The life and ballets of Lev Ivanov

by Roland John Wiley

The Life and Ballets of Lev Ivanov is the first book-length study in any language of this Russian artist - Marius Petipa's colleague and Tchaikovsky's collaborator - who is widely celebrated yet virtually unknown. It follows Ivanov from his infancy in a St Petersburg foundling home, through his training in the Imperial Theatre School and his celebrity marriage, to a career as a dancer, regisseur, and choreographer in the St Petersburg Imperial Ballet. Ivanov's artistic world is described, as is his legacy - some dozen works, including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and the famous dances from Prince Igor - which inspired Mikhail Fokine in the next generation. The book is richly documented, including the first complete publication of Ivanov's memoirs, and hundreds of citations, many published here for the first time, from state documents, reminiscences, and criticism.