Books by Roland John (Professor of Musicology Wiley

A study of the Russian choreographer Lev Ivanov that follows him from his school days to a career as choreographer in one of the greatest ballet companies in the world - the Imperial Ballet of St Petersburg. That milieu, Ivanov's ballets, and their reception are described and documented.

Combines an analysis of these ballets with a description of their first productions in imperial Russia. Separate sections of the text are devoted to the music of each ballet, and there is a background chapter on the collaboration between composer and ballet master, and Moscow of the 1860s.