Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

. As a performer with the

, he achieved prominence after performing as an understudy in a benefit performance of ''

La Fille Mal Gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

''. He is most famous as the choreographer of Acts II and IV of '' Swan Lake'', which include the '' Dance of the Little Swans'', Act II of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', and ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', which he choreographed alongside Marius Petipa.

Biography

Ivanov entered the Moscow School of Dance, but in 1844 moved to

where he studied at the

, becoming an official member of the

Corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

in 1852. Among his teachers during this time were

Jean-Antoine Petipa Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Petipa (16 February 1787, Paris – 28 July 1855, Saint Petersburg) was a French ballet dancer and the father of Marius Petipa. Life Aged 8 he was in the revived production of the ballet ''Psyché'' by Pierre Gardel, put ...

, Alexandr Pimenov, Pierre Frédéric Malavergne and Emile Gredlu (). Historically, Ivanov is credited with choreographing the entirety of premiere of

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ballet ''

'' in 1892 due to the ill health of the ballet master, Marius Petipa. While some contemporary and modern accounts dispute this, Ivanov is still mentioned in '' The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition'' with choreographing at least the majority of the ballet as Petipa had reportedly not progressed very far in his work. Regardless of the amount of work he actually did, Petipa's was the only name listed for choreography on posters for the first production in St. Petersburg.Goodwin, ''New Grove (2001)'', 2:853. Ivanov worked with Petipa on a new restaging of Tchaikovsky's '' Swan Lake'' ballet in 1895. Ivanov choreographed the entirety of the lakeside acts or "white acts", Act II and Act IV. This includes the '' Dance of the Little Swans'', an iconic ''

pas de quatre ''Grand Pas de Quatre'' is a ''ballet divertissement'' choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at Her Majesty's Theatre, to music composed by Cesare Pugni. On the night it premiered in London (12 Ju ...

'' where the four cygnets huddle together and dance in unison, before breaking the chain and falling to the floor whilst attempting to fly. Ivanov also choreographed the ''Danse Vénitienne'' (Neapolitan/Venetian Dance) and the ''Pas Hongrois'' (Hungarian Dance) of the third bier scene.Goodwin, ''New Grove (2001)'', 2:584. In his last years Ivanov was in financial straits. On the strength of his 50 years' service he petitioned the Imperial Theatres for financial assistance.

Ballets

Original works

*''

La Forêt enchantée ''La Forêt enchantée'' ( en. ''The Enchanted Forest'') ( ru. «Очарованный лес», ''Ocharovanyi les'') is a ''ballet fantastique'' in one act, originally choreographed by Lev Ivanov to the music of Riccardo Drigo, first presented ...

'' ( en. ''The Enchanted Forest''). Ballet-fantastique in one act. Music by

Riccardo Drigo Riccardo Eugenio Drigo ( ru. Риккардо Эудженьо Дриго) (30 June 18461 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career a ...

. Imperial Ballet School, . Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Marius Petipa. Peterhof, July 1889. *'' La Tulipe de Haarlem'' ( en. ''The Harlem Tulip''). Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Music by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by

Claudia Kulichevskaya Claudia may refer to: People Ancient Romans *Any woman from the Roman Claudia gens *Claudia (vestal), a Vestal Virgin who protected her father Appius Claudius Pulcher in 143 BC *Claudia Augusta (63–63 AD), infant daughter of Nero by his second ...

and

Pavel Gerdt Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (russian: Па́вел Андре́евич Ге́рдт), also known as Paul Gerdt (near Saint Petersburg, Russia, 22 November 1844 – Vamaloki, Finland, 12 August 1917), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Imperial ...

. Imperial Ballet School, . **revival by

Alexander Shiryaev Alexander Viktorovich Shiryaev ( rus, Александр Викторович Ширяев; — 25 April 1941) was a Russian ballet dancer, ballet master and choreographer, founder of character dance in Russian ballet who served at the Mariinsky ...

. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *''

La Flûte magique ''The Magic Flute'', an opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, was composed in 1791 and premiered to great success. It has been an important part of the operatic repertory ever since, and has inspired a great numb ...

'' ( en. ''The Magic Flute''). Ballet-comique in one act. Music by Riccardo Drigo. Imperial Ballet School, . Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' La Ruse de Cupidon'' ( en. ''Cupid's Prank''). Ballet-anacréontique in one act. Music by

Alexander Friedman Alexander Alexandrovich Friedmann (also spelled Friedman or Fridman ; russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Фри́дман) (June 16 .S. 4 1888 – September 16, 1925) was a Russians, Russian and USSR, Soviet physicis ...

. Krasnoe Selo, . Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' La Beauté de Séville'' ( en. ''The Beauty of Seville''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by various composers.

Krasnoe Selo Krasnoye Selo (russian: Кра́сное Село́, lit. ''Red village''). Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a munic ...

, . *'' La Fête des bateliers'' ( en. ''The Boatman's Festival''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by Alexander Friedman. Krasnoe Selo, . *''

''. Ballet-féerie in two acts. Choreographed jointly with Marius Petipa. Music by

. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *''

'' (a.k.a. ''Zolushka''). Ballet-féerie in three acts. Staged jointly with

Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in ...

and Marius Petipa. Music by Baron Boris Fitinhoff-Schell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Lev Ivanov.

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

, Moscow, *'' Swan Lake''. Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Staged jointly with Marius Petipa. Music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, revised by Riccardo Drigo. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *''

Acis et Galatée ''Acis et Galatée'' (''Acis and Galatea'') is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Unlike most of his operas, which are designated '' tragédies en musique'', Lully called this work a '' pastorale-héroïque'', because it was on a pastoral theme an ...

'' ( en. ''Acis and Galatea''). Ballet-mythologique in one act. Music by Andrei Kadlets. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Alexander Shirayev. Imperial Ballet School, . *'' La Fille du Mikado'' ( en. ''The Mikado's Daughter''). Ballet-fantastique in three acts. Music by Baron Vasily Wrangell. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . *'' Egyptian Nights'' (a.k.a. ''Une Nuit d'Egypte'' or ''Nuits égyptiennes''). Divertissement-ballet in one act. Music by Anton Arensky. Never premiered. **revival by

Mikhail Fokine Michael Fokine, ''Mikhail Mikhaylovich Fokin'', group=lower-alpha ( – 22 August 1942) was a groundbreaking Imperial Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and a ...

. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, . **revival by Mikhail Fokine as ''Cléopâtre'' for the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

, Paris, 2 June 1909. *'' Sylvia''. Ballet-mythologique in three acts. Music by

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (ba ...

. Staging completed by Pavel Gerdt due to Ivanov's final illness and death. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, .

References

* Goodwin, Noël, ed. Stanley Sadie, "Ballet (2. 19th Century)," ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition''. (London: MacMilian, 2001), 29 vols. .

Notes

External links

The Ballet Encyclopedia entry for Lev Ivanov.

Archive film of Alexandra Danilova performing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation from The Nutcracker after Lev Ivanov in 1952 at Jacob's Pillow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Lev Russian ballet Choreographers of Mariinsky Theatre Ballet masters Ballet librettists 1834 births 1901 deaths *Lev Ivanov