302. The Nutcracker 1954

Classical Ballet in Two Acts, Four Scenes, and Prologue

Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky (The Nutcracker, produced 1892; violin cadenza from The Sleeping Beauty added 1955). Based on the Alexandre Dumas père version of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s tale, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816)

George Balanchine. CANDY CANE variation (TREPAK) and Little Prince’s mime choreographed by Lev Ivanov. BATTLE BETWEEN THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING choreographed by Jerome Robbins

Scenery by Horace Armistead, executed by Century Scenic Studios. Costumes by Karinska. Masks by Vlady. Lighting and production by Jean Rosenthal

February 2, 1954, New York City Ballet with students from the School of American Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Conductor: Leon Barzin

ACT I, SCENE 1, CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE HOME OF DR. STAHLBAUM, NUREMBERG, CA. 1816: Dr. and Frau Stahlbaum, Frank Hobi, Irene Larsson; Their Children, Clara and Fritz, Alberta Grant, Susan Kaufman; Maid; Guests: 4 Parents, 11 Children, 2 Grandparents; Herr Drosselmeyer, Michael Arshansky; His Nephew (The Nutcracker), Paul Nickel; Toys: Harlequin and Columbine, Gloria Vauges, Kaye Sargent; Toy Soldier, Roy Tobias;
SCENE 2, THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING: Mouse King, Edward Bigelow; Nutcracker; Clara; 8 Mice; 19 Child Soldiers;
SCENE 3, THE WHITE FOREST AND THE SNOWFLAKE WALTZ: Nutcracker; Clara; Snowflakes, 16 women. Boys choir (40 voices) from St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
ACT II, CONFITUERENBURG (THE KINGDOM OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY): Sugar Plum Fairy, Maria Tallchief; Her Cavalier, Nicholas Magallanes; Little Princess, Grant; Little Prince, Nickel; Angels, 8 girls;
DIVERTISSEMENTS: HOT CHOCOLATE (SPANISH DANCE): Yvonne Mounsey, Herbert Bliss, 4 couples;
COFFEE (ARABIAN DANCE): Francisco Moncion, 4 children;
TEA (CHINESE DANCE): George Li, 2 women;
CANDY CANES (BUFFOONS): Robert Barnett, 6 girls;
MARZIPAN SHEPHERDESSES (MIRLITONS): Janet Reed, 4 women;
BONBONNIÈRE (MOTHER GINGER AND HER POLICHINELLES): Bigelow, 8 children;
WALTZ OF THE CANDY FLOWERS: Dewdrop, Tanaquil Le Clercq; Flowers, 2 female demi-soloists; 12 women

Performance Type

Ballet

See Also

Video Archives Recording

The George Balanchine Foundation Interpreters Archive (SUGAR PLUM FAIRY variation [partial], PAS DE DEUX), 1996, (MARZIPAN, CANDY CANE) 2020

Note

Balanchine danced the roles of The Nutcracker/Little Prince, Mouse King, and others in productions by the Maryinsky Theater in Petrograd (later State Theater of Opera and Ballet) and was especially noted for his solo in the BUFFOONS’ DANCE (TREPAK [CANDY CANE] variation). (See ROLES PERFORMED BY BALANCHINE.)
The 1954 Nutcracker was the first full-length work presented by the New York City Ballet; the overwhelming success of this production, with elaborate scenic effects, helped assure the permanence of the Company. The use of children from the School of American Ballet, recalling Balanchine’s early experience at the Maryinsky, set a precedent for future New York City Ballet works. The Sleeping Beauty cadenza, interpolated into Act I by Balanchine in 1955, has the same theme as the ‘tree growing’ music from The Nutcracker which occurs later in Act I.

Additional Productions

Revisions

New Productions by Balanchine Companies

1964, New York City Ballet: New scenery and lighting by Rouben Ter-Arutunian for the New York State Theater, executed by Feller Scenery Studios, tree by Decorative Plant Corporation; some new costumes by Karinska.

Stagings

1959   Atlanta Ballet
1965   Ballett der Buhnen Stadt Koln (Cologne)
1986   Stamford City Ballet
1987   Pennsylvania Ballet
1988   Atlanta Ballet
1988   Pennsylvania Ballet
1988   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1989   Pennsylvania Ballet
1989   Stamford City Ballet
1990   Miami City Ballet
1990   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1991   Stamford City Ballet
1992   Pennsylvania Ballet
1992   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1992   Stamford City Ballet
1993   Maine State Ballet (American Ballet East)
1993   Miami City Ballet
1993   Stamford City Ballet
1994   Stamford City Ballet
1995   Los Angeles Ballet
1995   Miami City Ballet
1995   Pennsylvania Ballet
1995   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1995   Stamford Center for the Arts
1996   Miami City Ballet
1997   Stamford City Ballet
1998   Miami City Ballet
1998   Pennsylvania Ballet
1998   Stamford Center for the Arts
1999   Stamford Center for the Arts
2001   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
2001   Pennsylvania Ballet
2002   Alabama Ballet/Ballet South
2002   Stamford Center for the Arts
2003   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2004   Alabama Ballet / Ballet South
2004   Ballet Chicago
2004   Northeast Ballet
2004   Pennsylvania Ballet
2004   Stamford Center for the Arts
2005   City Dance Theater
2005   Maine State Ballet
2005   Miami City Ballet
2005   Olympic Ballet
2010   Alabama Ballet
2011   Miami City Ballet
2011   Royal Danish Ballet
2013   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2013   Pennsylvania Ballet
2014   Miami City Ballet
2014   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2018   Teatro alla Scala
2020   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2020   Pennsylvania Ballet
2021 Alabama Ballet
2021 Oregon Ballet Theater
2021 Royal Danish Ballet
2022 Miami City Ballet
2022 Pacific Northwest Ballet
2022 Philadelphia Ballet (formerly PA Ballet)

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

1993, Warner Home Video, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (adaptation);
1994, Kultur, Balanchine (excerpts from Act I with Balanchine as Drosselmeyer);
2014 Video Artists International, New York City Ballet in Montreal, Vol. 2 (Grand pas de deux recorded 1957)

Film

1993, Warner Bros., George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (adaptation)

Television

1954 pas de deux (NBC)
1955 Sugar Plum Fairy variation (NBC)
1956 excerpts in rehearsal (CBS, Let’s Take a Trip)
1956 pas de deux (CBS, Ed Sullivan Show)
1957 complete (CBS, Seven Lively Arts)
1957? pas de deux (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1958 complete, with Balanchine as Drosselmeyer (CBS, Playhouse 90)
1959 pas de deux (ABC)
1959-60 pas de deux (PBS)
1961 pas de deux (NBC, Bell Telephone Hour)
1963 pas de deux (NBC)
1965 pas de deux (NBC, Bell Telephone Hour)
1971 excerpts (NBC)
1975 rehearsal (NBC)
1980 excerpts, rehearsal, performance (NBC)
1984 pas de deux (PBS, “Gala of Stars”)

Source Notes

Additional music information provided by Balanchine, Gordon Boelzner, Robert Irving; revisions information provided by Balanchine, Rosemary Dunleavy, Barbara Horgan