10 Things to Know about Tchaikovsky's Ballets

by Dr. Paul Merkley

In this Music Appreciation 101 Blog series, we dive into Tchaikovsky. Here are 10 things about him that you may find worthwhile to know:

1. His three ballets (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker) were all composed for choreography designed by Marius Petipa of the Russian Imperial Ballet

2. Petipa set out the dances first, including the tempo, the number of bars, the meter (whether duple or triple), and some specific choreographic details, then gave all of these requirements to Tchaikovsky.

3. Petipa's style of choreography is called pantomime ballet because the choreography corresponds very specifically to the narrative, and sometimes requires dancer to mime actions spelled out in the story.

4. The dances required phrases of regular length, and Tchaikovsky had to respect this phrasing to match the choreography.

5. By 1876 (date of the first performance of Swan Lake), Russia had overtaken France as the most important center of ballet composition and production.

6. The most important ballet theater was the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.

7. There was a great deal of work for Tchaikovsky to compose the music. For Swan Lake about ninety minutes of music was required, and all ahd to meet the requirements of the choreography.

8. At the first performance of The Sleeping Beauty (1885), the czar summoned Tchaikovsky to the royal box, and said to him, "Very nice." Tchaikovsky expected more effusive praise, but was glad of the monetary gift.

9. These three ballets are performed regularly all over the world today.

10. The Nutcracker has many community performances in which children participate.

Dr. Paul Merkley is the co-founder of Seniors Junction and a retired professor of musicology from the University of Ottawa. He has a PhD in Musicology from Harvard University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.