All
the friends have arrived and the children have received their
Christmas gifts… they are so happy that they start dancing,
the boys flashing their toy swords and the girls playing with
their new dolls. (fig.1
Scene of children’s festival; 1st act)
Marie
is the happiest of all… she has a new white dress… and she
proudly dances in front of her friends showing it off.(fig.2
Nadezhda Pavlova as Marie; 1st act)
The
parents of the children send the children off to play hide-and-seek…
then the parents start dancing, displaying their own holiday
finery. (fig.3
Parent’s ball, 1st act)
Suddenly,
a chilling silence announces the arrival of the most mysterious
guest of all. In spite of his mask, everyone recognizes talking
clocks and mechanical toys… he also performs all kinds of
magic. What kind of magic will be presented for everybody’s
entertainment tonight? No one knows yet… perhaps even Uncle
Drosselmeier doesn’t quite know what will happen. (fig.4 Yury Vetrov
as Uncle Drosselmeier; 1st act)
Uncle
Drosselmeier takes center stage as all the children crowd
around for a better view of his stunts and tricks. First he
balances himself in a sitting position on one foot and his
magic cane. (fig.5
A. Loparevich as Uncle Drosselmeier)
