What is the story behind Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker?

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker of 1892 is the third of his major ballets, the others being Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. It is set at Christmas and tells the story of young Clara, who embarks on a magical adventure with a nutcracker doll, a type of wooden figurine often painted to resemble a soldier. Though not considered a great success after its first performance, it eventually became one of the composer’s most popular works, iconic movements such as the March of the Toy Soldiers, Waltz of the Flowers and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy being amongst our most popular sheet music here on 8notes.

A commissioning double bill

The ballet was commissioned for the Russian Imperial Theatre to form the second part of a double bill, the first part being Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta. The libretto was by Marius Pepita, with whom Tchaikovsky had already collaborated on The Sleeping Beauty. It was based on ‘The Story of a Nutcracker’ by Alexandre Dumas, itself an adaption of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.’

The plot

It is very common for each production of the ballet to adapt the story in different ways, but this is the ‘classic’ version of the ballet:

The story begins on Christmas Eve in the home of young Clara. During a party, Clara ’s mysterious godfather Drosselmeyer gives the children a nutcracker doll. She takes a liking to it and, after everyone has gone to bed returns to check on it in the parlour. As the clock strikes midnight, the nutcracker grows to life size and Clara embarks on an adventure with it, defeating an evil mouse king, after which the nutcracker transforms into a prince. They then travel to the Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy. There they treated to a series of celebrations of sweets from around the world in the form of dances. After a final waltz is performed by all the sweets, she and the Prince are led to a reindeer-drawn sleigh by the Sugar Plum Fairy. They wave to the subjects of the Fairy as they take off.

Mixed reviews

The first performance, on 19th December 1892 met with mixed reviews. Some criticised the dancing of Antonietta Dell’Era as the Sugar Plum Fairy, one critic even calling her ‘corpulent’ and ‘podgy’. Elsewhere the choreography, especially in the battle scene, was considered confusing. Many also disliked that that the ballet focused on children, one critic remarking that ‘the entire stage is filled with children, who…interfere with the oldsters dancing. In large amounts this is unbearable.’ Attitudes to the music was more positive, though some considered it wasted, one critic remarking that ‘it's a pity that so much good music is expended on such nonsense.’

The ballet would not become an unmitigated success until later productions, most notably the George Balanchine staging of 1954 for New York City Ballet, which has been performed annually during November and December ever since.

The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

Before the first performance Tchaikovsky made a suite of eight numbers from the ballet. In contrast to the ballet, it was an immediate success and had been a popular concert work ever since.

It features the most iconic music from the ballet:

1. Overture
2. March
3. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
4. Russian Dance (Trepak)
5. Arabian Dance (coffee)
6. Chinese Dance (tea)
7. Dance of the Reed Flutes (Mirlitons)
8. Waltz of the Flowers

The Nutcracker Suite played by Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michał Nesterowicz

Other adaptations

British composer Percy Grainger made a ‘Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz’ for piano from the ballet, whilst Mikhail Pletnev adapted the music into a seven moment virtuosic concert suite for piano. There are also adaptions into other styles, including Freddy Martin’s 1942 ‘The Nutcracker Suite for Dance Orchestra,’ Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s 1960 jazz interpretations released on their album ‘The Nutcracker Suite’ and a Klezmer version by the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra released in 1998. Many others, including Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Mariah Carey have also made use of material from the ballet.

Trepak, by the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra

In Popular Culture

The Nutcracker has also featured extensively in popular culture, for example in Disney’s 1940 film ‘Fantasia’, in ‘Barbie in the Nutcracker’ (2001), ‘Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale’ (2007) and in a 2024 Russian-Hungarian film ‘The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute.’ It’s association wth Christmas has also led to its use by advertisers around that time of year, including by Mattel for its Barbie doll in 1998, by Bailey’s in 2013 and by Harvey Nichols in 2015: