The Nutcracker

[Figurante]

As I am tranferring over all of my videos to dvd's... I came across this version of The NUtcracker. I believe it is german, but I cannot pinpoint the company....I was wondering if anyone else has seen this production. It was released on December 21st, 1965. I must have taped it during a rebroadcast when I was around seven years old. It features Edward Villella, Patricia McBride, and Melissa Hayden.

I am trying to figure out who performed the Snow Queen in this production.

On a side note, Helga Heinrich's redition of bluebird (yes, that's right, the full Bluebird, pas de deux, 2 male variations, female variation and coda are all included in this version of The Nutcracker!) was incredible!

Here is a link possibly with more information from imdb.com

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0221445/

I really hope someone has seen it!

[rg]

haven't looked at my copy in a while, but the annotation on my cassette has Heidron Schwartz heading the subsidiary cast, so perhaps she's the snow queen.

if mem. serves there has been a previous thread on this oddity.

here's what's been noted about the film:

A filmed German-American co-production, first telecast in the United States by CBS in 1965, hosted and narrated by Eddie Albert, and choreographed by Kurt Jacob, featured a cast made up from several companies, including Edward Villella, Patricia McBride and Melissa Hayden from the New York City Ballet. Famed German dancer Harald Kreutzberg appeared (in what was probably his last role) in the dual roles of Drosselmeyer and the Snow King (though in one listing, Drosselmeyer has been re-christened Uncle Alex Hoffman — presumably a reference to E.T.A. Hoffmann, who wrote the original tale).[1] This production cut the ballet down to a one-act version lasting slightly less than an hour, and drastically re-ordered all the dances, even to the point of altering the storyline (instead of defeating the Mouse King, who does not even appear in this production, Clara and the Nutcracker must now journey to the Castle of the Sugar Plum Fairy, where the Fairy will wave her wand and turn the Nutcracker back into a Prince) . This version inserted some music from Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, as two bluebirds were brought in as characters to dance the Bluebird Pas de Deux from that work.