Nutcracker before Mr. C
In 1816, E.T.A. Hoffman wrote The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The story tells of a Christmas party at which little Clara, daughter of the house, receives the gift of a nutcracker from her mysterious uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer. After the party, she falls asleep and dreams of dancing snow, sugarplums, and her nutcracker, which turns into a handsome prince. The story is filled with magic, wonder, and most of all, whimsy.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
In 1892, the story was used by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov to create the ballet The Nutcracker, which became one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions, and perhaps the most popular ballet in the world.
However, at the St. Petersburg, Russia premiere of the ballet, audiences were not impressed by The Nutcracker and critics called it ‘lopsided’ and ‘corpulent.’
Nutcracker in U.S. Takes Form
Walt Disney’s animated movie, Fantasia, featured music from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite and Mr. C noticed that when people heard it in department stores, they would start humming the tune. He had actually toyed with choreography to the music while in Portland, and found the idea of a full-length Nutcracker production intriguing.
In fact, that company’s leading ballerina and main choreographer at the time were none other than Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine, respectively. As children, both had been a part of the full-length Nutcracker back in St. Petersburg, Russia. Now, decades later, the two Ballet Russe alumni advised Mr. C on details about the story, the breakdown of scenes, casting, and more. As the legend goes, on one such visit, the three had been talking into all hours of the night when the ever-elegant Danilova kicked off her shoes to show Mr. C some steps. However, Balanchine intervened, saying, “Oh, no, Choura [the traditional Russian diminutive for Alexandra], he must find his own way.”
In the fall of 1944, the famed Ballets Russes toured to San Francisco, bringing choreographer George Balanchine and dancer Alexandra Danilova to Mr. C’s dootstep. The three had met years earlier in New York, so Mr. C invited them over for drinks at his apartment. Mr. C told them about his Nutcracker ambitions and Balanchine and Danilova, having seen the ballet in Russia, shared their memories throughout the night. Balanchine became excited about the project and was quite specific, telling Mr. C about the staging, plot, and characters, while Danilova wanted to share actual steps. “Let him figure out his own steps,” Balanchine told her. (Balanchine would choreograph his own Nutcracker for his New York City Ballet ten years later).
Surprisingly, The Nutcracker had never been performed in its entirety in the United States when Mr. C went searching for a ballet to fill the San Francisco Opera Ballet’s coffers. During World War II, money for the arts was very scarce; even if there was money, rations on supplies like fabric and metals made a ballet production difficult to mount. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, Mr. C persisted, searching for a ballet to lighten the hearts of a weary nation, to make a splash and, perhaps most of all, to be profitable.
