Thursday 19 November 2015

The Nutcracker - A Christmas Memory

What story do you think of when you think of Christmas? What story captures your imagination and transports you back to your childhood festivities? For my children, I think it would be The Gruffalo or The Night Before Christmas (a traditional Christmas Eve read in our house); but for me, it’s the story of a young girl who’s toys come to life on Christmas Eve and take her on an adventure to The Land of Sweets: The Nutcracker. 


One of my earliest memories of my school life was performing as a Sugar Plum Fairy in our school nativity play. From that moment, the story was engrained in my Christmas memories. I was lucky enough to see the Moscow Ballet perform the story alongside Tchaikovsky’s riveting score this weekend (14th November), and it was completely captivating. 

Written by E.T.A. Hoffman and premiered at the Marlinksy Theatre in 1892, The Nutcracker focuses on the protagonist, Clara, and her family on Christmas Eve night. The family are having a party around the Christmas tree with their extended family and friends; Clara and her brother Fritz are playing with toys that have been given to them by their Godfather, a local toymaker. Clara takes a particular liking to one toy in particular, a Nutcracker painted to look like a soldier. Unfortunately, whilst playing with the Nutcracker, Fritz breaks it. Clara is very upset and argues with her brother before they both go to bed. 

During the night, Clara returns to the Christmas tree to check on the Nutcracker. In the family room, magic occurs and the toys come to life. A battle takes place between the toy soldiers led by the Nutcracker, and an army of mice led by the Mouse King. It looks like the mice will win, but Clara throws her slipper at the Mouse King, which distracts him long enough for the Nutcracker to gain an advantage and ultimately win the battle. The mice disappear, wounded, having lost the battle. 

Upon winning the battle, the Nutcracker transforms into a handsome prince. He is grateful to Clara for saving him, so takes her to his homeland, the Land of Sweets, to thank her. They are greeted by a Sugar Plum Fairy who presents Clara with an array of performances from various delicacies, including chocolate, coffee, tea and candy canes. The Sugar Plum Fairy completes the performance with a finale. 

The Prince then bows to Clara, and she is transported back to the family room, waved on by all of the Sugar Plum Fairies and delicacies. 

The magic of this story mirrors the magic of Christmas, and the magic of a child’s imagination. What child doesn’t want to be transported to a Land of Sweets?! It’s a timeless classic and can be enjoyed by girls and boys alike. The ballet performance alone was absorbing and a compliment must be given to the accuracy and ease of each and every dancer. I hope you can bring the joy of this story into your household this Christmas too.

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