The Nutcracker (Nureyev)
Nureyev first choreographed The Nutcracker for the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1967 at the request of Erik Bruhn, who was then serving as the company’s director. He was an exciting choice to stage a new version of this much-loved classic: he had extensive knowledge of the ballet from his time at the Kirov and had already demonstrated his ability to create more complex characterisations within existing roles.While Nureyev did not dance in the first performances, he flew to Stockholm to supervise rehearsals as often as his intense touring schedule would permit.
Nureyev’s Nutcracker was performed by The Royal Ballet in London three months after its Swedish premiere, in 1968, with Nureyev in the dual role of Herr Drosselmeyer and the Prince. The role of Clara was danced by Merle Park, one of his favorite partners, and the dancer on whom he had also worked out Clara’s choreography for the Swedish production. Many critics were less than thrilled with the new choreography, which was crammed full of intricate footwork and bravura solos. However, the ballet was a tremendous hit with audiences. Ninette de Valois loved the production, and it became a mainstay of The Royal Ballet’s repertoire.
The world of Nureyev’s Nutcracker is akin to a Grimm’s fairytale, by turns enchanting and eerie. While Petipa’s libretto was based on a story by Alexander Dumas, Nureyev took inspiration from the tale that had originally inspired Dumas: E.T.A Hoffman’s bizarre and unsettling The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Nureyev’s Nutcracker replaces the mice in the first act’s dream scene with a horde of rats thatterrorise Clara, entrapping her and tearing at her dress.
Throughout the ballet, there is a strong undercurrent of Freudian analysis. Nureyev depicts Clara as a child taking her first tenuous steps toward young adulthood and, when she falls asleep, the figure that dances through her dreams is her older self. Her romantic fantasy – the Prince – is a clear reflection of Herr Drosselmeyer. Later in the dream, Clara’s family is transformed into a swarm of bats, threatening to engulf her in their huge dark wings.
Aside from the introduction of these underlying psychoanalytical themes, Nureyev’s choreography retained much of the charming, gilded fantasy of the traditional Nutcracker. His presentation of the Spanish Dance and the Pastorale pas de trois received critical praise, and the choreography for Clara and the Prince’s second act grand pas de deux is often considered to be one of his finest original creations.
Nureyev went on to stage several productions of The Nutcracker: the Ballet of La Scala Milan (1969), Ballet of the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires (1971) and the Ballet of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1979).
He produced his final version at the Paris Opéra in 1985. A film of this production in 1988, starring Laurent Hilaire and Elisabeth Maurin, was directed by Nureyev himself. While on the set, he promoted Maurin to étoile, the highest rank for a dancer in the Paris Opéra.
Subsequent to his death, Nureyev’s Nutcracker has been performed by multiple companies around the world, including the Finnish National Ballet, the Wiener Staatsballett and the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
The Nutcracker is still in repertoire today.