The Nutcracker? Sweet!
Most great music is in some way based on the dramatic aspects of being human. It makes sense, if you think about it. If the composer is trying to make the listener feel something, the easiest way to achieve that is to draw from something that the listener might have experienced. Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, for example, is a harrowing evocation of isolation, failure, loss, and sorrow. Listening to a good performance of the symphony puts you through all of those emotions, and it can be a very powerful experience.
The Nutcracker does not draw on the bottomless well of genuine human experience. It was composed according to a very specifically detailed scenario written by some guy, based on an adoption by some other guy of a fairy tale written by the original Goth, E.T.A. Hoffman. You might not think that a piece of music written by an emotionally unstable, ragingly homosexual Russian head case according to a story originally written by a Teutonic madman would become a much loved Christmas favourite, but that is exactly what happened. Maybe it was the second some guy, the one who adopted Hoffman’s story, Andre Dumas. He is probably best remembered for being the guy who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.
In some guy’s scenario of Dumas’ adoption of Hoffman’s story, all the action takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Marie’s rich uncle is handing out the fancy magic gifts. Marie gets a mechanical half-nutcracker half-doll shaped like a soldier in a red uniform, which she loves. Marie’s jealous brother breaks her present, so the rich uncle puts it under the Christmas tree so it can be magically repaired. Marie falls asleep under the tree holding her new doll. In her dreams, all the toys come alive, and the nutcracker turns into Mikhail Baryshnikov, or sometimes Vladimir Vasiliev. The little Russian girl, the famous ballet star, and his impressive codpiece travel to the Land of Candy (mm, candy) where they defeat the evil Mouse King and then people in decidedly international costumes dance exotically, often in real life husband and wife pairs. Then the big stars get to show off how awesome they are. On Christmas morning, however, Marie wakes up to find that her doll is still broken. Damn you jealous brother! There is, however, a happy ending. Marie discovers that she can return to the Land of Candy (mm, candy) every time she closes her eyes. Then, everybody in the audience throws flowers at her.
Working to choreographer Marius Petipa’s (the first some guy’s) detailed script freed Tchaikovsky from thinking about what to write, and allowed him to concentrate on how to write it. He ended up clothing this relatively shallow fairy tail in the richest and most evocative of orchestral colours. What he ended up with is a rare exception to the general rule. The Nutcracker is a great piece of music that is based on something other than the deepest kind of human experience.
WHICH VERSION TO GET
The Nutcracker was written as ballet music, and there are about half a dozen DVDs available of various performances. The cheapest available version is also among the best. Vasiliev, Maximova, and the Bolshoi Ballet just dance the crap out of this piece, and the focus really seems to be on the music and the story, rather than on lame attempts at humour or cutesy-pie sentimentalism. The Arabian, Chinese, and Russian dances are choreographed and danced as well here as they are ever likely to be, and the two lead dancers are every bit as great as their more famous compatriots. I wouldn’t buy this DVD for anyone who needs to be dazzled by fancy sets or for your crazy aunt who wants to point out how cute the little kids are in their little tutus. The sets are fairly bare bones, and there are no children in this production outside of the voices singing in the choir during the Waltz of the Snowflakes.
Even cheaper is the Baryshnikov version, which is shown for free on TV every year around this time. The Vasiliev and Maximova version would make a nice inexpensive gift for anyone who would like to experience an alternate take on this holiday classic.
If you want to listen to the music without being distracted by the dancers, I have only one recommendation to make. Legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in what has to be the greatest recorded version of the orchestral suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the score. The suite consists of the Overture, the first act March, the famous Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, the Russian, Arabian, Chinese, and Mirliton Dances, and the Waltz of the Flowers. This is the lion’s share of the best music from the ballet, and it is all good. Rostropovich himself once famously compared conducting the Berlin Phil to “driving” a train. “You get on,” he said, “And it takes you where it is going to go.” This recording, however, captures one of those occasions when a conductor somehow manages to bend a great orchestra to his will. The recording is absolutely incredible. Each note from each instrument is clearly audible. This disc, which contains similarly excellent versions of the Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty Suites, would make an excellent gift for both lovers of the ballet and people who like to show off their stereo systems.
If you absolutely need to listen to the whole score, Vladimir Ashkenazy’s version with the Royal Philharmonic is charmingly played and warmly recorded.
I really, really, really need to get some sleep, so no pimp section today. I assume you can find the other columns on your own. To make up for it, here’s a picture of Balls Mahoney (who used The Nutcracker Suite as his finisher) dressed as the evil Xanta Claus.
Thanks for reading!
