FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE NUTCRACKER
Like every year, December brings with it a roundup of must-have films, songs and shows for Christmas. Impossible to escape the classic appointment with Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy in ”Trading Places” or the songs of Micheal Bublè that animate supermarkets, department stores and radios from the beginning of the month, warming our hearts in the coldest period of the year. And it is precisely in this context that we at MFGA want to pay homage to the famous ballet ”The Nutcracker”, the source of inspiration for our latest collection which has taken the name of Nutcracker in his honour.
A 19th-century masterpiece reinterpreted in a musical key by the great Tchaikovsky and put on tiptoe by the legendary Petipa. The show is inspired by the story of the French Dumas Padre, who dilutes the most disturbing elements of the original book “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by the German Hoffman, transforming it into a delightful fairy tale. From birth to modern performances, here are five curiosities about the ballet par excellence of the Christmas holidays.
1. THE GENIUS OF TCHAIKOVSKIJ
Tchaikovsky’s name is certainly one of the best known ever in the musical field. But what many don’t know is that, before dedicating himself to music, the Russian composer worked as a lawyer for several years, intent on following his parents’ wishes.
2. THE ORIGIN OF THE SOLDIER
The tradition of having a Nutcracker at home during Christmas has its roots in an ancient population on the border between Germany and the present-day Czech Republic, who built a large wooden Nutcracker to demonstrate against the constant tax pressure from the troops German. Today, from a symbol of protest, that wooden soldier has become an emblem of Christmas that evokes immortal themes such as love, beauty, dreams, kindness and the importance of preserving the child who lives in each of us.
3. EVEN IN HOLLYWOOD
In 1993 ”The Nutcracker” flies to Hollywood with a film that sees how starring Macaulay Culkin, the actor who became famous with the series of films ‘’Home alone”. Who better than him to represent the classic Christmas tale in the cinema?
4. THE LITTLE LADY
The show tells of a magical world where toys come to life: the Nutcracker becomes a Prince to defeat the Mouse King and saves little Mary… or maybe Masha, or maybe Clara. The name of the little lady has been adapted to the various countries in which the opera was staged.
5. THE DEBUT OF THE CELESTA
The celesta is a keyboard instrument with a sweet and very pure sound which for the first time became part of an orchestra thanks to the Nutcracker show, where it managed to emphasize the magical and dreamlike nature of the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
