SWAN LAKE
Short description:
A unique joint project between the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house and Russia’s State Academic Bolshoi Theatre. The book contains facsimile extracts from a score of the ballet written in Tchaikovsky’s own hand that are illustrated with lithographs made in the rare sfumato technique.
Artists:
Edition:
25 copies (10 named and 10 numbered in Russian, 5 numbered in English) have been signed by the publisher and the artist. Copy № 1 is in the collection of the State Hermitage.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
-
Year of publication:2015
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Number of pages:126
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Dimensions:360 × 510 mm
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Paper:Vélin d’Arches Rives (France), 280 g/m², handmade
Language:
English, Russian
The book Swan Lake is part of an exceptional project unparalleled in the history of book-printing worldwide that is the result of the combination of book, music and theatre as art forms. The project comprises four bibliophilic publications created on the basis of three world-famous classical ballets from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication and financial support for the project — Roman Abramovich
Creator of the illustrations, design of the cover — Yury Kuper
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Printing of the lithographs — workshop of Frank Bordas (Paris)
Printing of the libretto — Sergei Yashin
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Idea for the publication and financial support for the project — Roman Abramovich
Creator of the illustrations, design of the cover — Yury Kuper
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Printing of the lithographs — workshop of Frank Bordas (Paris)
Printing of the libretto — Sergei Yashin
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
The book Swan Lake contains some extremely rare material – fragments of extracts from the ballet’s score written in Tchaikovsky’s own hand and dated 1876 that is kept in the stocks of the Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture in Moscow.
The text of the libretto was printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press. In some copies, the libretto is in Russian, in the others it is in English.
The text of the libretto was printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press. In some copies, the libretto is in Russian, in the others it is in English.
The manuscript score is accompanied by 22 original illuminated illustrations created in a mixed technique by the artist Yury Kuper.
The lithographs for the book were printed on vintage equipment in the studio of the hereditary lithographer Frank Bordas in Paris, France.
The lithographs for the book were printed on vintage equipment in the studio of the hereditary lithographer Frank Bordas in Paris, France.
The cover and endpapers are made of silk. A silvered copper plaque on the front cover resembles a lake, with the title of the book and the composer’s surname reflected in its waters.
The cover was designed by the artist Yury Kuper. The case for the book is also finished with silk fabric, grey for the Russian-language copies, white for the English ones.
The edge of every copy of the book is speckled with silver.
The cover was designed by the artist Yury Kuper. The case for the book is also finished with silk fabric, grey for the Russian-language copies, white for the English ones.
The edge of every copy of the book is speckled with silver.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
About this edition
About this edition:
-
Year of publication:2015
-
Number of pages:126
-
Dimensions:360 × 510 mm
-
Paper:Vélin d’Arches Rives (France), 280 g/m², handmade
Language:
English, Russian
The book Swan Lake is part of an exceptional project unparalleled in the history of book-printing worldwide that is the result of the combination of book, music and theatre as art forms. The project comprises four bibliophilic publications created on the basis of three world-famous classical ballets from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Spartacus.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication and financial support for the project — Roman Abramovich
Creator of the illustrations, design of the cover — Yury Kuper
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Printing of the lithographs — workshop of Frank Bordas (Paris)
Printing of the libretto — Sergei Yashin
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Idea for the publication and financial support for the project — Roman Abramovich
Creator of the illustrations, design of the cover — Yury Kuper
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Printing of the lithographs — workshop of Frank Bordas (Paris)
Printing of the libretto — Sergei Yashin
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Text
The book Swan Lake contains some extremely rare material – fragments of extracts from the ballet’s score written in Tchaikovsky’s own hand and dated 1876 that is kept in the stocks of the Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture in Moscow.
The text of the libretto was printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press. In some copies, the libretto is in Russian, in the others it is in English.
The text of the libretto was printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press. In some copies, the libretto is in Russian, in the others it is in English.
Illustrations
The manuscript score is accompanied by 22 original illuminated illustrations created in a mixed technique by the artist Yury Kuper.
The lithographs for the book were printed on vintage equipment in the studio of the hereditary lithographer Frank Bordas in Paris, France.
The lithographs for the book were printed on vintage equipment in the studio of the hereditary lithographer Frank Bordas in Paris, France.
Binding
The cover and endpapers are made of silk. A silvered copper plaque on the front cover resembles a lake, with the title of the book and the composer’s surname reflected in its waters.
The cover was designed by the artist Yury Kuper. The case for the book is also finished with silk fabric, grey for the Russian-language copies, white for the English ones.
The edge of every copy of the book is speckled with silver.
The cover was designed by the artist Yury Kuper. The case for the book is also finished with silk fabric, grey for the Russian-language copies, white for the English ones.
The edge of every copy of the book is speckled with silver.
Piotr Tchaikovsky
SWAN LAKE
A unique joint project between the publishing house and Russia’s State Academic Bolshoi Theatre
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