Clara's godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, arrives late to the party. The ballet proper debuted in December of that year. She has an undergraduate degree from Penn State University in Animal Bioscience, a master's degree from Arcadia University in Secondary Education, and is currently pursuing her second master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gannon University. Before his departure he received a letter written by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, dated 15/27 February: "I hope to see you in Saint Petersburg before your departure for America. Beethoven Symphony No. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Listen for the very rhythmic, punctuated, maybe angular feel of the main A theme. 17 chapters | "Waltz of the Flowers" is another relatively high tempo song, played in tempo di valse, meaning waltz tempo. Musically speaking, a waltz is a dance that is in 3-beat meter, to which you can count a quick 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. By the 1700s, Austrian, Italian and Swiss carvers were making animal and human-shaped nutcrackers. Evidently, in Rouen Tchaikovsky resumed work on 31 March/12 April. The Nutcracker, Russian Shchelkunchik, ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This gives The Nutcracker just enough time to stab The Mouse King. Many of Tchaikovskys works are among the most widely-recognized pieces in all of classical music. The Nutcracker was arranged for piano by Sergey Taneyev, but in view of the difficulty of this arrangement, Tchaikovsky made a simplified one of his own. The newspapers reviled Tchaikovsky, and he did not live to see the piece succeed. On 19 February/3 March, Tchaikovsky wrote from Saint Petersburg to Pyotr Jurgenson: "I require children's instruments (from the symphonies of Haydn and Romberg), because I want to make use of them in my forthcoming ballet. A. In Moscow the first production of The Nutcracker did not take place until 21 May 1919, in a production at the Bolshoi Theatre by the balletmaster Aleksandr Gorsky, conducted by Nikolay Fyodorov. Tchaikovsky and Vsevolozhsky had planned from the outset that children would play a major role in The Nutcracker, a highly unusual and controversial decision for that time. You are an exceptionally kind soul for not refusing me" [13]. From an early age, Tchaikovsky had relished stage works involving magic or fantasy such as Webers Der Freischtz and Mozarts Don Giovanni. In the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (No. The Suite from the ballet The Nutcracker was compiled as a substitute for the symphonic ballad The Voyevoda on the programme of a Russian Musical Society concert in Saint Petersburg scheduled for 29 February/12 March 1892, at which Tchaikovsky was due to conduct his own works. The origin of the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas Story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on a family's Christmas Eve celebration. [11]. It was presented at St. Petersburgs Mariinsky Theatre on a double bill with Tchaikovskys one-act opera, Iolanta. Our midwinter holidays bring light into the darkest days of the year, each in their own waysbut music always casts the warmest glow. You really have to be in the theater to get the full experience of the work, but the music to this ballet holds very strongly on its own, often performed in a reduced version as The Nutcracker Ballet Suite, which contains excerpts of the full ballet music, but re-tailored to better fit a concert program. 1650, along with one of the first typical Ore Mountain region figurines from 1870. From their correspondence, and from Petipas original choreographic plan, we know that Vsevolozhsky originally intended to have the children perform a series of national dances in costumes presented as Christmas gifts in Act I. She serves on the music faculty of Metropolitan State University of Denver and gives pre-performance talks for Opera Colorado and the Colorado Symphony Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 3Girofl-Girofl, popular French song", i.e. The result, by all accounts, was too ill-disciplined to charm its audience. Rachmaninov Prelude in g minor, Op. Notable in this ballet is Tchaikovsky's use of an instrument called a celesta, which is similar to the piano but higher and more delicate in tone. In a letter to Sergey Taneyev of 27 June/9 July 1891, Tchaikovsky also reported that he had finished the ballet "with a feverish haste and the constant doubts that I would muster the energy to finish the ballet in rough" [41]. (LogOut/ Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Russian musicologist Boris Asafyev acclaimed Nutcracker as representing 'the ripening soul of a little girl' who grows from playing with dolls to 'the dawn of love through dreams of love of a brave and virile hero', while Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, found the music 'bristling with implied action,' with 'a subtext 8 in C minor (Pathetique), 9. In the divertissement, Tchaikovsky used dances that were originally written for Act I. Reception to the ballet was mixed when it opened in 1892, but now it is one of the most popular ballets in the world. The last A section closely resembles the opening, but louder with the brass, and also you hear the strings doing this wild flying scale thing. What went wrong? The Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince, and he offers Clara a journey to his kingdom. 2), he noted that If the celesta is unavailable, then this part may be played on the piano. During this time he wrote the opening of the second scene, and the numbers he had previously omitted from the first scene of Act 1: Petit galop des enfants, Entre des parents, "Bon voyage, M-r Dumolet"; then there followed sketches for the Grossvater dance and some additions to the dance of the Incroyables [29]. She tries to run away, but her legs will not carry her. I came to Rouen in order to work a little. The ballet was premiered at Christmastime in 1892, and has since been one of the most popular ballets in the world. The room grows in size and suddenly a mouse army, led by a crowned mouse king, circles the room. Starting with Sleeping Beauty (1890), he created productions in which music, choreography and design (he himself designing many hundreds of splendid costumes) were united into a single concept, rather than, as had previously been the case, haphazardly thrown together. Presto, 16. Join us and enjoy the magic of the season! The sequence of sketches in Act II indicates that the composer adhered to Marius Petipa's plan. Just as it looks like the nutcracker is going to lose, Clara saves him with a well-timed throw of her slipper, which hits the mouse king and knocks him out. On the day of his departure from Saint Petersburg, the composer discussed the ballet with Marius Petipa [23]. Then the other children's parents enter, dressed as fops and dandies. The second time around, the lower strings (cello and bass) continue the accompaniment, while the upper strings, violins and violas, do some interplay stuff with the flutes. Whats that moving around, and how does it move? The fact the ballet involves some of his most inventive and evocative orchestration is merely, they say, to disguise the poverty of his invention: witness the short-breathed and exceedingly simple character of several of the ballets themes, and the fact Tchaikovsky supplemented these with so many borrowed themes for instance, the Arabian Dance based on a Georgian lullaby. It was not long before Tchaikovskys talent was recognised by the head of the directorate of Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky. These newer models depict politicians Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schrder. ], Maydanovo". The beard and hair is usually rabbit fur. At such moments Uncle Pyotr, red in the face, wet with perspiration as he sang the tune, presented a pretty amusing sight.. Tchaikovsky was occupied from 15/27 July until late August/early September 1892 with proof-reading the score of the ballet, being published by Pyotr Jurgenson, while at the same time preparing the opera Iolanta for publication [50]. The "Waltz of the Flowers" is one of the culminating pieces in the ballet and is immediately followed by the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". Un-scientifically, The "1812 Overture" and "The Nutcracker" ballet music probably hold 2 of the top 5 of this measure (at least on a "highlights from" basis). After this he wrote: "Return to No. "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" featured a brand-new instrument called the "Celesta". Learn about "The Nutcracker" ballet and its music and story. The Russian Dance - the Trepak - is a Cossack dance normally performed by men who would kick their legs out from a squatting position. You need now only to compose great dances, and not for dancers, and all those variations would only irritate the majority of the audience" [17]. Nutcracker was based on the Alexandre Dumas translation of a Hoffmann tale, in which a little girl comes to the aid of her Christmas gift (a magical nutcracker in the . The libretto was compiled by Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa [6], after the story of Histoire d'un Casse-Noisette (1845) by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), which was an adaptation from the German of Der Nuknacker und Mauseknig (1816) by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) [7]. The original story was more dark and disturbing, with choreographer Marius Petipa deciding to take a lighter approach to Clara's Christmastime dream when adapting it for the stage. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And what is it that has eluded Tchaikovsky experts but has been instinctively grasped by the ballets millions of fans? On 22 January/3 February 1891, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Anatoly: "At the end of the week I shall be going to Saint Petersburg for final discussions with the director about the opera [Iolanta] and the ballet" [10]. Waltz of the Flowers. As the grand finale, a regal cavalier dances with the Sugar Plum Fairy. And so, where the plan called for "Dances", under the title Le chocolat, Tchaikovsky noted: "Spanish dance, see 1st copybook"; the same applied for the dance Tea "See 1st copybook" (the Chinese dance was used). Even the artist Alexandre Benois, who admired Vsevolozhsky and later inspired Diaghilev to follow his example, found the battle scene quite senseless and amateurish.. Traditional nutcrackers typically took on the attributes of figures of authority, such as kings, soldiers, forest guards or policemen. The full score and the composer's simplified piano arrangement of The Nutcracker were published in volumes 13 (1955) and 54 (1954) respectively of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by V. D. Vasilyev. The family business in Seiffen is now being run by the eighth generation of Fchtners. Ravel Piano Concerto in G, III. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Theres just a magical quality to this that you just cant quantify! The ballet is scored for a large orchestra consisting of 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolos), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (in A, B-flat), bass clarinet (in A, B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in A, B-flat), 3 trombones, tuba + 4 timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, bass drum, tam tam, glockenspiel, castanets, toy instruments (rattle, trumpets (in C), drums, 2 rabbit drummers, cuckoos, quails, cymbals) + celesta (or piano) + 2 harps, violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses. Ravel Piano Concerto in G, II. The room is transformed into a pine forest (Scene 2), and the night sky clears to reveal a host of stars. 1, http://archiv.narodni-divadlo.cz/default.aspx?jz=cs&dk=Inscenace.aspx&ic=984&sz=0&fo=000&ju=0&abc=0&pn=256affcc-f203-2000-85ff-c11223344aaa, https://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/index.php?title=The_Nutcracker&oldid=58805, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. The Nutcracker transforms into a prince and together they are carried off to The Land of Sweets, where celebrations of the prince's return ensue. Hoffmann's book: "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". A one-time diplomat, Vsevolozhsky had developed his love for French culture (shared by Tchaikovsky) and particularly ballet while posted in Paris. Not only is his hair thinning and turning silver as snow, not only are his teeth falling out and refusing to chew food, not only are his eyes weakening and becoming easily tired, not only are his feet starting to drag rather than walkbut his singular remaining faculty is starting to fade and disappear. In this time I will have prepared the sketches for the first two scenes of the ballet. Vsevolozhskys frustration is clear from an uncharacteristically unguarded comment to Tchaikovsky in which, despite Petipas huge success with Sleeping Beauty, he called his chief choreographer old fashioned. The March in which the glockenspiel appears anticipates Nutcrackers soundworld, including the celebrated Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. The Nutcracker Suite, Op. Tchaikovsky stayed in Saint Petersburg until 11/23 February, where, evidently, he received the choreographer Marius Petipa's manuscript plan of the first act of the ballet, which was dated "5 February 1891" [O.S.] Then the old-woman-who-lived-in-a-shoe dances with all her children and a group of clowns. 71a 2. Yet the fact remains that he was far from played out witness the Sixth Symphony that was still to come, or even the remarkable tone poem Voyevoda which, though he rejected it, has since been widely recognised as one of his most remarkable late works. Just as it appears that the Nutcracker is about to be overwhelmed, Clara throws her slipper at the King of the Mice, and kills him. The Nutcracker is still very popular in today's culture as a Christmas ballet. After meeting with Vsevolozhsky, Tchaikovsky crossed out the names of the characteristic dances in Petipa's balletmaster plan, and instead wrote: "Galop pour les enfants et entre des parents en incroyables 16 mesures rococo (tempo menuet). The Christmas-tree grows enormously in size. And the music for the Nutcracker, arranged into an orchestral suite, is a beloved standard at concerts. There are unexpected distractions" [38]. 1 inD, 17. 23 in A, II. This effect has Tchaikovskys fingerprints all over it, I think. By 12/24 February the composer had not begun work [14], but by 18 February/2 March some scenes had been composedNo. This timeless classic follows the young Clara and her Nutcracker prince as they are swept away on an enchanting adventure, led by the mysterious Drosselmeyer and Lady Silberhaus. 22 was the start of the battle scene), and sketches for the battle of the mice and toys followed. The Nutcracker was first performed in Russia in 1892. Act II. The full score was published by Pyotr Jurgenson in 1892. But their gauntlet was triumphantly taken up in the 20th century, particularly in the US, with its love of child-friendly fantasies such as The Wizard of Oz, and in Soviet Russia where investment in young talent resulted, and still continues, in producing many fine child dancers. "The Nutcracker Suite" is a compilation of several songs. The Russian musicologist Boris Asafyev acclaimed Nutcracker as representing the ripening soul of a little girl who grows from playing with dolls to the dawn of love through dreams of love of a brave and virile hero, while Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, found the music bristling with implied action, with a subtext alive with wild child cries and belly noises. Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Suite, Op. On 25 June/7 July, in a letter to Vladimir Davydov, Tchaikovsky wrote: "Remember when you were here I boasted that I had something like five days left to finish the ballet? You definitely know this one. Find Watercolor Vintage Nutcracker stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the music for it and thus turned it into the world's greatest Christmas ballet. Is it nightime? Some cost way more depending on quality, size and brand. The Nutcracker is a ballet with music composed by Tchaikovsky. Remember those fanciful Russian, Chinese and Arabian characters in the Land of Sweets? 9) includes a wordless chorus. (LogOut/ The nutcracker, now transformed into a handsome prince, jumps aboard and they ride into a magical winter forest filled with snowflakes. Clara and her nutcracker, transformed into a prince, travel into the Land of Sweets, ruled by a sugar plum fairy. Swan Lake: the story behind Tchaikovsky's great ballet score, The best (and worst) recordings of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky certainly admired the dark fantasy of Hoffmanns original, and may have been disappointed by Dumass tamer version. According to Britannica, the plot is loosely based off "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," a fantasy story written by E.T.A. Tchaikovsky stayed in Rouen until 5/17 April. Clara falls onto what had been the toy nutcracker's bed, overwhelmed by the moment. The ballet begins during a Christmas Eve party, where a girl named Clara is delighted when her godfather Drosselmeyer arrives with toys, including a nutcracker that she takes a liking to, but her brother Fritz breaks it (via Nutcracker Ballet). Hoffmann wrote the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" in 1816. Together they travel to mystical lands while battling the mouse king. Like Handel's Messiah, it has long enjoyed a place of de facto holiday tradition throughout the Western world. The Prince is greeted by his sisters, and tells how Clara saved his life. Together they travel to the land of snow and the two dance together as snow falls all around them. Clara wakes the next morning still under the tree with her nutcracker. The tool is designed to crack open all sorts of nuts, and usually resembles a pair of pliers. After everyone has gone to bed Clara comes down to see her Nutcracker, which seems to be giving off a mysterious light. Another orchestral colour unfamiliar to Tchaikovskys audience was the purring of flutter-tongued flutes, a technique he had recently learned from a flautist who had once been his harmony student: he used this sound to depict the cascading river of Rose essence which greets the arrival of Clara and her Nutcracker prince in Act II. Now, the original story is rather dark (involving bloody cuts, malevolent characters and angry adults), so in the mid-19th century, French author Alexander Dumas adapted it for a younger audience, making it less scary. The celesta is a bell-piano that sits upright and is played with keys. The ballet is infinitely worse than "The Sleeping Beauty"of this I'm sure. Because the first act is set at a Christmas party, the ballet is often presented at Christmastime. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is based on a short story written by a German author, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman, called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". Nine o'clock strikes, on a clock consisting of an owl which flaps its wings at each stroke. Clara picks up the broken Nutcracker and cradles it in her arms., singing it a lullaby, while the boys tease her. The children are alarmed at his odd appearance, until they see that he has brought them toys: a mechanical doll, a toy soldier, Harlequin and Colombine. Of form, this movement is also in an easy-to-follow ABA structure listen for the changes in roles as the piece progresses. On 2/14 June the composer wrote to Anna Merkling: "At this moment my work is coming along very successfully" [36]. - Definition & Characteristics, Motown Records: Founder, History & Artists, What is a Chorus in a Song? On 23 March/4 April the instrumentation was completed, according to the date on the manuscript score. It looks like the mice are going to win until Clara throws her slipper at their king, killing him; the nutcracker then escorts Clara through a land of snow, turning into a handsome prince in the process. Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Op. In large amounts this is unbearable. Worse still was the battle between the mice and the toys. Daniel Jaff tells the tale of a magical masterpiece. By baring their teeth, they were to protect homes by warding off evil spirits. Layer 3: Rhythmic accent in the low strings and bassoons. This page was last modified on 15 February 2023, at 21:01. Published in Germany in 1851, his illustrated tale was titled "King Nutcracker or The Dream of Poor Reinhold," and told the story of a poor child who dreams of the "Fairy Town of Toys" and meets the "Nutcracker King with royal jaws.". The same archive holds Tchaikovsky's arrangement for solo piano (. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. "The Nutcracker Suite" is a compilation of the highlights from The Nutcracker. He had been turned into a nutcracker by the evil Mouse King, and only by the King's death could the Nutcracker regain his human form. The arrangement of the sketches allows us to infer the order in which the music was writtenthe composer adhered to the essence of Marius Petipa's plan, indicating any deviations from it in his notebook. A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. His nephew, Yury Davydov, recalled that he not only composed the music but invented the steps and pirouettes, and danced them himself, showing the performers what he required of them. The Napoleon figure (center) is from 1822. Adagioassai, 15. The Nutcracker is a classic Christmas tale first adapted by Alexandre Dumas from E.T.A. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker has enchanted audiences around the world for over a century, but what is the secret to its enduring popularity? In pop culture, Nutcracker music is present in commercials, movies, and television shows. Typically, ballets are the result of collaboration between a composer and a choreographer. It seems that at this meeting the outline scenario for Act II was finalised. The music aligns with the dramatic stylings of the Romantic Period, which was the style in Europe up until about the 1840s. Tchaikovsky's score, however, was met with more enthusiasm. Hoffmann fantasy story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King. As weve seen before, Tchaikovsky showing his forceful side at his best, knowing how to create excitement, and build it up to a thrilling ending. Clara and the prince wave goodbye to the inhabitants of the Land of Sweets before being pulled away. Returning to Frolovskoye on 22 February/6 March, Tchaikovsky made notes in his sketchbook after the start of the Trepak: "Not finished, because during a visit to Saint Petersburg I learned that Vsevolozhsky did not want dances here and, probably, they will be carried over to the 2nd act". It is Christmas Eve in the home of President Silberhaus of the Town Council and his children, Clara and Fritz (Scene 1). The ballet is called "The Nutcracker" because Clara's adventure starts with her gift of a nutcracker. Eventually staged in Moscows Bolshoi Theatre in 1877, where it was hobbled with mediocre choreography and indifferently danced, its music nonetheless stood head and shoulders above the usual run of ballet scores. Choreographic duties fell to Petipas assistant, Lev Ivanov. In the manuscript score and autograph sketches, the title of the ballet is given as, The title in the sketches is listed variously as, According to the sketches, this number was originally to have been called, An audio reconstruction of Tchaikovsky's sketches for the English dance is included in our. 7. At the beginning of her dream, Clara "awakes" and finds the Christmas tree from her party has grown to an enormous height and there are mice, the size of humans, running around the room. 231 lessons. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatrical Museum, Before No. Clara falls asleep with the Nutcracker in her arms. A series of fascinating performers follow -- Arabian women with veils, Russian dancers doing a native dance, Chinese and Spanish dancers. The music was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and features the use of instruments like the celesta. Each one has up to 60 parts which are made of locally sourced spruce and beech wood. Tchaikovsky's ballet Nutcracker was just such a creation. The story was based on a children's fairy tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann, adapted by Alexandre Dumas . How healthy are India's 1.4 billion people? Beside a river of rose water, Clara and the Prince appear and are welcomed in the Great Hall of the palace. 1 (the decoration of the tree) and No. Remembering avant-garde artist Mary Bauermeister, Belgian court paves way for Iran prisoner swap treaty, Palestinians in occupied West Bank live with uncertainty, Thousands of migrants have died in South Texas. He goes to the dead Mouse King and . During the celebration, Godfather Drosselmeyer arrives. The prince demonstrates for the Sugar Plum Fairy how he had conquered the mouse king as the Nutcracker and was restored to his princely form. At the head of the opening Scene (Act II, No. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is based on the short story by ETA Hoffman called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King." Are we floating? These pieces are all relatively short some almost miniatures. So well look at a bunch of the 8 movements, but not all of them. I think it will be finished by the summer" [44]. Throughout the ballet, the music is light, playful, and at times dramatic. Tchaikovsky instructed that "This chorus should comprise 12 sopranos and 12 altos. 71a 7. Courtney has ten years of instructional experience in a classroom. Layer 2: Melody simplified to quarter notes in the woodwinds. It is made up of "The March", "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", "Russian Dance", "Arabian Dance", "Chinese Dance", "Dance of the Reed Flutes", and "Waltz of the Flowers". The Nutcracker is a ballet with music written by the Russian composer, Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. Near to sketches for the dance Polichinella, Tchaikovsky wrote: "No. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, led by Drosselmeyer, fly through the clouds in the Chestnut Shell Boat and arrive at the gates of Candy Kingdom. The various ballet and opera characters, he said, frighten, horrify, and pursue me, waking and sleeping, mocking me with the thought that I shall not cope with them. After a final waltz between the fairy and her cavalier, Clara awakes to find herself by the Christmas tree with her nutcracker. Heinrich Hoffmann, best known as the creator of the children's book "Der Struwwelpeter" (Shaggy Peter), also wrote his own version of E.T.A Hoffmann's story. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. His homeward journey took him through Paris, where he discovered a new instrument: the celesta, whose clear, bell-like tone was perfectly fitted to The Nutcrackers fairy-tale ambience. It is rare and genuine and does justice to the private world of children.. Its score was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the performance choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, three of Russia's greatest artists of their era. Bring texture and dimension to your tree with this Fabric Nutcracker Head with Red Hat Tree Ornament from Wondershop. German abortion clinics targeted by US-style protests, German family minister takes on anti-abortion activists, Spain passes laws on trans rights, abortion, menstrual leave, Tunisia labor union protests President Saied. The original story was more dark and disturbing, with choreographer Marius Petipa deciding to take a lighter approach to Clara's Christmastime dream when adapting it for the stage. The date "Rouen, 12 April" was also written by Tchaikovsky on the choreographer's manuscript plan of Act II. In honor of the prince's return, there is a celebration of international sweets. When Clara sneaks back to the tree at midnight to check on the repaired nutcracker, she shrinks, and witnesses a battle between an army of mice and toy, tin soldiers, led by her beloved nutcracker. The ballet was commissioned by the Director of the Russian Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who held preliminary talks with the composer in November and December 1890 [9].