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The
Nutcracker Story |
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A ballet in two acts, the plot of which is based on the fairy tale, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816. Act I Guests are gathering
to celebrate Christmas at the home of State Counselor Stahlbaum,
his wife, Frau Stahlbaum, and their children, Clara and Fritz. One
of the guests is Drosselmeyer, an old friend of the family who is
also Clara's Godfather. Scene
I The
guests, including the children, are happily dancing when Drosselmeyer
arrives. He brings gifts for all the children except Clara. Drosselmeyer
tells Clara he has a gift for her, but first he wants the children
to look at his dolls, a mechanical princess and a soldier. The dolls
are performing a beautiful love story when suddenly a Mouse King
appears and transforms the soldier into a wooden nutcracker. Drosselmeyer
presents the nutcracker to Clara, but she does not like the unattractive
toy. Drosselmeyer then gives her another present, a wind-up toy
that looks exactly like the nutcracker. Scene II The party has ended and night has arrived. Clara comes downstairs to visit her nutcracker, but sees it is surrounded by mice and is in danger. She saves her nutcracker and falls asleep by the Christmas tree. She dreams about her toys, the Christmas tree, and the house itself. As Clara dreams the magical powers of Drosselmeyer transform the toys, the Christmas tree, and even the house itself into a gigantic size. Huge mice and a Mouse King enter the room. The nutcracker calls to his toy soldiers for help and they begin to do battle. The soldiers are losing the fight. Despite her fright, Clara tries to help, but it is too late. The nutcracker falls down. Clara cries, but she realizes the nutcracker has not died. Instead, it has been transformed into a handsome prince. The Prince invites Clara to accompany him into his magical enchanted kingdom. The snow falls as they begin their wonderful journey into the land of Christmas trees, fairies, dolls and Father Frost. Act II In the enchanted magic kingdom, the Prince presents Clara with a magical wand, which she uses to awaken a sleeping fairy. As the Fairy Doll and the Prince are thanking Clara, the angry Mouse King suddenly appears. The Prince and the Mouse King battle and the Mouse King is defeated by the Prince. In the enchanted kingdom many dolls from various countries all over the world dance for Clara. The Fairy and the Prince decide to get married. In celebration of their engagement, Clara dances with everyone. She couldn't be happier, but all too soon her dream comes to an end. She awakens and finds herself back at her house with the Nutcracker, which has become her favorite toy. Written by Alexander
Vetrov
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