The London Premiere of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker

With many annual productions by multiple ballet companies and symphony orchestras, it is safe to say that The Nutcracker ballet and Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” are among the beloved American favorites during the holiday season. However, the history of this Russian composition and ballet is no short of controversial.

Based on the Dumas Pere’s book L’Histoire d’un Casse Noisette, which itself was based off of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Nussknacker und Mausekonig, Tchaikovsky was commissioned by Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolojsky to compose the music for the ballet. Initially refusing the commission, Tchaikovsky was only swayed to compose the music for The Nutcracker of Nuremberg (as it Vsevolojsky called it) when Vsevolojsky commissioned him for the composition of the one act opera, Iolanthe, as well. Tchaikovsky planned on using the opera as a way to prove his musical ability to the audience after the expected failure of the ballet. As he worked on composing both pieces, Tchaikovsky’s work on The Nutcracker grew on him, commenting that “‘it [seemed] that the ballet was good and the opera not so good’” (Charles).

The first time The Nutcracker was performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, the ballet was not well-received. The many reports on the ballet contradicted each other, some praising the performance and others ridiculing it. As a result, The Nutcracker was not deemed a success at its premiere and Tchaikovsky took a portion of the music and arranged it into The Nutcracker Suite. This version of the music composed for The Nutcracker was performed and well-loved in many Western nations, like England and the United States. As seen in the picture, some would ask for the full ballet performance over the “orchestrated Chopin and Schumann” (Robertson).

The first full performance of The Nutcracker ballet outside of Russia was performed in London, England in January 1934 as staged by Nicholas Sergeyev. The performance was well received by this audience as the article to the side reports. The author of this article expresses his wonder when considering the fact “that a work which has won such universal popularity in the concert hall as Tchaikovsky’s Casse-Noisette should never have been performed in its complete form” outside of Russia (The Times (London)). The author continues on to describe the praise for the performance of the ballet as a whole, not mentioning the music again.

What strikes me as the most interesting part of the history of this beloved holiday tradition is the way that, despite the initial bad welcome, the music still helps the ballet to be desired and welcomed with open arms in other countries. I thought it was interesting how there were many complaints about the music Tchaikovsky composed for The Nutcracker ballet at the premiere in Russia, yet received well through The Nutcracker Suite by audiences in Western countries. It’s interesting to see how, even in the early 1910s, audience members were asking for a Tchaikovsky ballet that was “partially known to the English public already through the suites selected from them” (Robertson). It brings to light the way that music can help to bring traditions and bigger works of art to other nations outside of its home country.

Considering as this ballet would have been perceived as only a failure in Russia, it’s astonishing to see how it was accepted in other countries with the main help of the music “leading the way.” This is also seen within the article written after the London premiere, where the reporter starts the article with a nod to the music, which helped to bring awareness of this piece to the outside world. This concept is interesting, since it acts as an almost previewing of the work and inspiring others to want to hear more from this piece. In a way, this style acts as a sort of social media platform, where one’s ideas and work can be previewed to the world. I think it is especially inspiring to see how music can affect many around the world so much.

Sources:

Charles, Gerard. “The Nutcracker History.” Wayback Machine Archive. November 1998. Accessed January 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20081210074206/http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/NutHist.html#anchor69133

Robertson, G. S. “The Imperial Russian Ballet.” The Times (London, England), February 21, 1911, 39514th ed., Editorial sec. Accessed January 31, 2021. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy3.library.arizona.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=1506&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE|CS169671765&docType=Letter to the editor&sort=Pub Date Forward Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE|CS169671765&searchId=R5&userGroupName=uarizona_main&inPS=true.

“Tchaikovsky’s “Casse-Noisette”.” The Times (London), February 01, 1934, 46667th ed., Sadler’s Wells Theatre sec. Accessed January 31, 2021. https://go-gale-com.ezproxy3.library.arizona.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=6&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE|CS202320449&docType=Review&sort=Pub Date Forward Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE|CS202320449&searchId=R7&userGroupName=uarizona_main&inPS=true.