Unit 9 – Listening and Apprasing
Activity 1 – The Ballet
A ballet is a story set to dance. This story is told in the same way as a play, with costumes, scenery and props. The story has a plot and a sub-plot, main characters and sec ondary characters, group and crowd scenes. Music is written specifically for ballet, and often in theatres where ballet is
performed, ballet performances are accompanied by full-scale live orchestras. The grace and technical abilities of the dancers helps them develop their own characters on stage and the emotions and feelings they are going through in the story.
Activity 2 – The Nutcracker
Student will be introduced to The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. Although the original production was not a success, the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. The performance of the ballet is a popular one since the late 1960’s, making this work one of Tchaikovsky’s most popular works. Student will understand ballet as a genre as well as undrestand the storyline of The Nutcracker Suite and the characters.
Activity 3 – Hansel and Gretel
The children will introduce the story. Hansel and Gretel is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Engelbert Humperdinck composed an opera based on this story in 1893. It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes.
The cast:
Peter, broom-maker – baritone
Gertrud, his wife – mezzo-soprano
Hansel, their son – mezzo-soprano
Gretel, their daughter – soprano
The Gingerbread Witch – mezzo-soprano
Sandman, the Sleep Fairy – soprano
Dewman, the Dew Fairy – soprano
Chorus of echoes – three sopranos, two altos
Children’s chorus
Ballet (14 angels)