Nutcracker ballet show
Little Fritz sat down on his knees on the couch by the window and wiped the fogged glass with the palm of his hand. He still couldn’t see anything outside. He purses his lips and blows hot air, knowing that this will melt the last petals of the ice flowers. He closed one eye and with the other looked like through an ocean through the freshly cleared piece of glass. It seemed so cold outside that even the stones in the pavement had frozen under the pressed steps of the passers-by. It was the evening of Eve and everyone was hurrying to finish the last preparations, to be in time for the party that took place every year in the Stahlbaum house, his parents’ house. He couldn’t wait any longer. He knew that soon he would receive the wonderful gifts he had asked for from Santa in the letter stamped and posted two weeks before
It’s a long way to Lapland and the letter must arrive on time, Clara, his sister a few years older, had told him.
“Clara is very clever! He knows them all,” whispered Fritz to himself, then turned admiringly to the Christmas tree, as if he had seen it for the first time. It is decorated with polished globes, red apples polished like candy, shiny tinsel and thousands of sparkling stars.
The living room smells of cinnamon, baked apple and warm cake. Above the fireplace, three bulging felt socks are waiting to be filled with gifts. Ding-dong! The guests have arrived! Cheerful and noisy children rush into the house.
Late as always, uncle Drosselmeyer also appears, loaded with more and more tempting gifts. The uncle has a habit of building the toys he gives as gifts, and for this evening he has prepared something really special: four mechanical dolls that leave everyone speechless. The children rush to share them among themselves.
Clara would have liked a doll too, but she didn’t have time. Now she sits bloated in a corner. Uncle Drosselmeyer sees her and tries to console her by giving her a nutcracker in the shape of a soldier in a shiny parade costume. Clara’s face lights up. He likes the little soldier so much that he forgot about the dolls, the other children caught their eyes.
Although Fritz, who had gotten his hands on one of his uncle’s famous dolls, seems a bit bored with his gift. Much more interesting would be Clara’s gift. As if he wanted it too. But he already has a doll. Would Clara agree to trade?
He stops thinking and rushes to the nutcracker. He snatches it from his hands and pulls until he breaks a leg. The little girl is sad, but Drosselmeyer was not only a maker, he was also a doll doctor, so he fixes her toy by tying it with a handkerchief. He promises Clara that he will be cured by morning. Happy, she cradles the little soldier, then places him in the doll’s house.
It is late and the children’s bedtime has long passed. The guests leave one by one, and Clara and Fritz are sent to their rooms.
But Clara is restless. He wants to make sure the burglar is okay. When everyone has fallen asleep, the little girl goes down to the living room, step by step, to see how her toy is doing. The clock strikes 0 o’clock and, in the stillness of the night, you can hear the mice squealing. Clara gets scared and wants to run back to bed, but the rodents won’t let her. As if by magic, the little girl gets smaller and smaller, until she is the size of a mouse. Out of nowhere, a whole army of terrifying mice appears to threaten her. But the nutcracker comes to life and forms himself an army of toys and comes to save the little girl from the clutches of mice. But, alas! The Mouse King corners the Burglar and is about to end his days! Frightened, the little girl grabs a slipper and throws it right at the mouse’s head. The burglar recovers and thus manages to emerge victorious from the confrontation.
But what to see? As happens only in fairy tales, the Nutcracker turns into a charming prince. They invite Clara on a fairy tale journey through a fir forest where the snowflakes give them an enchanting show.
But this is not all. The prince has a wonderful surprise for Clara: a stop in the land of sweets. They are greeted by the Fondant Fairy and Clara still can’t believe what her eyes see: cream as white as the snow outside, sugar flowers, vanilla ice cream, strawberry foam and thousands and thousands of goodies. Impressed by the two’s pranks with the Mouse King, the Fondant Fairy throws a party in their honor. After the Spanish chocolate dance follows the Arabic coffee dance, then the Chinese tea dance, the Russian dance, that of the pipers, Mother Ginger and her children, all culminating in the sumptuous waltz of flowers.
Clara looks around mesmerized and can’t believe it. He confesses to the prince that he would like this affair to never end. He gruffly replies that the adventure never ends for those who know where to look for it.
The next day, Clara wakes up under the Christmas tree, holding the much-loved Burglar to her chest.
