The Magic Nut - 9788876243769

The Magic Nut documents the creation of the first original ballet production at St. Petersburg's fabled Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater in some twenty years, a return of sorts to the Russian ballet theater of the turn of the last century, with their lavish sets and new productions.
After staging a new version of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker for the theater, Mihail Chemiakin addressed the story of where the Nutcracker doll came from. He wrote a libretto based on the E.T.A. Hoffman tale, invited composer Sergei Slonimsky to write original music, and created a fairy-tale ballet in two acts, with a cast of bird-people, sea monsters, satyrs and satyresses, cats, jellyfish, and, of course, a whole society of rats.
In this phantasmagorical interpretation of Hoffman's tale the audience discovers the kind and heroic qualities of young Drosselmeyer, fated to be turned into a Nutcracker for his virtuous deeds. How this all comes about, beginning with a conflict over some purloined sausages, is the subject of the ballet. The story contains many of the elements of the classic fairy tale - the offended guest at a birthday celebration, the perilous journey to retrieve the object (in this case, the magic nut) that can save the injured princess, the hero's trials and temptations, the competition of suitors seeking the princess' hand and thereby the kingdom - but, in typical Hoffman style, the anticipated happy ending is ultimately postponed - until the story continues in the Tchaikovsky ballet.
The book leads the reader through the ballet, scene by scene, with detailed sketches of the sets, costumes, masks, and props created for the production. The authors of the production - Mihail Chemiakin, composer Sergei Slonimsky, and choreographer Donvena Pandoursky - describe their intentions in introductory texts.