Hello again All-
Mike Whistler here, and I am still doing my research on Tchaikovsky/Petipa's 1892 Nutcracker. I have been trying to find a reliable copy of the source story, the ETA Hoffman The Nutcracker Prince. Apparently, the version of this story which was most popular in Tsarist Russia (and the version presented to Tchaikovsky and Petipa for adaptation) was a version adapted by Alexandre Dumas Pere. It is (of course) out of print, and I have scoured the internet trying to find a version of it to read...any chance a ballet history lover out there might offer some insight? Ideally, I'd love to read the story of find a site which has it posted (there are so many sites devoted to this ballet, I figure someone must have posted this public domain work). Or perhaps someone knows of a publisher who has published a version of this, which I might be able to track down on abebooks or Amazon?
Any help is appreciated: seasons' greetings to all
Mike