The Nutcracker (Willam Christensen)
Encyclopedia
Tchaikovsky's now-classic ballet The Nutcracker
received its first complete production in the U.S. on December 24, 1944. This production used the ballet's original plot, and it was performed by the San Francisco Ballet
and choreographed by Willam Christensen
, who danced the role of the Cavalier. Gisella Caccialanza, the wife of Lew Christensen
, danced the rôle of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The staging was a huge success, and one critic wrote: "We can't understand why a vehicle of such fantastic beauty and originality could be produced in Europe in 1892 with signal success [a factually erroneous claim] and never be produced in its entirety in this country until 1944. Perhaps choreographers will make up for lost time from now on." The company was the first in the U.S. to make the ballet an annual tradition, and for five years, the only company in the United States performing the complete ballet, until George Balanchine
's production opened in New York in 1954. (Annual productions of the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker began in 1949.)
The San Francisco Ballet performs The Nutcracker annually to this day, though not necessarily with Christensen's choreography (their most recent version is choreographed by Helgi Tomasson). The stage success of the Christensen version marked the first step in making productions of The Nutcracker annual Christmas season
traditions all over the world - a phenomenon that did not really come to flower until the late 1960s.
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
received its first complete production in the U.S. on December 24, 1944. This production used the ballet's original plot, and it was performed by the San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
and choreographed by Willam Christensen
Willam Christensen
Willam Farr Christensen was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker to the United States, as well as staging the first American...
, who danced the role of the Cavalier. Gisella Caccialanza, the wife of Lew Christensen
Lew Christensen
Lewellyn Farr "Lew" Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984...
, danced the rôle of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The staging was a huge success, and one critic wrote: "We can't understand why a vehicle of such fantastic beauty and originality could be produced in Europe in 1892 with signal success [a factually erroneous claim] and never be produced in its entirety in this country until 1944. Perhaps choreographers will make up for lost time from now on." The company was the first in the U.S. to make the ballet an annual tradition, and for five years, the only company in the United States performing the complete ballet, until George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's production opened in New York in 1954. (Annual productions of the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker began in 1949.)
The San Francisco Ballet performs The Nutcracker annually to this day, though not necessarily with Christensen's choreography (their most recent version is choreographed by Helgi Tomasson). The stage success of the Christensen version marked the first step in making productions of The Nutcracker annual Christmas season
Christmas season
Christmastide is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined as the period from Christmas Eve to the evening of 5 January, the day before Epiphany...
traditions all over the world - a phenomenon that did not really come to flower until the late 1960s.