The Life and Ballets of Lev Ivanov: Choreographer of the Nutcracker and Swan Lake

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding scholarship reveals life of unknown balletmaster
Review: Lev Ivanov has been, for the last century, a known name but an unknown figure. As fruit of exceptional research into Russian archives, Professor Wiley has produced what he claims is a `first study'--which undoubtedly it is, but which future generations of dance lovers and scholars will recognize as a major work of historical and interpretative research. Ivanov must ever remain a shadowy figure. Contemporary comment and contemporary records reveal as little as one might expect about a man was only `second balletmaster'. His legacy to us, of course, is enshrined in two of the most popular ballet in the world--`Swan Lake' and `The Nutcracker'. Yet it is Professor Wiley who has now made clear the extent of Ivanov's contribution to the development and the greatness of the Russian imperial ballet at the Maryinsky Theatre. The book is essential reading for anyone concerned with ballet, and it is a work of both scholarship and artistic insights. --Clement Crisp, Ballet Critic, The Financial Times of London