Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) wrote his most famous ballet towards the end of his life, in 1891-1892, basing it on a story originally written by German novelist E.T.A. Hoffman and later adapted by French writer Alexander Dumas. The drama follows the adventures of Clara, a German girl whose godfather presents her with a magical nutcracker for a Christmas gift. After the guests leave and Clara is alone, the nutcracker comes to life in order to defeat the swarms of giant mice that threaten Clara. He then takes Clara on a journey to a snow-filled land of fantastic candy creatures. In Tchaikovsky's version, Clara awakens after her travels to find herself back in her home, holding her nutcracker.
The ballet is full of generalized musical depictions of exotic nationalities and foods associated with them: Spain (Chocolate), Arabia (Coffee), China (Tea), and traditional/folk Ukraine (Candy Canes). Rather than composing in the style of each nation, Tchaikovsky simply added a few representative elements to "stand-in" for each country. The Spanish music, then, incorporates castanets; the Arabians move to slow and twisting melodies; the Chinese dancers bob and nod to pizzicato strings; and the Russians perform athletic folk dances to vigorous duple meters derived from the Cossacks. Other dances depict candies (the sugar plum fairy, marzipan, gingerbread) and creatures from nature (snowflakes and flowers). The Sugar Plum Fairy's dance with the Nutcracker Prince is perhaps the most famous pas de deux ("step of two") in the entire ballet repertoire.
Due to the ballet's immense popularity, Tchaikovsky also arranged a shorter "hit tunes" version of The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a is appropriate for concert performance, eliminating the need for a full stage production. The shortened version includes the Overture, March, Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, Russian Trepak, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, Reed-Flutes, and Waltz of the Flowers.
