The problem with "The Nutcracker's" original staging is that the story falls apart in the second act. The first act consists of a reasonable sequence of events, but after Clara helps the Nutcracker defeat the Mouse King & he turns into a handsome prince, they depart for the Kingdom of Sweets & the story line evaporates. After the pair arrive in the kingdom, Clara sits out the entire second act watching a succession of sweet treats dance us into diabetes, while the prince deserts her for the Sugar Plum Fairy. Baryshnikov transforms this incoherent sequence of dream images into a tale that means something. But as witness Celia Franca's "it makes me want to vomit" rant, Misha's vision is often misunderstood. Clara is not having an affair with Drosselmeyer, nor does he desire her.
Key to Baryshnikov's interpretation is the Mouse King. It is clear from the King's costume--a purple frock coat & short violet cape--that he is Clara's dream transformation of the drunken adult male party guest who wrenches off the Nutcracker's head. That guest is the only one wearing a frock coat; all other adult male guests wear tails except for an elderly general in uniform, & as the guests depart, the man who broke the Nutcracker ostentatiously swirls a violet cape onto his shoulders. The visual link between that guest & the Mouse King is unmistakable. In fact all the mice are Clara's dream transformations of adult male party guests, including the old general who re-appears as a mouse wearing the same uniform.
Adult males are, then, threatening to Clara, which pretty much rules out any idea that she has a thing for Drosselmeyer. Her dream, Drosselmeyer's gift as Baryshnikov's prologue explains, gently allows her to discover womanly feelings with which her dawning womanhood endows her. At the party, Clara is a girl among children, playing with toys including the Nutcracker. Baryshnikov stresses differences between adult & child by contrasting the adults' & children's experiences of the party, unlike productions of the ballet that showcase the children. The children's undisciplined, boisterous carousing interrupts the adults' carefully measured dancing, neatly demonstrating the difference between the worlds of children & their elders. Baryshnikov emphasizes the adult world's menace to Clara by having an adult male break the Nutcracker, not Clara's young brother as is common in traditional productions of "The Nutcracker."
Clara's tenderness for the Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer's gift, forecasts her feelings for the prince after she helps him defeat the Mouse King (who broke the toy at the party). Initially, however, her feelings are confused: note her efforts to run from the prince just after he has morphed from the Nutcracker, & the childlike way the pair skip along in the first act pas de deux. In the second act, Clara's feelings develop further. Baryshnikov banishes the Sugar Plum Fairy to make Clara the prince's partner in the second act. Their ecstatic solos & the second-act pas de deux reveal her growing ease with her feelings. But Drosselmeyer reappears to waken Clara: her transformation into womanhood must take place in the real world, not in a dream fantasy. (Drosselmeyer's face is often superimposed on a clock face: he is linked with the passage of time, which must really bring about Clara's transformation into womanhood. In the second act pas de deux, she is clearly hesitant when Drosselmeyer tries to hold her; in obvious contrast, she joyously leaps into the air when the prince embraces her.)
Baryshnikov omitted the Arabian variation to keep the film within time limits for TV broadcast. This is tragic; one can only imagine what he and Kirkland might have done with it. Otherwise the score is intact; the familiar Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy survives with its celeste accompaniment, here danced by Clara. Note her exquisite foot-dragging, wonderfully hesitant yet ecstatic, which was foreshadowed in the first-act pas de deux & is restated in pendulum fashion during the second-act pas de deux whenever Drosselmeyer seeks to hold her (suggesting, again, his association with the passage of time).
The production values in the film are high with the exception of the scenery, which could have been more literally rendered; it's often murky to the point of mystery. But uniformly outstanding dancing & excellent costumes go a long way to offset this minor liability.
Key to Baryshnikov's interpretation is the Mouse King. It is clear from the King's costume--a purple frock coat & short violet cape--that he is Clara's dream transformation of the drunken adult male party guest who wrenches off the Nutcracker's head. That guest is the only one wearing a frock coat; all other adult male guests wear tails except for an elderly general in uniform, & as the guests depart, the man who broke the Nutcracker ostentatiously swirls a violet cape onto his shoulders. The visual link between that guest & the Mouse King is unmistakable. In fact all the mice are Clara's dream transformations of adult male party guests, including the old general who re-appears as a mouse wearing the same uniform.
Adult males are, then, threatening to Clara, which pretty much rules out any idea that she has a thing for Drosselmeyer. Her dream, Drosselmeyer's gift as Baryshnikov's prologue explains, gently allows her to discover womanly feelings with which her dawning womanhood endows her. At the party, Clara is a girl among children, playing with toys including the Nutcracker. Baryshnikov stresses differences between adult & child by contrasting the adults' & children's experiences of the party, unlike productions of the ballet that showcase the children. The children's undisciplined, boisterous carousing interrupts the adults' carefully measured dancing, neatly demonstrating the difference between the worlds of children & their elders. Baryshnikov emphasizes the adult world's menace to Clara by having an adult male break the Nutcracker, not Clara's young brother as is common in traditional productions of "The Nutcracker."
Clara's tenderness for the Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer's gift, forecasts her feelings for the prince after she helps him defeat the Mouse King (who broke the toy at the party). Initially, however, her feelings are confused: note her efforts to run from the prince just after he has morphed from the Nutcracker, & the childlike way the pair skip along in the first act pas de deux. In the second act, Clara's feelings develop further. Baryshnikov banishes the Sugar Plum Fairy to make Clara the prince's partner in the second act. Their ecstatic solos & the second-act pas de deux reveal her growing ease with her feelings. But Drosselmeyer reappears to waken Clara: her transformation into womanhood must take place in the real world, not in a dream fantasy. (Drosselmeyer's face is often superimposed on a clock face: he is linked with the passage of time, which must really bring about Clara's transformation into womanhood. In the second act pas de deux, she is clearly hesitant when Drosselmeyer tries to hold her; in obvious contrast, she joyously leaps into the air when the prince embraces her.)
Baryshnikov omitted the Arabian variation to keep the film within time limits for TV broadcast. This is tragic; one can only imagine what he and Kirkland might have done with it. Otherwise the score is intact; the familiar Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy survives with its celeste accompaniment, here danced by Clara. Note her exquisite foot-dragging, wonderfully hesitant yet ecstatic, which was foreshadowed in the first-act pas de deux & is restated in pendulum fashion during the second-act pas de deux whenever Drosselmeyer seeks to hold her (suggesting, again, his association with the passage of time).
The production values in the film are high with the exception of the scenery, which could have been more literally rendered; it's often murky to the point of mystery. But uniformly outstanding dancing & excellent costumes go a long way to offset this minor liability.