The Nutcracker

The story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King was written by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Alexandre Dumas' adaptation of the story was set to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and has become the most popular ballet performed around Christmas time. It is appealing to children and adults alike and has been a standard yearly feature of theatres in many cities.

The Music

The music in Tchaikovsky's ballet is some of the composers most popular. The music belongs to the Romantic tradition and contains some of his most memorable melodies which are frequently used in television and film. The Trepak, or Russian dance, is one of the most recogizable 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 unsurpassed in ballet music.

Related Topics:
Tchaikovsky - Romantic

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Typical to Tchaikovsky, the music contains lush late-romantic harmonies with a Russian flavor, and in places, an intese emotionalism. There are also stylistic references to early 19th century music in the Overture.

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