[]
- The compositions are used in the ballet of the same name, The Nutcracker. Although the complete and staged The Nutcracker ballet was not as successful as had been the 20-minute Nutcracker Suite that Tchaikovsky had premiered nine months earlier, The Nutcracker ballet itself soon became popular afterwards.
- The Nutcracker Suite became instantly popular, with almost every musical number encored at its premiere, while the complete ballet did not begin to achieve its great popularity until after the George Balanchine staging became a hit in New York City.
- It is one of the few pieces that Tchaikovsky had written on commission, the other being the 1812 Overture.
In popular culture[]
- The suite is excerpted as soundtrack in Disney's Fantasia, omitting the two movements prior to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
- The Nutcracker's popularity had lent its place throughout various popular culture media, ranging from film, television, and even video games.
Audio Gallery[]
