The Nutcracker: The origin of this beloved ballet goes back over 3 centuries

The Nutcracker Suite: A beloved beloved Christmas tradition

The Nutcracker is a beloved holiday ballet that could be seen in numerous venues during the holidays prior to COVID. it is slowly making it's way back but if it is not in your area The Tubi streaming service has several versions currently available to watch and they are all spectacular. I can recall watching this Christmas special as a child on network television and in later years PBS would air a version on Christmas morning for decades. The classic as we know it today has been around for over 300 years in one form or another which is amazing.

The Nutcracker 1965 is the first one I remember and has actor Eddie Albert (Oliver Wendal Douglas, Green Acres) narrating the story of Clara whose godfather gives her a nutcracker for Christmas but her younger brother breaks it. Clara falls asleep and dreams a spectacular fantasy where the nutcracker becomes a handsome prince. He whisks her away to a magical world where she has fantastic adventures until she wakes up.

The Nutcracker: Through the decades

The Nutcracker the Motion Picture was released in 1986 and in 1990 the animated The Nutcracker Prince was released. George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, was in theaters in 1993 and in 1995 McCauly Caulkin (Home Alone) starred in an adaptation of the famous ballet. Maurice Bejart's Nutcracker graced television screens in 2002.

There have also been popular animated characters who have done their own special of the Nutcracker like Barbie and Tom and Jerry. There are so many more I do not have the time to look them all up.

When asked a majority of those who enjoy this timeless tale say it is the ballet dancer that enchants them the most. The dancers, their costumes and especially their moves leave the audience spellbound. Today more than ever we need a form of escapism that is fun but hurts us or no one else. Sitting down to watch the Nutcracker can do just that.

For the longest time, I did not realize Clara was dreaming and thought she really had enjoyed her fantasy land. I used to wish that I would get a nutcracker for Christmas and dream that he came to life and took me away to a wonderful land of magic and wonder. I love how each version of the Nutcracker varies but stays true to the original story. The Nutcracker Suite is based on the music of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky whom many say was a genius.

It all began with the 1892 two-act ballet ("fairy ballet"; Russian: балет-феерия, balet-feyeriya), which was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with the score provided by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" which was written in 1816. The original tale is about young Marie Stahlbaum's whose favorite Christmas toy, is the Nutcracker, The toy comes to life and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks Marie away to a magical kingdom that is inhabited by dolls.

The original production was not successful.

The original production was not a success, but the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was and the rest as they say was history. The complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s. This production is now performed by countless ballet companies, in North America primarily during the Christmas season. I am blessed to have two grandchildren who have performed with 2 local ballet theaters in the Nutcracker for the past 4 years and I love seeing this musical in person.

Early on there was an outcry regarding the casting of Clara and the prince so Russian, choreographer Alexander Gorsky staged a new version of the Nutcracker in 1919 using adults as the leads. The first complete performance of The Nutcracker Ballet outside of Russia took place in England in 1934 and continues to be the most popular ballet around the world. The first staged production was from choreographer George Balanchine in 1954.

Blue Ridge Public Television is the PBS network in my area and will air The Nutcracker and the Mouse King on Tuesday, December 14 at 9:00 PM. Please check your local listings for airings in your neck of the woods. The Tubi streaming service comes with many smart TVs but can be downloaded if you have a Roku box. The Nutcracker is one of my fondest memories of Christmas past and I intend to watch it as many times as I can until the New Year.