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Nutcracker Suite
''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. The plot is an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 short story ''The Nutcracker'', itself a retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story '' The Nutcracker and the Mouse King''. The ballet's first choreographer was Marius Petipa, with whom Tchaikovsky had worked three years earlier on ''The Sleeping Beauty'', assisted by Lev Ivanov. Although the complete and staged ''The Nutcracker'' ballet was not initially as successful as the 20-minute ''Nutcracker Suite'' that Tchaikovsky had premiered nine months earlier, it became popular in later years. Since the late 1960s, ''The Nutcracker'' has been danced by many ballet companies, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reforms Of Russian Orthography
Russian orthography has been reformed officially and unofficially by changing the Russian alphabet over the course of the history of the Russian language. Several important reforms happened in the 18th–20th centuries. Early changes Old East Slavic adopted the Cyrillic script, approximately during the 10th century and at about the same time as the introduction of Eastern Christianity into the territories inhabited by the Eastern Slavs. No distinction was drawn between the vernacular language and the liturgical, though the latter was based on South Slavic languages, South Slavic rather than East Slavic languages, Eastern Slavic norms. As the language evolved, several letters, notably the ''yuses'' (Ѫ, Ѭ, Ѧ, Ѩ) were gradually and unsystematically discarded from both secular and church usage over the next centuries. The emergence of the centralized Russian state in the 15th and 16th centuries, the consequent rise of the state bureaucracy along with the development of the com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flashback (narrative)
A flashback, more formally known as analepsis, is an interjected scene (fiction), scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the Plot (narrative), story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. In the opposite direction, a flashforward (or prolepsis) reveals events that will occur in the future. Both flashback and flashforward are used to cohere a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative. In literature, internal analepsis is a flashback to an earlier point in the narrative; external analepsis is a flashback to a time before the narrative started. In film, flashbacks depict the subjective experience of a character by showing a memory of a previous event and they are often used to "resolve an enigma". Flashbacks are important in film noir and melodrama films. In films and television, several camera techniques, editing approaches and special e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
En Pointe
Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde", it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can also be a balance extending one foot off the ground in ‘Second Position’. À la quatrième () One of the directions of body, facing the audience (''en face''), arms in second position, with one leg extended either to fourth position in front (''quatrième devant'') or fourth position behind (''quatrième derrière''). À terre () Touching the floor; on the floor. Adagio Italian, or French ''adage'', meaning 'slowly, at ease.' # Slow movements performed with fluidity and grace. # One of the typical exercises of a traditional ballet class, done both at barre and in center, featuring slow, controlled movements. # The section of a '' grand pas'' (e.g., '' grand pas de deux''), often referred to as ''grand adage'', that features dance partn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaganova Academy Of Russian Ballet
The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hiatus, the school was re-established as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. In 1957, the school was renamed in honor of the pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated the method of classical ballet training that has been taught there since the late 1920s. Many of the world's leading ballet schools have adopted elements of the Vaganova method into their own training. The Vaganova Academy is the associate school of the Mariinsky Ballet, one of the world's leading ballet companies. Students of the school have found employment with ballet and contemporary companies worldwide, such as the Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Mikhailovsky Ballet. History The school was established as the Imperial Thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timofey Stukolkin
Timofei Alekseyevich Stukolkin (; , the village Kozmino of Simbirsk province - , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer. ''Oxford Dictionary of Dance'' called him "one of the greatest character dancers". Timofei Stukolkin came from a very poor family. For seven years, he played in a pantomime on a fairground. Someone once drew attention to the talented boy and brought him into the theatre school at the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial theaters of Petersburg. In 1836 Timofei Stukolkin was accepted at the ballet department of Imperial theatre college. His teachers were French dancers working in Russia: Emile Gredlu (ru: Эмиль Гредлю), Pierre Frédéric Malavergne, Charles Lachouque (ru: Шарль Лашук)Russian ballet. Encyclopedia / ru: Русский балет. Энциклопедия. БРЭ, «Согласие», 1997 and Jean-Antoine Petipa. He graduated in 1848 and was accepted by the Imperial troupe of St. Petersburg. He showed the talent of the psychologic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergei Legat
Sergei Gustavovich Legat (; 27 September 1875 – 1 November 1905) was a Russian ballet dancer. Background Sergei Gustavovich Legat was born on 27 September 1875, in Moscow. The younger brother of Nikolai Legat, he studied at the imperial ballet school with Pavel Gerdt, Christian Johansson, Lev Ivanov and his brother. Legat joined the Mariinsky Theatre in 1894 and quickly became a soloist. Admired for his stylistic performances he also taught, with pupils including Vaslav Nijinsky. Legat originated the dual role of the Nutcracker/Prince in Tchaikovsky's famous ballet. He married Marie Petipa (1857–1930). Many of the male variations that make up the traditional classical ballet repertory were created especially for him at the turn of the 20th century. Death At the outbreak of the First Russian Revolution, Legat fell out with the authorities, and on 1 November 1905, he committed suicide in Saint Petersburg, slashing his throat with a razor.Bronislava Nijinska's Memoirs. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pavel Gerdt
Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (), also known as Paul Gerdt (22 November 1844, near Saint Petersburg, Russia – 12 August 1917, in Vamaloki, Finland, Russian Republic), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet, the Bolshoi Theatre, Saint Petersburg, Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, and the Mariinsky Theatre for 56 years, making his debut in 1860, and retiring in 1916.Gerdt Family, in: The International Encyclopedia of Dance, Oxford University Press, 1998/2005 His daughter Elizaveta Gerdt was also a prominent ballerina and teacher. Gerdt studied under Christian Johansson, Alexander Pimenov (a pupil of the legendary Charles Didelot), and with Jean-Antoine Petipa (Marius Petipa's father, a master of the old pantomime and a student of Auguste Vestris). He was known as the "Blue Cavalier" of the Saint Petersburg stage, creating the roles of nearly every lead male character throughout the latter half of the 19th century, among them Prince Désiré in ''The Sleeping B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonietta Dell'Era
Antonietta Dell'Era (10 February 1860 Milan 22 June 1945 Berlin) was an Italian ''prima ballerina'' best known for originating the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky's ballet, ''The Nutcracker'' (1892). Dance career Between 1879 and 1909, Dell'Era had a successful career at the Berlin Opera, receiving praise from many critics and writers including author and poet Theodor Fontane. Between 1886 and 1894, she danced in Russia, mainly in St. Petersburg, as an export of the "Italian Invasion" - an influx of talented Italian dancers to Russia that included Pierina Legnani, Enrico Cecchetti, and Virginia Zucchi. The Nutcracker In 1892, Dell'Era created the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, a new ballet conceived by mastermind choreographer Marius Petipa and composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The ballet premièred at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 17, 1892, as a double feature alongside Tchaikovsky's last opera, ''Iolan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riccardo Drigo
Riccardo Eugenio Drigo (; 30 June 1846 – 1 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical Conducting, conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career as kapellmeister and Director of Music of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg, Russia, for which he composed music for the original works and revivals of the choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Drigo also served as Chef d'orchestre for Italian opera performances of the orchestra of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. During his career in Saint Petersburg, Drigo conducted the premieres and regular performances of nearly every ballet and Italian opera performed on the Tsarist stage. Drigo is equally noted for his original full-length compositions for the ballet as well as his large catalog of supplemental music written ad hoc for insertion into already-existing works. Drigo is also noted for his adaptations of already-existing scores, such as his 18 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. Through most of the Soviet era, it was known as the Kirov Theatre. Today, the Mariinsky Theatre is home to the Mariinsky Ballet, Mariinsky Opera and Mariinsky Orchestra. Since Yuri Temirkanov's retirement in 1988, the conductor Valery Gergiev has served as the theatre's general director. Name The theatre is named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II. There is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The theatre's name has changed throughout its history, reflecting the political climate of the time: * 1860 – 1920: Imperial Mariinsky Theatre () * 1920 – 1924: State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet () * 1924 – 1935: Lenin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nutcracker -1890
A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version, a nutcracker doll, portrays a person whose mouth forms the jaws of the nutcracker. Functions Nuts were historically opened using a hammer and anvil, often made of stone. Some nuts such as walnuts can also be opened by hand, by holding the nut in the palm of the hand and applying pressure with the other palm or thumb, or using another nut. Manufacturers produce modern functional nutcrackers usually somewhat resembling pliers, but with the pivot point at the end beyond the nut, rather than in the middle. These are also used for cracking the shells of crab and lobster to make the meat inside available for eating. Hinged lever nutcrackers, often called a "pair of nutcrackers", may date back to Ancient Greece. By the 14th century in Europe, nutcrackers were do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
