There is no doubt that the three ballets composed by Tchaikovsky are the most enduring in the world, the romantic and touching "Swan Lake", the fantastic and wonderful "Sleeping Beauty", and the relaxed and cheerful "The Nutcracker", each of which is the most popular and often performed classic on the ballet stage. So, even if you haven't been to the scene, you should watch the video and even get the synopsis!
Three diamonds in the crown of ballet music – Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky wrote countless heirloom works in his lifetime, and his three major ballets "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker" are the most popular among the public. These musical melodies have a distinct personality, which not only retains the elegant and beautiful style of traditional ballet music, but also creatively expresses and enriches the symphony. The classical dance, character dance and even the pantomime connection are developed into a tight whole, making it full of melodrama. In Tchaikovsky's three major ballets, almost every piece of music depicts the scene perfectly, and the display of dramatic contradictions and the inner portrayal of the personality of each character are very in place, so it is evaluated as "the first time that the dance work has a musical soul". Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky did not see the full performance of "Swan Lake" until his death, "Swan Lake" was put on the stage in its full form, of course, he did not know that for more than a century, the music of these three major ballets would spread to all corners of the world and endure.
Swan Lake
Swan Lake is a classical ballet in three acts and four scenes. The screenwriters are V. Bekitchev and others. The choreographer is Julius Lekinger. The composer was Tchaikovsky. Premiered in March 1877 in Moscow, Russia, the play failed due to the failure of the general director, Austrian ballet choreographer Julius Lekinger, orchestra conductor Stepan Liangpov, and the main characters to understand the artistic expressiveness of Tchaikovsky's work. It was not until February 1894, 17 years later, that the second act, re-choreographed by Le Ivanov, was performed at a gala commemorating the first anniversary of Tchaikovsky's death. The following year, Tchaikovsky's brother Modest rearranged the music and script, and the famous Russian dance choreographers Petipa and Ivanov choreographed the whole play and performed it to great success.
Based on Russian folklore, Swan Lake depicts Prince Siegfried falling in love with Princess Ojeta, who was plundered by the Demon King and turned into a white swan, and the Demon King broke into the court ball with his daughter Agiolia in order to break the prince's oath with Ojeta. The prince mistakes Agiogiriya for Ojeta and is deceived by seeing the desolate white swan flying outside the window. The prince chased to the shore of the forest lake and fought with the demon king to the death, and the power of love finally defeated evil. The play is the greatest work of the Romantic period, and it brought classical ballet to its peak. Of course, its success, the composer Tchaikovsky credited the greatest. Russian poetry and folk composition are endless sources of inspiration for Tchaikovsky, and the composer creates a charming romantic image in the music, the Swan Girl, which is full of the deepest human emotions. The Soviet composer Boris Asafev aptly pointed out the main feature of the play: Tchaikovsky personified the romantic legendary artistic figure, thus making the encounter of the swan and Siegfried completely different from the symbolist plot, which was as exciting as a play that showed real people and real events.
Later, due to the choreographers' deep understanding of music, the dance choreography truly reached the height of "symphony". For more than 100 years, the play has become the most dazzling treasure in the ballet world with beautiful music, moving stories and dance passages of classic significance, and is deeply loved by people around the world.
Sleeping Beauty
When Tchaikovsky composed his second ballet, Sleeping Beauty, he was in the mature stage of his creation. By then he had completed several operas, symphonies and a large number of chamber music works. In terms of musical taste, the ballet "Sleeping Beauty" is extremely outstanding, full of sunshine and a thriving and optimistic atmosphere. It celebrates the triumph of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the triumph of love and goodness over jealousy and hatred.
The script for the dance drama Sleeping Beauty, based on the popular fairy tales of the French fairy tale writer Charles Piro, was immediately of Tchaikovsky's attention. Tchaikovsky happily accepted the advice of the manager of the Imperial Theatre and began to compose the general score of the dance play. The work progressed very quickly and very happily. This is evidenced by the composer's statement in a letter at the time: "The subject matter is so poetic, so worthy of musical expression, that I have such a keen interest in creating it (the ballet), so passionately and tirelessly written about it..."
During the creation of Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky maintained close contact with the ballet choreographer Petipa. The talented French ballet choreographer was invited to Russia as a principal dancer as early as 1847. He has lived there since coming to St. Petersburg. Petipa loved the Russian ballet industry and dedicated his life's creativity to it. At the beginning of the choreography of Sleeping Beauty, Petipa drew up a detailed plan for the musical and stage performances of the dance play. He carefully studied and analyzed the plot, the personalities of the characters in the play, the rhythms of the various dances and scenes, and their duration. He made clear demands on Tchaikovsky, which helped the composer in his compositional work. The beneficial process of the composer working hand in hand with the ballet choreographer greatly enriched the creative experience of the two authors of the dance. Tchaikovsky's music, its profound connotations, and its technological innovations greatly stimulated Petipa's imagination. This led Petipa to create a stunning dance structure that became the most important framework for the subsequent performance of Sleeping Beauty on stages around the world.
The first performance of the ballet Sleeping Beauty was held in Petersburg in 1890, and in Moscow in 1899. Since then, "Sleeping Beauty" has had a long and brilliant time.
Tchaikovsky and Petipa created a series of realistic and fairytale stage figures in Sleeping Beauty. The images of such figures as Princess Aurora, Prince Geigirie, and the Lilac Fairy, who brings kindness and happiness to mankind, are brilliant and vibrant, in stark contrast to the ugly demon Carlabos, who has once been in power. Children all over the world are familiar with the famous double dances performed by the protagonists of the fairy tales in the finale of the dance show, namely the male cat in boots and the white female cat, the Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Cinderella and Prince Fruccione, the Blue Bird and Princess Florina, and the boy who bravely fooled the murderous Rudoyed, and so on...
Tchaikovsky himself believes that Sleeping Beauty is almost the best of all his works. After the test of time, "Sleeping Beauty" has proved to be a perfect combination of classical dance and symphonic music.
Nutcracker
Tchaikovsky's third and final ballet, The Nutcracker, was composed a year before his death. This dance drama not only shows the joy of the children's world, but also expresses deep thoughts about life and death, love and hate, and the composer surprisingly combines the two. The script for The Nutcracker was based on the German Romantic writer Hoffmann's fairy tale The Nutcracker and the Rat King.
The dance drama depicts children playing happily by the beautiful Christmas tree at Christmas. At this time, a guest who has become a magician, Droschery Mayer, brings out several funny toys - clockwork dolls for the children to see. Among them, the ridiculous puppeteer Nutcracker especially makes the little girl Martha fall in love with it. Martha fell asleep holding it. In her sleep, Martha dreamed of a group of rats attacking the dolls under the leadership of the Rat King. Martha bravely defends her beloved Nutcracker, who transforms into a handsome prince who leads the puppet soldiers to defeat the rats. Finally, the happy Martha and the Prince of the Nutcracker embark on a magical journey together.
Tchaikovsky followed Petipa's script in his music compositions, and he understood the meaning of the story very deeply and worked hard to express it in music. This led the composer to create a symphonic poem about the young and pure heart of a young girl who longed for happiness and triumphed over evil. The music vividly shows a children's world, their joyful scenes and strange dreams, full of gold and joy. In 1892, The Nutcracker was first performed at the Maria Theatre. Tchaikovsky attended the premiere, which was a great success.
Tchaikovsky was a reformer of ballet music. Previously, in the ballets of the famous 19th-century composers Ponny and Minkus, music was secondary and subordinate to a part of the dance. As Tchaikovsky dabbled in the art of ballet, music gradually became the foundation of its most important part, ballet. Moreover, due to the birth of Tchaikovsky symphonic music, a realistic musical image appeared in the Russian ballet art, and the psychological description of the character was also full of fierce dramatic conflicts and colorful emotional changes. Dance has become not just in form, but also more beautiful in content.
Tchaikovsky's ballet music is full of optimism and upward interest, "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker" these three dance dramas are not just a beautiful story, but a musical poem, she praises the strong spirit of human beings, praises the sentiment of self-dedication, praises the great power of love, is the crown of ballet music crystal three diamonds.
Tchaikovsky who "made Russian music resound around the world"
As a child, Tchaikovsky showed musical talent, but received no formal musical education, entering law school in 1850 and serving in the Ministry of Justice in 1859. He resigned in 1865 and entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study music theory with Zaremba, composition with Anton Rubinstein, and later as a professor at the Conservatory. From 1877 to 1890, Tchaikovsky received a financial support from Mrs. Tomiymek, and from then on he could get rid of the heavy teaching work and concentrate on composition. Tchaikovsky was one of the most important russian composers. Based on Russian national music, he also absorbed the form and spirit of European, especially German classical and romantic music, and this fusion was greatly successful. Due to the misfortune of the marriage, Tchaikovsky once fell into a mental breakdown, and this mental pain always interfered with his life like a shadow. Many of his works, such as the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies, reflect his inner contradictions and struggles; on the other hand, he also created many vibrant and colorful works, such as three ballets, three piano concertos, operas "The Queen of Spades", "Evgeny Onegin" and some orchestral and chamber music.
Few composers' works have been as popular with listeners as Tchaikovsky, and many of his works are still indispensable to concerts today. In addition to his good use of the style of German classical and romantic music and the fusion of Russian national music, more importantly, his musical melody is extremely beautiful, the orchestration is extremely rich and unique, and it is full of fiery emotions and has a strong appreciation. Tchaikovsky's works cover almost all musical genres and are numerous.
During Tchaikovsky's lifetime, many of his works were repudiated, but miraculously they all eventually became classics that have been passed down to future generations. In modern Western music criticism, Tchaikovsky is still not recognized as a "master of music" or a reference to his "Russian Beethoven", but his music is unquestionably considered to be thoroughly international. Although his early symphonies were simple in their development technique, his climactic approach was hoarse, and the impression of chattering caused by excessive repetition, the melancholy and lack of firm temperament of his musical performance were also repeatedly criticized, but his charming and typical national melody, high musical accomplishment and superb compositional skills, exquisite orchestration, and unparalleled ability to control the orchestra, are all powerful and convincing. The huge acoustics, from pleasing craftsmanship to the roar of the trumpet, have also become the best use of the conductor's exaggerated technique, and have also become an important factor in the enduring love of Tchaikovsky's music by the vast number of listeners around the world for hundreds of years.
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