NEW NUTCRACKER

Souvenir Shop Ballet. 2 acts. 
Story by E.T.A. Hofmann and A. Dumas. Music and libretto by Zoltan Demme.

DANCERS: 
Princess Clara. Prince Nutcracker. Mouse King. Mouse Queen Mother. Uncle Drosselmayer, the magician. Cousin Drosselmayer, his son. Mr Stahlbaum, counsellor. Mrs Stahlbaum, his wife. Carl, their little son. Clara, their little daughter. 

GROUP DANCERS: 
Grandparents, Angels, Santa Claus and his helpers, Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Russian Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls, Dolls, Snowflakes.

ACT 1

Act 1, Scene 01-1 CURCH STEEPLE COVERED WITH SNOW

The entire theatre looks like a Christmas Souvenir Shop. From foyer to stage Christmas decoration and Christmas relics everywhere. Christmas dolls and Christmas toys. Old Christmas paintings and sculptures. All the dancers from these old relics revive, even the adults. Snowfall now on the stage. Christmas Evening. Steeple with bells and clocks. Light music of the clocks. Dance of the snowflakes. 

Act 1, Scene 01-2 DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

At the Stahlbaum family. Living room. Steeple outside. Christmas Tree inside. Grandparents, parents at work. Little Clara and Carl steps into the neigbor room. Peeping through the keyhole. Uncle Drosselmayer and his son arrive with packages. Both of them dressed as wizards. Both have colorful magician suits. Both have lots of little Christmas Bells on their suits. Solo of Uncle Drosselmayer. Solo of Cousin Drosselmayer.  Decoration of Christmas Tree is done. Bell for the kids to come in.

Act 1, Scene 01-3 THE BRILLIANCE OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Christmas Tree becomes glittering and shiny. People and kids surround it. Milde Christmas music. Dance of Angels.

Act 1, Scene 01-4 CHRISTMAS GIFTS AND SOUVENIRS

Christmas Bell sounds. Opening the Christmas boxes for the kids. Dolls and toys everywhere. Opening Uncle and Cousin Drosselmayer's packages. Exotic dolls and toy soldiers appear. Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls for Clara, toy horses, toy soldiers and toy cannons for Carl. Short magic actions. Changing a bit the dolls outlook. Uncle Drosselmayer pulls out a nutcracker puppet at the very end. The Nutcracker holds a Giant Nut between his jaws and stands among many attacking mice who want that giant nut. A Mouse King leads the attack with a sharp sword. Clara likes the heroic Nutcracker, while Mouse King becomes the favorite of Carl.

 Act 1, Scene 02-1 CHRISTMAS NIGHT

Bedroom of Clara. Steeple and snowfall outside. Semidarkness inside. Surrounded with the dolls of Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls, and with the Nutcracker in the middle, the little girl is sleeping. Sugar Plum Faires have a Queen, Candy and Tea Girls too have a Queen, Chocolate and Bon Bon Boys have a King, all with small golden crowns. From the neigbor bedroom Carl steps in, holding the Mouse King in his hand, and placing mouse puppets onto the floor. With the sharp sword of Mouse King the boy destroys all the dolls of his sister, then disappears.

 Act 1, Scene 02-2 CHRISTMAS NIGHT MELANCHOLY

Lights on the church steeple and clock. Dancing snowflakes outside. Clara wakes up. Realizing the damage. Effort to go out and see parents. Effort to reach the door handle with no success. Soft crying in undertones. Sad, tired girl falls asleep again.

Act 1, Scene 02-3 CHRISTMAS NIGHT REVIVAL

Strange light in the bedroom. Dolls revive as man-sized creatures. Prince Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls, their Queens and Kings surround the bed of the little girl. Among them, gradually, a beautiful lady arises. Clara, as a young adult.

Act 1, Scene 02-4 NUTCRACKER AND MOUSE KING

Noise. Giant mice appear. Prince Nutcracker fights for the Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls against the attacking mice. The Nutcracker kills the Mouse King. The mice escape.

Act 1, Scene 02-5 SANTA CLAUS AND THE DANCING SNOWFLAKES

Midnight. Lights appear on the outside steeple. Clock sounds. Dance of snowflakes. Antlers of reindeers become visible through the opal glasses of the outside door. Nutcracker and the others open the door. Santa Claus and his helpers sit outside on a sleigh surrounded with swirling snowflakes. Sleigh has a label: TO THE LAND OF TOYS AND SWEETS. First the dolls, second Clara and the Nutcracker leave the stage sitting on the sleigh of Santa Claus, meanwhile the snowflakes perpatually dance. 

ACT 2

Act 2, Scene 01-1 BARCAROLA

Rocks in the left stage. Sleigh of Santa Claus among them. Waving his hand toward Clara and Nutcracker, Santa Claus leaves the scene. Couple step onto a golden nutshell sailboat anchored in a sea cove. Sailing. Colorful birds, beautiful clouds on the sky. Colorful corals, glittering gems under the water. Pas de Deux. In the horizon, the Palaces of Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls appear. Palaces have a great common garden. Gingerbread Tower with Clock decorates the garden.

Act 2, Scene 01-2 DANCE OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY QUEEN

Golden Nutshell arrives to the sea shore of the common garden. The door of the Sugar Plum Palace opens. Greetings from the Sugar Plum Fairy Queen and faires. Solo dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Queen in the garden.

Act 2, Scene 01-3 CHOCOLATE BOYS (SPANISH DANCE)

Door of the Chocolate Palace opens. Greetings from the Chocolate King and the brownish-black Chocolate Boys. Dance. While dancing, at the palace walls many grey mice show up. Eating the peanuts, chestnuts of the chocolate walls of the palace. Attacking a few Chocolate Boys even.

Act 2, Scene 01-4 NUTCRACKER AND MOUSE QUEEN MOTHER

Prince Nutcracker fights against the attacking mice. Like a Monster, the Mouse Queen Mother appears. She holds in her hand the head of the Mouse King, that the Nutcracker cut off past occasion. Duel. Nutcracker kills the monster. Mice escape.

Act 2, Scene 01-5 BRACELET DANCE OF CANDY GIRLS (ARABIAN DANCE)

Door of the Candy Palace opens. In the hall of the Palace a fountain becomes visible. Greetings from the Candy Queen and Candy Girls having bracelets from candy on arms, ankles, necks. Dance in the garden.

Act 2, Scene 01-6 DANCE OF THE BON BON BOYS (RUSSIAN DANCE) 

Door of the Bon Bon Palace opens. Bon Bon Matryoshka Dolls inside. Greetings from the Bon Bon King and from the Bon Bon Matryoshka Doll Boys. The Bon Bon Matryoshka Doll Boys have Russian silk shirts and silk slacks. Dance in the garden.

 Act 2, Scene 01-7 DANCE OF THE TEA GIRLS (CHINESE DANCE)

Door of the Tea Palace opens. Greetings from the Tea Queen and Tea Girls. Most of the favorite tea flavors of kids are clearly presented on the stage as patterns of costumes, e.g. oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and so on. Dance in the garden.
 
Act 2, Scene 01-8 INTERMEZZO

(OPTIONAL). Trumpet music. From behind the Clock of the Gingerbread Tower little trumpet soldiers come out. Carillon music. White, black, hispanic, indian, and chinese dolls appear. Song of the dolls.

White and black dolls,
And Chi-nese dolls,
You e-qua-lly have!
His-pa-nic dolls,
In-di-an dolls,
You e-qua-lly have!
If you are called:
Hate same of them!..
Just simp-ly re-sist!
Care all of them,
Guard all of them,
Ne-ver be ra-cist!

White and black kids,
And Chi-nese kids,
Globe e-qua-lly has!
His-pa-nic kids,
In-di-an kids,
Globe e-qua-lly has!
If you are called:
Hate same of them!..
Just simp-ly re-sist!
Guard all of them,
Love all of them,
Ne-ver be ra-cist! 

Care your all dolls,
Guard your all dolls,
Ne-ver be ra-cist!
Guard your kid friends,
Love your kid friends
Ne-ver be ra-cist!
Nei-ther no-ow,
Nor in fu-ture,
Ne-ver be ra-cist!

Trumpet music again. All the little trumpeters and dolls disappear behind the Clock of the Gingerbread Tower with no exception.

Act 2, Scene 01-8 VALSE

Sounds of the Clock of the Gingerbread Tower. Farewell Valse. Clara and Nutcracker dance the valse with each group, one after the other. Then they leave the Garden by their golden nutshell. Palaces become dark gradually. Scene becomes empty. Farewell beats of the clock.

Act 2, Scene 02-1 CHRISTMAS LATE NIGHT

Bedroom of the little Clara. Surrounded with the damaged dolls of Sugar Plum Faires, Chocolate Boys, Candy Girls, Bon Bon Boys, Tea Girls, and with the broken Nutcracker in the middle, the small girl is sleeping. Her mother appears. Setting Clara’s blanket right she spots the damage. Checking for Carl, but he is sleeping in the neigbor room. Calling for husband and grandparents. Calling for the Drosselmayers. Uncle and Cousin Drosselmayer repair the dolls one by one, running with them in and out of the bedroom on tiptoe, to reduce the noise.

Act 2, Scene 02-2 LULLABY

All the dolls are fixed and placed back to surround the little Clara. Slow dance of snowflakes outside. Grantparents, parents, uncle and cousin leave the bedroom, carefully closing all the doors with no noise. Slow dance of the snowflakes ends.

NOTES

1. If not otherwise specified by the composer, the number of music instruments can be determined by the producer, conductor, choreographer, and director. 2. Conductor also can divide for two, three, or four instruments each instrumental phrase of the composition for easier performance, especially at chords and presto playing. 3. Producer, conductor, choreographer, and director are authorized to repeat or cancel any part of the composition in accordance with actual artistic needs. 4. In Zoltan Demme's stage compositions any music instrument can be substituted in accordance with actual artistic needs.