The Nutcracker pleases young and old alike

The Nutcracker, a timeless holiday classic, follows Clara Stahlbaum and her Nutcracker from an extravagant Christmas party to a fierce battle with the evil Mouse King, then on a magical journey through the Land of Snow and Kingdom of Sweets.

The action opens with a gala Christmas Eve party at the Stahlbaum home, filled with gaiety, family and friends. Clara’s godfather presents her with his Christmas gift, a Nutcracker doll. After the guests have departed, Clara returns to the Christmas tree, where she falls asleep with the Nutcracker in her arms.

As the clock strikes midnight, strange things begin to happen. Clara shrinks as the tree grows high over her head. Mice begin to fill the room, and the Nutcracker grows to full-size. Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of mice, and an army of gingerbread soldiers led by the Nutcracker. The Mouse King corners the Nutcracker, who is wounded. Clara throws her slipper at the Mouse King who is distracted long enough for the Nutcracker to stab him.

The mice retreat and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which snowflakes dance around them, beckoning them on to his kingdom.

Clara and the Prince travel to the beautiful Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince’s place while awaiting his return. In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is introduced to Clara and the Prince. The sweets, from Spain, Arabia, China and Russia perform dances in turn. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince perform a final dance, followed by a final waltz performed by all the sweets. The Sugar Plum Fairy ushers the Prince and Clara to a reindeer drawn sleigh, which takes off into the night.

Audience members young and old alike have made The Nutcracker a holiday tradition for many generations. Springfield Ballet produces two ballets each season, including Springfield’s only production of The Nutcracker each December.

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Op. 71). The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892.

The Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in the U.S. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.

“The Nutcracker is one of the composer's most popular compositions. The music belongs to the Romantic Period and contains some of his most memorable melodies, several of which are frequently used in television and film. (They are often heard in TV commercials shown during the Christmas season.) The Trepak, or Russian dance, is one of the most recognizable pieces in the ballet, along with the famous Waltz of the Flowers and March, as well as the ubiquitous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The ballet contains surprisingly advanced harmonies and a wealth of melodic invention that is, to many, unsurpassed in ballet music,” says the Wikipedia article about the ballet.

Release your inner child, find a performance of The Nutcracker in your area at http://www.gayly.com/where-see-nutcracker-your-area, and enjoy this fantasy ballet filled with imagery, beautiful music, and superb dancing.

The Gayly – December 5, 2015 @ 3:05 p.m.