{"id":530361,"date":"2022-12-22T07:03:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T04:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-a-russian-composer-turned-out-a-highlight-of-american-christmas\/"},"modified":"2022-12-22T07:03:24","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T04:03:24","slug":"how-a-russian-composer-turned-out-a-highlight-of-american-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-russian-composer-turned-out-a-highlight-of-american-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"#how a Russian composer turned out a highlight of American Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ec7f677ab3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ec7f677ab3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-a-russian-composer-turned-out-a-highlight-of-american-christmas\/#%E2%80%9Chow_a_Russian_composer_turned_out_a_highlight_of_American_Christmas%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;how a Russian composer turned out a highlight of American Christmas&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9Chow_a_Russian_composer_turned_out_a_highlight_of_American_Christmas%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;how a Russian composer turned out a highlight of American Christmas&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Rich Lowry\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It takes some doing in this country to be more than about 25 miles from a production of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d during the Christmas season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The ballet has become as American as Friday Night Lights and as much a holiday tradition as Frosty the Snowman and Charlie Brown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is a reliable revenue-generator for ballet academies and companies, and the story and music show up everywhere \u2014 in books, advertisements and pop culture. Its popularity has even driven a minor industry in toy nutcrackers.<\/p>\n<p>A ballet based on a novella by the 19th-century German romantic author E.T.A. Hoffmann \u2014 a specialist in the supernatural and bizarre \u2014 and set to music by Russia\u2019s greatest composer wouldn\u2019t seem an obvious candidate to sweep all before it in the United States, but so it has proved.<\/p>\n<p>Between the \u201c1812 Overture\u201d and \u201cThe Nutcracker,\u201d\u00a0Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky has a big hand in celebrations of American holidays \u2014 the overture captures and exemplifies the thunderous spirit of national celebration of July 4, and the ballet the child-centric magic and joy of the American Christmas.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-7.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Between the \u201c1812 Overture\u201d and \u201cThe Nutcracker,\u201d\u00a0Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky has a big hand in celebrations of American holidays.\" class=\"wp-image-25098318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-7.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d is a ballet based on a novella by the 19th-century German romantic author E.T.A. Hoffmann.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like many cultural mainstays of the Christmas season, including popular songs, TV shows and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>, \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d is a product of the mid-20th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>As Jennifer Fisher notes in her book \u201cNutcracker Nation,\u201d it was first performed in December 1892 in St. Petersburg to a mixed reception. One harsh review called it \u201ca pantomime absurd in conception and execution, which could please only the most uncultured spectators.\u201d It was performed on and off in Russia for decades, but principal dancers weren\u2019t enamored with it, and it never gained a particular association with Christmas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It came to our shores with a San Francisco production in 1944 and, more significantly, the New York City Ballet in 1954. CBS broadcasts of the New York productions and further exposure on other TV shows and in national magazines spread the show\u2019s influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The legendary choreographer and artistic director of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, lent the ballet his prodigious credibility. If he thought it was OK to produce, who could disagree?<\/p>\n<p>Whereas, according to Jennifer Fisher, the Russians always thought the ballet needed to be made more serious, Americans embraced its hybrid nature \u2014 part children\u2019s pageant, part spectacle and part formal dance. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was still performed off-season, and then, its association with Christmas became complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-4.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"CBS broadcasts of the New York productions and further exposure on other TV shows and in national magazines spread the show\u2019s influence.\u00a0\" class=\"wp-image-25098316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-4.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>\u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d came to our shores with a San Francisco production in 1944 and, more significantly, the New York City Ballet in 1954. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The toys, candy, snowflakes, merry-making and, especially, the central role of a child\u2019s wonder and imagination make it a natural for the holiday.<\/p>\n<p>Way back when it was first being performed in Russia, all the kids in the production were considered a distraction. \u201cIn the first scene,\u201d a critic wrote dis<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>rovingly, \u201cthe entire stage is filled with children, who run about, blow their whistles, hop and jump, are naughty, and interfere with the oldsters dancing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Well, yes. But isn\u2019t that the point?\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-2.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Dancers of The Kiev Ballet perform &quot;The Nutcracker&quot; at Teatro Lope de Vega on December 19, 2022.\" class=\"wp-image-25098319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-2.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The toys, candy, snowflakes, merry-making and, especially, the central role of a child\u2019s wonder and imagination make it a natural for the holiday.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That the ballet has so many roles for children is a reason it\u2019s perfect for community productions. It can draw on young people of all ages and all skill levels, from little angels and mice to accomplished student dancers in the lead roles. If a production is put on annually, performers and their families can have a years-long commitment to a show. In many places, this\u00a0makes \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d as much a classic American exercise in civil society as a ballet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If the plot of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d is not exactly tight and linear, and what\u2019s happening on stage might be a little chaotic, there\u2019s no questioning the quality of the music. Dance critic\u00a0Alastair Macaulay calls Tchaikovsky\u2019s score\u00a0\u201ca cornucopia of color, rhythm, scale, melody.\u201d It is very familiar \u2014 <em>hey, wait a minute, is that from \u201cHome Alone\u201d?<\/em> \u2014 yet always powerful and eminently hummable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In short, to paraphrase the famous Samuel Johnson line about London, if you are tired of \u201cThe Nutcracker,\u201d you might be tired of Christmas itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>: @RichLowry<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/21\/the-nutcracker-how-a-russian-composer-turned-out-a-highlight-of-american-christmas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;how a Russian composer turned out a highlight of American Christmas&#8221; It takes some doing in this country to be more than about 25 miles from a production of \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d during the Christmas season.\u00a0 The ballet has become as American as Friday Night Lights and as much a holiday tradition as Frosty the Snowman&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":530362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/nutcracker-coomp-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[137566,78004,66,71032,79389,82708],"class_list":["post-530361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-12-21-22","tag-ballet","tag-christmas","tag-classical-music","tag-new-york-city-ballet","tag-the-nutcracker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}