On Christmas Eve, medical adviser Stahlbaum gathers guests at his house. The owner himself and his wife with their children, Marie and Franz, warmly welcome those who come to the holiday.
ACT ONE
In a cozy home, everything is ready for the holiday. Children are looking forward to Christmas gifts. The Christmas tree lit up with colorful lights, and adults and children began dancing. Parents give gifts to children. Suddenly a masked stranger appears on the threshold of the living room. He takes it off, and everyone recognizes the good Drrosselmeyer, Marie’s godfather. Drrosselmeyer performs magic tricks and then takes out the Nutcracker and begins to talk about the history of this doll.
The fairy tale is over, everyone applauds Drrosselmeyer. Marie asks to give her the Nutcracker. At this moment, Franz takes the doll away and breaks it. Drrosselmeyer drives away the obnoxious boy, repairs the Nutcracker and gives it to Marie.
The festive evening ends, the last dance is performed - the Grossvater. The guests leave. The Christmas tree goes out. Marie sneaks into the empty living room to take another look at the Nutcracker, who remains under the tree. As the clock strikes, as if by magic, Drosselmeyer appears.
Everything around begins to transform: the Christmas tree grows, and with it the room turns into a huge hall. The Nutcracker and toys also grow larger and come to life. Suddenly mice, led by the Mouse King, appear in the room. They are opposed by the brave Nutcracker with a small army Christmas decorations. The battle begins: The Nutcracker bravely fights the mouse army, but the forces are not equal. A little more... and the Mouse King will gain the upper hand. Drrosselmeyer hands Marie a burning candle, which she, in despair, throws at the Mouse King. At this time, the Nutcracker managed to free himself. He pierces the Mouse King with his saber, and the remnants of the “gray” army flee in panic to their holes. The enemy is defeated. The spell has broken: Marie sees the handsome Prince in front of her.
Holding hands, Marie and the Prince join the magical round dance of snowflakes and rush through the starry sky to the Prince’s kingdom.
ACT TWO
Marie and the Prince admire starry sky. Drrosselmeyer follows them relentlessly. The magic ball they fly on lands in front of the walls fabulous city. Drrosselmeyer goes to the castle gates and opens them with a magic key, then disappears unnoticed. Marie and the Prince enter the throne room. They are met by the King, Queen and a ceremonial retinue. Residents of the magical city present gifts and organize an extraordinary celebration, at the end of which Marie and the Prince dance.
Suddenly the figure of Drrosselmeyer appears... Everything froze: the castle walls disappear, the living room of the Stahlbaums’ house appears. In the corner of the room is a sleeping Marie with a Nutcracker doll. Waking up, the girl sees Drrosselmeyer. She runs up to him to thank him for the wonderful Christmas story.
P.I. Tchaikovsky ballet "The Nutcracker"
The most magical and New Year's work by P.I. Tchaikovsky, famous all over the world – the ballet “The Nutcracker”. Often, classical operas or ballets have one or more famous numbers that become iconic for the work and beloved by the public. This cannot be said about The Nutcracker, because the entire ballet consists of such “hits”! Perhaps this is the most recognizable work in the whole world. Just look at the bewitching Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the most delicate Waltz of the Flowers, a series of dances: Chocolate, Coffee, Tea and many others. And who among the children, after all, hasn’t dreamed of being in the place of Marie and the Nutcracker in this fabulous place made of chocolate, caramel, marshmallows and other goodies?!
Brief summary of Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker" and many interesting facts Read about this work on our page.
|
Characters |
Description |
| Stahlbaum | medical adviser, it is in his house that all events unfold |
| Marie | Stahlbaum's daughter, who received the Nutcracker as a gift |
| Fritz | Marie's brother, who broke the Nutcracker at the festival |
| Drosselmeyer | Marie's godfather, who gave her the Nutcracker and told her about the wonderful city |
| enchanted prince | |
| Sugar Plum Fairy | ruler in the magical city of Confiturenburg |
| Prince Whooping Cough | a prince from a fairytale city meeting a girl and the Nutcracker |
| King of mice | the evil overlord of the hostile army of mice who attacked the Nutcracker |
Summary of "The Nutcracker"
The main events in the ballet take place on the eve of the big happy holiday- Christmas.
Guests and Marie’s godfather gathered at Stahlbaum’s house, who came with a bunch of gifts for the children. Among them, a doll designed for cracking nuts – the Nutcracker – stands out. The girl Marie immediately liked the rather clumsy toy with a wide smile. All the children had already gone to bed, but she still could not part with the Nutcracker.
The girl was so busy playing that she didn’t notice how everything around her began to change. The tree became enormous in size and a strange rustling sound was heard. An army of mice appeared in the room, and the Nutcracker himself suddenly came to life, turning into a beautiful young man. He immediately gathered himself an army of soldiers and went against the enemy, but their forces were unequal. Marie, seeing this, decided to help the Nutcracker and threw her shoe at the Mouse King. The enemies were frightened by the sudden attack and fled.
When Marie woke up, her godfather, Drosselmeyer, appeared in front of her, appearing in the guise of a wizard. He told about amazing fairy tale world, which is quite difficult to get into while overcoming a snow storm. But Marie and the Nutcracker go to this country. They find themselves in the wonderful city of Confiturenburg, where there are a lot of sweets and guests around to greet them. The Sugar Plum Fairy throws a lavish ball in their honor and Marie becomes a real princess after the Nutcracker tells how she saved him. When the celebration ends, the wizard helps Marie return home from her wonderful journey.
Photo:
Interesting facts about the Nutcracker
- There is information that at the first performance of the ballet at the Mariinsky Theater (December 1892), the audience was unusually surprised by the strength of the orchestra’s sound. Particularly attracted their attention musical instrument celesta.
- Since the production of The Nutcracker, there has been a tradition of giving minor roles students of choreographic schools.
- The “Coffee” dance is based on a Georgian folk lullaby.
- According to the content of the German legend, nutcrackers bring good luck and protect the home. Therefore, these wooden mechanical dolls were popular as Christmas gifts for children.
- The Christmas tree, which is usually installed on stage in the first act, weighs about a ton.
- During the gentle dance of snowflakes, confetti falls onto the stage, the total mass of which is about 20 kg.
- During the entire performance, about 150 different costumes are demonstrated on stage.
- For full operation of all equipment, applying makeup and changing costumes, there must be about 60 people backstage during the performance.
- Up to 700 lighting fixtures are usually used to illuminate a ballet.
- One pack of Sugar Plum Fairy requires 7 layers of tulle.
- There is some confusion about the girl's names (Marie, Masha or Clara). In fact, as stated in the original source, Clara is just a doll of a girl named Marichen. In French, her name sounds like Marie, and this is the version that went to the director of the Imperial Theaters, Vsevolzhsky. IN Soviet productions, starting in 1930, the ballet was Russified and the girl Marie received the name Maria, and her brother became Misha. Also, the Christmas holiday was replaced by New Year.
- Before starting to write the ballet, Tchaikovsky first wrote the entire plot from the words of Vsevolzhsky and only then began composing the music.
- The magical city of Konfiturenberg from the second act was also invented by Vsevolzhsky.
- The largest silkcracker was made in Germany and was more than 10 meters high.
- Frank Russell Galey performed the role of the Nutcracker at a record age, at that time he was 74 years and 101 days.
Popular Nutcracker numbers
Waltz of the Flowers (listen)
March from Act I (listen)
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (listen)
Waltz of Snow Flakes (listen)
Pas de deux of Marie and the Nutcracker - adagio (listen)
Music
Pyotr Ilyich embodies a theme already known to him in ballet - overcoming hostile forces through the power of love. The music is saturated with new expressive images. It is interesting to observe how expressiveness is combined here with figurativeness, vivid theatricality and the deepest psychologism.
The musical fabric of the ballet is very bright and full of strong, memorable numbers. Thus, before the scene of the growth of the Christmas tree from the first act, music of extraordinary expressiveness is heard. It begins ghostly, conveying the fuss of mice. Gradually it acquires a wider scope, transforming into an unfolding melody.
I tried to ensure that the music very subtly conveyed the entire content of the fairy tale taking place on stage: drumming, fanfares or the squeaking of mice. The audience especially loves the Divertimento of Act II, which includes a series of dances at a ball in a fairyland. This is a bright Spanish dance - Chocolate, an exciting oriental dance - Coffee, a characteristic Chinese dance - Tea, as well as an unusually bright and lively Trepak. Next comes the graceful dance of the shepherdesses, Mother Gigon and the pearl of the Divertimento - Waltz of the Flowers with its bewitching melody. The dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy attracts with its sophistication, and the real lyrical and dramatic climax can be safely called the adagio.
A little inspiration for you before Saturday's concert.
A wonderful cartoon from our childhood, but it still looks good now. It’s a pity that the restorers haven’t restored the image yet, it’s worth it! You can watch it with your child and introduce him to the music he will hear at the concert.
The second Nutcracker-themed cartoon, “Fantasia,” was produced by Walt Disney Studios in 1940. You can watch an excerpt from it set to the music of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers.”
The premiere of the ballet “The Nutcracker” and the opera “Iolanta” took place on December 6 (18), 1892 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. And this was the last performance of Tchaikovsky that he had the chance to see on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The Nutcracker is still on at the Mariinsky.
History of ballet
By the early 90s of the 19th century, the fame of P. I. Tchaikovsky spread throughout the world. At the turn of the century, Russian ballet entered one of the most brilliant periods of its history. Tchaikovsky's ballet reform, which he began with Swan Lake, turning The Sleeping Beauty into a choreographic symphony, culminated in the creation of The Nutcracker.
"Iolanta" and "Nutcracker" latest works Tchaikovsky for musical theater, this is the “spiritual testament” of the composer. The path of choreographers to comprehend the music of “The Nutcracker” turned out to be long and thorny, but at the same time, the score of “The Nutcracker” remains incredibly attractive for the modern ballet theater of the 21st century.
Painting by Zinaida Serebryakova. Snowflakes. Nutcracker. 1923
The Nutcracker owed its birth to the director of the imperial theaters, I. A. Vsevolozhsky. At the end of January 1890, after the triumphant success of the ballet "The Sleeping Beauty", the idea of a performance arose that would combine two one-act performances - the opera "Iolanta" and the ballet "The Nutcracker" in one evening. This idea was suggested to Vsevolozhsky by the example of the Paris Opera, because new production of the 1891/92 season was supposed to be a “Russian highlight”, a performance - an extravaganza with the indispensable participation of a foreign prima ballerina, a lot of original discoveries in the design of scenery and costumes. P. I. Tchaikovsky welcomed this kind of new synthetic performance.
Costume designs by I. A. Vsevolozhsky for the ballet “The Nutcracker”.
First production. Mariinsky Theater, 1892
Literary basis
The literary basis for the creation of the ballet was the fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann “The Nutcracker and mouse king"(German: Nußknacker und Mausekönig). Hoffmann's tale was first published in 1816 in Berlin. The plot was that a twelve-year-old girl, Marichen Stahlbaum, received a nutcracker doll for cracking nuts as a Christmas gift from her godfather Drosselmeyer. On Christmas night, the Nutcracker came to life and entered the fight with the mouse army. In the morning, Drosselmeyer told the story of his nephew, bewitched by the mouse king. And at night, Marichen, her favorite doll Clara and the Nutcracker were again attacked by the mouse army, fought with the mice and, having won, went to the doll kingdom, where Marichen was elected princess.
Scene from the ballet "The Nutcracker". First production.
The Nutcracker - Sergei Legat, Clara - Stanislava Belinskaya. Mariinsky Theatre, 1892
Characters
There are several editions of the ballet “The Nutcracker”. In different editions there are discrepancies in the name of the main character: Clara and Marie. In Hoffmann's original work, the girl's name is Marichen (in French - and it was the French translation that came to I. Vsevolozhsky - Marie), and Clara is her favorite doll. But in stage interpretation the role of the doll disappeared altogether and its actions were transferred to the main character of the work - in some editions, along with her name.
In productions in the USSR from the mid-1930s, in connection with the general ideological setting, the plot of the ballet was Russified, and main character began to be called Masha, and her brother - originally Fritz - Misha. The original holiday of Christmas was in Soviet years replaced by New Year.
Despite the fact that Tchaikovsky highly valued Petipa’s achievements and consulted with him when working with sketches, the music of the ballet turned out to be quite difficult for a stage solution - the composer moved more and more forward, towards the symphonization of the ballet, and the thought of the choreographer, as well as the level of the ballet theater of that time did not keep up with him. As a result, the ballet was staged by choreographer L. Ivanov, the scenery was created by artists - K. Ivanov, M. Bocharov, the costumes were made according to sketches by I. Vsevolozhsky.
After Lev Ivanov, many major Russian choreographers, such as A. Gorsky, F. Lopukhov, V. Vainonen, Yu. Grigorovich, I. Belsky, I. Chernyshev, took on the difficult role of interpreters of The Nutcracker. Each of them took into account the experience of their predecessors, but each offered an original version, focusing on their own understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music, personal aesthetic inclinations and the demands of the time.
Variations on music
Modern variations with completely different plots are created to music from the ballet, which has become classical (see the productions of Maurice Bejart (France) - 1999 and the humorous (including with black humor) Matthew Bourne (England) - 2003).
If Bejart's performance, although far from the well-known plot, still claims to be improvisation according to classical dance, then Bourne's choreography does not pretend to be him. But that doesn't matter. Both ballets are considered interesting and deserve the understanding of the viewer and therefore require some attention.
"The Nutcracker" by Maurice Bejart appeared in 1999. To the immortal music of ballet and in the background modern dance Maurice Bejart tells his own biography - on French. But the language of dance, plasticity and facial expressions makes his performance understandable to everyone.
“The Nutcracker” by English choreographer Matthew Bourne, a completely different genre, was staged at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The action moves to Dr. Dross's orphanage for street children. This ballet by Matthew Bourne has caused a lot of controversy. They called it everything: “strange”, and “unexpected”, and simply “who knows what” - and in all languages. But there was a critic who defined Bourne’s work (with this particular production in mind) with the following words: “In the end, classical ballet- an extremely conservative genre; it is not customary to make any significant changes to it in new productions. But in addition to the classic productions of “The Nutcracker,” non-classical ones appear. Matthew Bourne choreographs ballets in modern technology dance: jazz and contemporary. He takes classical music, which has been performed in theaters a million times already, and shows something unusual to it. He interprets it in his own way and composes a new fairy tale.”
Ballet in two acts
Libretto (based on the tale of E.-T.-A. Hoffmann “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”) by M. Petipa. Choreographer L. Ivanov.
First performance: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, December 6, 1892.
Characters:
Silbergaus. His wife. Clara (in the modern version - Masha) and Fritz, their children. Drosselmeyer. Grandmother. Grandfather. Nanny. Nutcracker. The Nutcracker Prince. Clara the princess. Sugar Plum Fairy. Prince Whooping Cough. Majordomo.Doll. Black person. Clown. Mouse King. Fairies.
Act one
Small German town. There is a holiday in the Silberghaus house. Many guests are invited to the Christmas tree. Luxuriously decorated, it delights the children of Silbergaus - Clara, Fritz and their little guests. The children frolic, admiring the gifts they received.
Guests appear. The clock strikes midnight. But old man Drosselmeyer, little Clara’s godfather, is not visible among the guests. And here he is! His appearance brings new excitement. The old weirdo always comes up with something funny. And today he presents children with four large mechanical dolls in the costumes of a sutler, a soldier, Harlequin and Columbine. Winded up dolls dance.
The children are delighted, but Silbergaus, fearing that the intricate toys will be spoiled, orders them to be taken away for the time being. This upsets Clara and Fritz. Wanting to console the children, Drosselmeyer takes out a new funny doll - the Nutcracker - from his suitcase. She knows how to crack nuts. The old man shows the children how to operate the doll.
Mischievous Fritz grabs the Nutcracker and puts the largest nut in his mouth. The Nutcracker's teeth break and Fritz throws the toy. But Clara picks up the mutilated Nutcracker from the floor, ties a scarf around his head and puts him to sleep on the bed of his favorite doll. Guests perform an ancient dance.
The ball is over. Everyone leaves. It's time for the children to go to bed.
Little Clara can't sleep. She gets out of bed and approaches the Nutcracker, who remains in the dark hall. But what is it? Many brilliant lights appear from the cracks in the floor. These are the eyes of mice. How scary! There are more and more of them. The room is filled with mice. Clara runs to the Nutcracker for protection.
The rays of the moon fill the hall with their magical light. The tree begins to grow and reaches gigantic sizes. Dolls and toys come to life, bunnies sound the alarm. The sentry at the booth salutes with his gun and shoots, the dolls run around in fear, looking for protection. A squad of gingerbread soldiers appears. The mouse army is advancing. The mice win and triumphantly devour the trophies - pieces of gingerbread.
The Nutcracker orders the bunnies to sound the alarm again. The lids are falling off the boxes they are in. tin soldiers: here are grenadiers, hussars, and artillerymen with cannons.
The Mouse King orders the army to resume the attack and, seeing failure, enters into single combat with the Nutcracker. Clara takes off her shoe and throws it at the Mouse King. The Nutcracker seriously wounds his enemy, who, along with the mouse army, flees. And suddenly the Nutcracker turns from a freak into a handsome young man. He kneels in front of Clara and invites her to follow him. They approach the tree and hide in its branches.
Act two
The hall turns into a winter one spruce forest. The snow is falling more and more, a blizzard is rising. The wind blows the dancing snowflakes. A snowdrift is formed from living figures of sparkling snowflakes. Gradually the snowstorm subsides, the winter landscape is illuminated by moonlight.
Konfiturenburg - palace of sweets. The Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Whooping Cough live in a sugar palace decorated with dolphins, from whose mouths fountains of currant syrup, orchad, lemonade and other sweet drinks flow. Fairies of melodies, flowers, paintings, fruits, dolls, fairies of the night, fairies of dancers and dreams, fairies of caramel candies appear; Barley sugar, chocolate, cakes, mints, jelly beans, pistachios and biscuits appear. Everyone bows before the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the silver soldiers salute her.
The majordomo arranges little Moors and pages, whose heads are made of pearls, their bodies are made of rubies and emeralds, and their legs are made of pure gold. They hold burning torches in their hands.
In a boat shaped like a gilded shell, Clara and the Nutcracker slowly float down the river. So they came ashore. The silver soldiers salute them, and the little Moors in costumes made of hummingbird feathers grab Clara by the arms and help her enter the palace.
From the rays of the scorching sun, the palace on the pink river begins to gradually melt and finally disappears. The fountains stop flowing. The Sugar Plum Fairy with Prince Whooping Cough and the princesses, the Nutcracker's sisters, greet the arrivals; the retinue respectfully bows to them, and the majordomo greets the Nutcracker on his safe return. The Nutcracker takes Clara by the hand and tells those around him that he owes his salvation to her alone.
The holiday begins: they dance Chocolate (Spanish dance), Coffee (Arabian dance), Tea (Chinese dance), clowns (buffon dance), lollipops (cream tube dance). Polichinelle dances with Mother Zhigon.
At the end, the Sugar Plum Fairy appears with her retinue and Prince Whooping Cough and takes part in the dancing. Clara and Prince Nutcracker beam with joy.
The apotheosis of the ballet depicts a large hive with flying bees, vigilantly guarding their wealth.
TALE IN MUSIC
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ballet "The Nutcracker"
1st lesson
Program content. Introduce children to ballet music and the plot of a fairy tale. Teach children to feel the character of music.
Progress of the lesson:
Educator. You listened to fragments from the fairy tale-ballet “ Swan Lake" Let's get acquainted with his other ballet - "The Nutcracker".
The Nutcracker is a funny little man who cracks nuts with his toy teeth. It was brought as a gift to children among other toys for the New Year. He was dressed in a military uniform. The girl Marie really liked him. She took small nuts so that the Nutcracker could easily crack them. But her brother decided to try to crack the biggest nut, and the Nutcracker broke. The boy threw the Nutcracker under the tree and forgot about him.
Marie put the Nutcracker in the doll's crib and sang a lullaby to him. When the holiday ended and all the children went to bed, Marie quietly made her way into the room, where she laid the Nutcracker down, took him in her arms and began to talk to him, comfort him.
And then the Nutcracker came to life. He told Marie that he was not always so funny and ugly, that he was bewitched by the evil queen of the mouse kingdom, Myshilda. Only the love of a girl and victory over the mouse king can save him.
Suddenly a rustling sound was heard, and mice began to crawl out of all the cracks. There was a whole horde of them, led by the mouse king. The Nutcracker bravely entered into battle with them. He was helped by tin soldiers from the Christmas tree.
They fought bravely, valiantly. But then the mouse king got close to the Nutcracker, and was about to rush at him, but Marie saw this, took off her shoe and threw it at the mouse king. The Nutcracker was saved. The army of mice is defeated. Marie ran up to the Nutcracker and said: “You couldn’t die, I love you so much.”
Then a miracle happened: the Nutcracker turned into a handsome prince, and Marie grew up. Now the witchcraft was broken. The prince took Marie by the hand and they went to his kingdom. This was no ordinary kingdom, but fairy kingdom sweets, in which you can see people made of sugar and chocolate, an orange stream, a lemonade river. A wonderful holiday was organized in the fairy kingdom. Fairy-tale people danced, and the Sugar Plum Fairy was there. The prince danced with Marie. They were so happy!
Now that you know the tale of the Nutcracker, let's get acquainted with the music of the ballet.
Let's start with the dance between Marie and the prince in his kingdom of sweets at the end of the ballet. Listen to this music. (Recording sounds.) What is she like?
Children. The music is joyful and gentle.
Educator: Yes, this music is happy, enthusiastic, joyful, jubilant and tender. Evil has been defeated. Kindness, devotion, love triumphed. We will listen to this wonderful music again and again. Now let's go back to the beginning of the ballet.
The New Year tree is decorated. Children dance around the Christmas tree, look at the toys and gifts on it. A march sounds. (Recording sounds.) What kind of march is this in character?
Children. Cheerful, humorous.
Pedagogical Yes, it resembles a toy, comic march - abrupt, light, cheerful. This march has something in common with another comic march by P. Tchaikovsky, from his “Children's Album” - “March of the Wooden Soldiers”. (Does it.) How are they similar?
Children. Both are light, clear, abrupt, as if toy-like.
Pedagogical In the “March of the Wooden Soldiers” we hear how the toy soldiers walk - boldly, cheerfully, but easily: after all, they are wooden, fabulous. They also have their own orchestra, in which the drummer plays either a small drum or a large one ( performs the fragment). In the march from the ballet “The Nutcracker” you also felt the fairy-tale quality, the toy quality, the lightness (performs fragment on piano).
To enhance the impression of childishness and playfulness, P. Tchaikovsky introduces children's musical instruments into the orchestra - trumpets and drums (recording sounds).
2nd lesson
Program content. Continue to introduce children to ballet music. Learn to recognize previously listened to musical fragments and determine the nature of the music.
Progress of the lesson:
P a g o g Listen to a fragment from P. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker”. What kind of music is this? (A march sounds.)
Children. This is a march, cheerful, comic.
TEACHER: Listen to the change of character in the middle part. It sounds different than at the beginning and end, a different mood arises (snippet sounds).
Children. It was as if shiny snowflakes, pieces of ice, and lights were sparkling on the tree.
TEACHER: That's right, the music sounds high, abrupt, like sparkling lights or iridescent snowflakes, it is magical, fairy-tale. We feel that the heroes of the fairy tale are waiting for some extraordinary adventures. The music is mysterious.
But then the familiar melody of a playful, lively march returns again. Listen to the entire march (recording sounds).
And this is what the lullaby sounds like that Marie sang to the Nutcracker when the children went to bed (sings a lullaby). What kind of music is this?
Children. Calm, affectionate.
Pedagogue Yes, this lullaby is melodious, affectionate, rhythmically swaying, lulling (executes the fragment again).
The clock strikes twelve... But suddenly a rustling, creaking, and fuss was heard. Mice appeared from all sides, led by the mouse king ( performs the fragment). What did the music sound like?
Children. The music is mysterious, angry, quiet, cautious, then it gets louder.
Educator: The mice are getting closer and closer - the music is getting louder, ominous, scary. Now listen to how bravely and courageously the Nutcracker and the toy army fought with the mice and their king ( recording sounds).
Finally the battle is won. Marie saved the Nutcracker from death and helped defeat the mouse king by throwing her shoe at him. You remember that after this the Nutcracker turned into a handsome young prince and went with Marie on a journey to the fairy-tale kingdom of sweets.
Let's remember the dance of Marie and the prince, which they dance in a fairy-tale kingdom. We listened to it last time. (Recording sounds.)
The music is so happy and enthusiastic! How else can you describe it?
Children. Joyful, excited, tender.
3rd lesson
Program content. Teach children to distinguish the nature of music and the timbres of musical instruments.
Progress of the lesson:
Educator Listen to a fragment from P. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” and remember what kind of music it is (the dance of Marie and the prince sounds).
Children. This is the dance of Marie and the prince.
P a g o g How does this music sound?
Children. Joyfully, happily.
TEACHER: Listen to the main melody. It consists of descending sounds in a row that play string instruments- cellos and violins, But how beautiful this one is simple melody! It seems to be colored by an orchestra, it sounds colorful and lush. The sound of harps gives her trepidation and excitement (snippet sounds).
Now listen to how the character of the music changes in different parts this dance (performed in full).
Children. In the middle the music sounds quiet, gentle, a little sad.
P a g o g In the middle part, the melody is played by a woodwind instrument - an oboe, gently, lightly, softly, lightly. He is echoed by another wind instrument - the bassoon, lower and gloomier (snippet sounds). And then the violins pick up the melody - reverently, excitedly. The melody seems to rush upward, sounds more and more intense (a fragment is performed).
Trombones are added to the instruments ( brass instruments). They sound powerful, harsh, threatening. The music seems to remind us of the unrest, suffering, and the struggle against evil forces. ( The middle part sounds.)
And finally, the first melody sounds - solemnly, jubilantly. She is led by the entire orchestra - powerfully and confidently. ( A fragment sounds.)
But then the music fades away, as if dissolving, sounds unsteady, gentle and mysterious. Against the background of “trembling” violins, the abrupt, low sounds of the orchestra can be heard.
4th lesson
Program content. Introduce children to waltzes from ballet. Learn to distinguish the character and mood of each work. Continue to introduce children to musical instruments.
Progress of the lesson:
Educator: You got acquainted with several fragments from the ballet “The Nutcracker”, listened to the march, the lullaby, the scene of the appearance of mice and the battle with them (plays fragments).
You also know the wonderful music of the dance between Marie and the prince at the end of the ballet (performs a fragment).
Today we will listen to several waltzes from this ballet. We compared several waltzes from the ballet “Swan Lake” - the gentle, flying waltz of the swans and the festive, solemn waltzes that sounded at the ball (plays fragments).
The Nutcracker ballet also has waltzes. We will compare three waltzes. The first one is called "Waltz of Snowflakes". It sounds in the ballet when the prince invited Marie to visit his fairy-tale kingdom. They set off and found themselves in a winter, snow-covered forest. What does "Snow Flake Waltz" sound like? (Children listen to the recording.)
Children. Light, gentle, alarming, in the music you can hear the wind swirling snowflakes.
P a g o g Yes, the music conveys a picture of a fabulous winter forest, the flickering of light, magical, sparkling snowflakes, and the mood of this waltz is slightly alarmed, confused, but at the same time bright.
Marie and the prince go to the wonderful place together, magical land and, of course, they will overcome all obstacles.
Hear how ringing triangles and bells ring in the orchestra, gentle flutes whistle, as if fluffy snowflakes are glistening in the sun. The plucking of the harp helps convey the picture of a blizzard, and the “blizzard” melody is led by tremulous violins. ( The fragment is played again.)
But then Marie and the prince came to the fairyland of sweets. A dance party was held in their honor. The waltz of flowers sounded ( includes recording). What is he like?
Children. Festive and tender.
Pedagogue Yes, in the introduction to the waltz a gentle harp is heard, and the melody sounds soaring and inviting (at the horns) then gently, smoothly (at the violins). She is full of joy and beauty. (The fragment is played again.)
At the end of the ballet another waltz sounds (performs it). What is he like?
Children. Very solemn, festive.
P a g o g Yes, this is the most joyful of the three waltzes, it sounds bright, lush, brilliant, joyfully excited. You can hear the solemn crashes of the cymbals and the festive sound of the entire orchestra. And the melody of the waltz is played by string instruments, flyingly, jubilantly. And in the middle part, listen to how joyfully, magically the bells shimmer and ring. (The recording sounds - a fragment of the middle part.)
Listen to fragments of all three waltzes.
Lesson 5
Program content. Introduce children to the music of ballet dances. Learn to distinguish the nature of plays, means musical expressiveness. To form children's timbre hearing.
Progress of the lesson:
TEACHER: Today we will listen to new fragments from the ballet “The Nutcracker”. Let's visit the holiday in the kingdom of sweets. We are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. ( A fragment is being performed.) What kind of music is this?
Children. Magical, tender.
Pedagogue. It all shimmers and rings. This is the unusual sound of a musical instrument called a celesta. This is a French musical instrument similar to a piano, but it has a gentle and ringing sound. P. Tchaikovsky brought this instrument to Russia and was the first Russian composer to use it.
The dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is elegant, graceful, sparkling with light and magic.
Several other dances are also performed at the festival. Spanish (“Chocolate”) - this music is fast, fiery, playful, you can hear the clicking of castanets. (Recording sounds.)
Then - the Arabic dance (“Coffee”) - slow, smooth, graceful, gentle, with the tinkling of a tambourine. (Recording sounds.)
There is also a Chinese dance (“Tea”) at this holiday - comic, as if jumping. Against the background of low-sounding bassoons, we hear a whistling flute. (Recording sounds.)
There is also a perky, cheerful, daring Russian folk dance- trepak (recording sounds).
The dance of the shepherdesses is one of the most elegant and graceful numbers in ballet. It has a calm tempo and moderate sonority. The dancers' movements are flexible and flexible.
You can try to convey the character of each dance yourself in movements that match the mood of the music. Whoever liked which dance more will dance it. (Children are divided into groups of several people and improvise dance movements.)
Lesson 6
Program content. To consolidate children's knowledge of the music of the Nutcracker ballet.
Progress of the lesson:
P a g o g Today we will listen to various fragments from P. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker”. You will name what music from this ballet you would like to hear. (Children name the fragments, the teacher performs them on the piano or plays a recording.)
You can also arrange a guessing concert. I will play you fragments from the ballet, and you answer what kind of music it is.
Presentation
Included:
1. Presentation - 37 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Tchaikovsky. Ballet "The Nutcracker":
Pas de deux, mp3;
March, mp3;
Marie's Lullaby, mp3;
The emergence of mice, mp3;
The Nutcracker's Battle with the Mouse King, mp3;
Waltz of Snow Flakes, fragment, mp3;
Waltz of the Flowers, fragment, mp3;
Final Waltz, fragment, mp3;
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, mp3;
Spanish dance"Chocolate", mp3;
Arabic dance "Coffee", mp3;
Chinese dance "Tea", mp3;
Russian dance “Trepak”, mp3;
Dance of the Shepherdesses, mp3;
Tchaikovsky. Children's album. “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, mp3;
3. Accompanying article - lesson notes, docx;
4. Sheet music for independent performance by the teacher, jpg.