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On December 5th, 2013 I went to see Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker for the first time. It’s odd that I made it all the way to my mid-forties without seeing the classic Christmas ballet, and even odder that I didn’t much care for it when I did.
Right around the time I started university I bought a cheap CD of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and I fell in love with it. It was my first experience with the great Russian composer (although I suppose it’s possible I had some peripheral exposure to him in high school music class), and l listened to that CD over and over. It’s pretty safe to say that the 1812 Overture was my first favourite ‘Classical’ piece (it’s not Classical, it’s Romantic) and that Tchaikovsky was my first favourite composer. I was ecstatic to have witnessed a performance of the Overture with soldiers, cannons and everything in Montreal years before and I had lingered long and reverently at Tchaikovsky’s grave when I was fortunate to visit St. Petersburg in 2006, but aside from hearing a couple of the big hits during my work with the NAC Orchestra I was pretty unfamiliar with The Nutcracker.
And heck, I like Christmas as much as the next guy, and I like Christmas music a whole lot more than the next guy, so like I say, it’s weird that it took me so long to see the Christmas classic.
And it’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity. Every holiday season there are countless productions of The Nutcracker going on virtually everywhere. The internet tells me that major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from performances of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas extravaganza.
But like I said earlier, I wasn’t overly impressed with it. Don’t get me wrong, that should be no reflection on the utterly superb Winnipeg Ballet (I guess; what do I know about ballet?) nor the amazing NAC Orchestra (I know a little about them); both ensembles worked together perfectly. Rather, I think I was disappointed with the lack of drama in the music and, well, in the drama. As a guy who weaned himself onto Tchaikovsky through the composer’s homage to revolution and war I guess I should have expected a ballet about children and their talking Christmas presents to be dialled back a little.
But I didn’t. I sat down hoping to hear huge dramatic waves of sound cascading up and down a sonic spectrum built on battle-like horns with flourishing string lines careening overtop in glorious harmony and plaintive, patriotic woodwind melodies coursing through the consonant chaos.
Instead I got The Dance Of The Sugarplum Fairy, et al. So you see what I’m saying.
Although I gotta say, I am a sucker for the charming chiming celeste, as are most people I suppose. Basically a glockenspiel encased inside a keyboard, the celeste has a unique, fairylike timbre and that sound alone is probably a major reason why The Nutcracker is still so popular today. People just can’t get enough of it.
Which explains why so many people go to see this thing every single year. Not me though, once (or very, very occasionally) is enough for this Christmas-loving Pyotr-head.
Although I’m really glad that I finally know what those soldiers are all about. I’ve always wondered why the tall, skinny wooden men were ubiquitous Christmas decor. I had no idea they were from The Nutcracker.
(Spoiler alert.)
Todd Man Out 