THE NUTCRACKER
Short description:
A bibliophilic edition of the ballet The Nutcracker, timed to marked the 20th anniversary of the legendary production of the ballet by the artist Mikhail Chemiakin. The book contains unique artistic-historical materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of the ballet made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by sketches produced by the artist for the set-design of the production.
Artists:
Edition:
30 numbered copies and 5 more marked E.A. (Epreuve d’Artiste), each signed by the artist and the publisher. Copy No 1 is in the State Hermitage Museum.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
-
Year of publication:2021
-
Number of pages:124
-
Dimensions:415 × 550 mm
-
Paper:Vélin d’Arches Rives (France), 280 g/m², handmade; Fabriano (Italy), 280 g/m², handmade литья; Somerset (England), 280 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
The bibliophilic publication Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker is a unique book project realized by the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house on the basis of one of the most striking productions of the celebrated Russian ballet.
This edition features unique materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by designs for the set of the legendary production made by the world-famous Russian artist Mikhail Chemiakin.
This edition features unique materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by designs for the set of the legendary production made by the world-famous Russian artist Mikhail Chemiakin.
Tchaikovsky created The Nutcracker in 1891-1892 at the request of the administration of the Imperial Theatres. The composer took as the basis for the ballet the well-known story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by the German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann.
The original production was staged by Marius Petipa. Due to a serious illness, that legendary choreographer entrusted the scenario and detailed staging instructions to Lev Ivanov, the ballet master of the Mariinsky Theatre. The premiere performances were well received by critics, and The Nutcracker became one of the most popular and best-loved Russian ballets.
It has since been staged by Yury Grigorovich, George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Matthew Bourne, Roland Petit and other choreographers. Many of them, especially Westerners, interpreted the ballet in a highly radical manner.
In 1999, Valery Gergiev, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, decided to have a new production of the ballet. On this occasion, the maestro invited to work on it someone who was not at all a theatrical designer — the sculptor and “easel artist” Mikhail Chemiakin.
It has since been staged by Yury Grigorovich, George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Matthew Bourne, Roland Petit and other choreographers. Many of them, especially Westerners, interpreted the ballet in a highly radical manner.
In 1999, Valery Gergiev, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, decided to have a new production of the ballet. On this occasion, the maestro invited to work on it someone who was not at all a theatrical designer — the sculptor and “easel artist” Mikhail Chemiakin.
The childhood years that Chemiakin spent in East Germany were of great significance for the formation of his inner world: “Mother read me the German Romantics, and no-one was as congenial to me as Hoffmann, Tieck, Novalis and Kleist.” The philosophy of Hoffmann himself — an exceptionally talented man, invested with gifts as a writer, musician and artist — was something Chemiakin felt close to from an early age. Drawings that he made back in his youth laid the foundation to many years of work on the creation of his own Hoffmanniada. And of course, work on a new version of the ballet The Nutcracker became the logical next step that the artist had been preparing for a long time.
Mikhail Chemiakin’s production of the ballet had its premiere in the Mariinsky Theatre on 12 February 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house began work on the book Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker. The first copy was completed in 2021, a round anniversary year for both the legendary production and the book project itself.
Mikhail Chemiakin’s production of the ballet had its premiere in the Mariinsky Theatre on 12 February 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house began work on the book Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker. The first copy was completed in 2021, a round anniversary year for both the legendary production and the book project itself.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Creator of the illustrations, the handwritten libretto and the designs for the embroidery on the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Design of the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin, Piotr Suspitsyn
Layout — Yevgeny Grigoryev
Printing of the etchings — Fanny Boucher (France)
Printing of the score — Andrei Kuznetsov
Printing of the libretto — Ruslan Knyazev
Satin-stitch embroidery — Maria Rudkovskaya
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Tchaikovsky’s handwritten score was made available for the project by the Russian National Museum of Music (formerly the Glinka Museum).
Creator of the illustrations, the handwritten libretto and the designs for the embroidery on the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Design of the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin, Piotr Suspitsyn
Layout — Yevgeny Grigoryev
Printing of the etchings — Fanny Boucher (France)
Printing of the score — Andrei Kuznetsov
Printing of the libretto — Ruslan Knyazev
Satin-stitch embroidery — Maria Rudkovskaya
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Tchaikovsky’s handwritten score was made available for the project by the Russian National Museum of Music (formerly the Glinka Museum).
The book contains 49 pages carrying a facsimile reproduction of a handwritten score for the ballet The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself.
When starting work on the new production of the ballet, Chemiakin first of all rewrote the libretto, going back to the primary source — Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because Petipa in his time, when constructing the plot of the future ballet, took as his basis not the original work, but the French translation made by Alexandre Dumas-père, which is three times the length of the prototype.
When starting work on the new production of the ballet, Chemiakin first of all rewrote the libretto, going back to the primary source — Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because Petipa in his time, when constructing the plot of the future ballet, took as his basis not the original work, but the French translation made by Alexandre Dumas-père, which is three times the length of the prototype.
Petipa must have known the original version of the tale because Hoffmann was very popular in both France and Russia at that time. He preferred to use Dumas’s adaptation most probably because he wanted to avoid the mystical and fantastic that did not lend itself to practical explanation. The choreographer needed to create a fairy-tale ballet, as was overtly stated on the first playbills for The Nutcracker.
In the present publication, the libretto is a striking supplement to the illustrative material. It is reproduced in two forms: Chemiakin’s handwritten version and in type, repeating the text for ease of reading. The book contains 12 pages printed each side with text on a 19th-century German-made Dingler hand press.
In the present publication, the libretto is a striking supplement to the illustrative material. It is reproduced in two forms: Chemiakin’s handwritten version and in type, repeating the text for ease of reading. The book contains 12 pages printed each side with text on a 19th-century German-made Dingler hand press.
The book contains 16 illustrations made in the etching technique and hand-tinted with watercolour by the artist.
In the designs that Mikhail Chemiakin produced for the ballet one can sense a style closely akin to Hoffmann the artist, who from an early age dreamed of a career as a professional draughtsman, but his grotesque style proved too unorthodox and ahead of his own time’s understanding of graphic art. The lightweight strokes in the sketches that Hoffmann made for the anthology Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot possess a mocking ironical character and illustrate his own admission: “I wanted to work in the manner of Callot.”
As a result, the style of the outstanding master etcher Jacques Callot can be detected in the modern-day artist’s designs as a tribute to Hoffmann’s unaccomplished dream.
In the designs that Mikhail Chemiakin produced for the ballet one can sense a style closely akin to Hoffmann the artist, who from an early age dreamed of a career as a professional draughtsman, but his grotesque style proved too unorthodox and ahead of his own time’s understanding of graphic art. The lightweight strokes in the sketches that Hoffmann made for the anthology Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot possess a mocking ironical character and illustrate his own admission: “I wanted to work in the manner of Callot.”
As a result, the style of the outstanding master etcher Jacques Callot can be detected in the modern-day artist’s designs as a tribute to Hoffmann’s unaccomplished dream.
Chemiakin also strives to convey not so much the literary as the metaphysical presence of the author on the stage. He creates two worlds that exist in parallel — the world of people and the world of rats, a fully-fledged rodent society with a royal family, a rat aristocracy, a military and the common folk.
The different rodent classes are distinguished in the ballet by their costumes: the high society are elegantly decked out in robes, uniforms and smart frock coats, their heads crowned with splendid wigs; the commoner rats are, of course, less well dressed: “A frock coat, shirt, waistcoat, tricorn hat — all fairly worn out. The colours quite dim from age and dirt. They are clutching a string of stolen sausages and a bottle of wine.”
The different rodent classes are distinguished in the ballet by their costumes: the high society are elegantly decked out in robes, uniforms and smart frock coats, their heads crowned with splendid wigs; the commoner rats are, of course, less well dressed: “A frock coat, shirt, waistcoat, tricorn hat — all fairly worn out. The colours quite dim from age and dirt. They are clutching a string of stolen sausages and a bottle of wine.”
The book is bound in the finest light grey silk. The design is based on Mikhail Chemiakin’s drawings depicting the chief protagonists of the tale. The colourful costumes of the Nutcracker, Clara/Marie and the amusing rats acquire visual volume thanks to the use of an exquisite technique combining gold thread and hand-made satin-stitch embroidery.
The endpapers are made from an Italian silk moiré and the book is kept in a case that is also finished with silk.
The endpapers are made from an Italian silk moiré and the book is kept in a case that is also finished with silk.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
About this edition
About this edition:
-
Year of publication:2021
-
Number of pages:124
-
Dimensions:415 × 550 mm
-
Paper:Vélin d’Arches Rives (France), 280 g/m², handmade; Fabriano (Italy), 280 g/m², handmade литья; Somerset (England), 280 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
The bibliophilic publication Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker is a unique book project realized by the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house on the basis of one of the most striking productions of the celebrated Russian ballet.
This edition features unique materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by designs for the set of the legendary production made by the world-famous Russian artist Mikhail Chemiakin.
This edition features unique materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by designs for the set of the legendary production made by the world-famous Russian artist Mikhail Chemiakin.
Tchaikovsky created The Nutcracker in 1891-1892 at the request of the administration of the Imperial Theatres. The composer took as the basis for the ballet the well-known story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by the German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann.
The original production was staged by Marius Petipa. Due to a serious illness, that legendary choreographer entrusted the scenario and detailed staging instructions to Lev Ivanov, the ballet master of the Mariinsky Theatre. The premiere performances were well received by critics, and The Nutcracker became one of the most popular and best-loved Russian ballets.
It has since been staged by Yury Grigorovich, George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Matthew Bourne, Roland Petit and other choreographers. Many of them, especially Westerners, interpreted the ballet in a highly radical manner.
In 1999, Valery Gergiev, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, decided to have a new production of the ballet. On this occasion, the maestro invited to work on it someone who was not at all a theatrical designer — the sculptor and “easel artist” Mikhail Chemiakin.
It has since been staged by Yury Grigorovich, George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Matthew Bourne, Roland Petit and other choreographers. Many of them, especially Westerners, interpreted the ballet in a highly radical manner.
In 1999, Valery Gergiev, the artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, decided to have a new production of the ballet. On this occasion, the maestro invited to work on it someone who was not at all a theatrical designer — the sculptor and “easel artist” Mikhail Chemiakin.
The childhood years that Chemiakin spent in East Germany were of great significance for the formation of his inner world: “Mother read me the German Romantics, and no-one was as congenial to me as Hoffmann, Tieck, Novalis and Kleist.” The philosophy of Hoffmann himself — an exceptionally talented man, invested with gifts as a writer, musician and artist — was something Chemiakin felt close to from an early age. Drawings that he made back in his youth laid the foundation to many years of work on the creation of his own Hoffmanniada. And of course, work on a new version of the ballet The Nutcracker became the logical next step that the artist had been preparing for a long time.
Mikhail Chemiakin’s production of the ballet had its premiere in the Mariinsky Theatre on 12 February 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house began work on the book Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker. The first copy was completed in 2021, a round anniversary year for both the legendary production and the book project itself.
Mikhail Chemiakin’s production of the ballet had its premiere in the Mariinsky Theatre on 12 February 2001. Ten years later, in 2011, the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house began work on the book Piotr Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker. The first copy was completed in 2021, a round anniversary year for both the legendary production and the book project itself.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Creator of the illustrations, the handwritten libretto and the designs for the embroidery on the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Design of the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin, Piotr Suspitsyn
Layout — Yevgeny Grigoryev
Printing of the etchings — Fanny Boucher (France)
Printing of the score — Andrei Kuznetsov
Printing of the libretto — Ruslan Knyazev
Satin-stitch embroidery — Maria Rudkovskaya
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Tchaikovsky’s handwritten score was made available for the project by the Russian National Museum of Music (formerly the Glinka Museum).
Creator of the illustrations, the handwritten libretto and the designs for the embroidery on the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin
Musical consultant — Sergei Stadler
Design of the cover — Mikhail Chemiakin, Piotr Suspitsyn
Layout — Yevgeny Grigoryev
Printing of the etchings — Fanny Boucher (France)
Printing of the score — Andrei Kuznetsov
Printing of the libretto — Ruslan Knyazev
Satin-stitch embroidery — Maria Rudkovskaya
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Project curator — Alexander Borodin
Tchaikovsky’s handwritten score was made available for the project by the Russian National Museum of Music (formerly the Glinka Museum).
Text
The book contains 49 pages carrying a facsimile reproduction of a handwritten score for the ballet The Nutcracker made by Tchaikovsky himself.
When starting work on the new production of the ballet, Chemiakin first of all rewrote the libretto, going back to the primary source — Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because Petipa in his time, when constructing the plot of the future ballet, took as his basis not the original work, but the French translation made by Alexandre Dumas-père, which is three times the length of the prototype.
When starting work on the new production of the ballet, Chemiakin first of all rewrote the libretto, going back to the primary source — Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because Petipa in his time, when constructing the plot of the future ballet, took as his basis not the original work, but the French translation made by Alexandre Dumas-père, which is three times the length of the prototype.
Petipa must have known the original version of the tale because Hoffmann was very popular in both France and Russia at that time. He preferred to use Dumas’s adaptation most probably because he wanted to avoid the mystical and fantastic that did not lend itself to practical explanation. The choreographer needed to create a fairy-tale ballet, as was overtly stated on the first playbills for The Nutcracker.
In the present publication, the libretto is a striking supplement to the illustrative material. It is reproduced in two forms: Chemiakin’s handwritten version and in type, repeating the text for ease of reading. The book contains 12 pages printed each side with text on a 19th-century German-made Dingler hand press.
In the present publication, the libretto is a striking supplement to the illustrative material. It is reproduced in two forms: Chemiakin’s handwritten version and in type, repeating the text for ease of reading. The book contains 12 pages printed each side with text on a 19th-century German-made Dingler hand press.
Illustrations
The book contains 16 illustrations made in the etching technique and hand-tinted with watercolour by the artist.
In the designs that Mikhail Chemiakin produced for the ballet one can sense a style closely akin to Hoffmann the artist, who from an early age dreamed of a career as a professional draughtsman, but his grotesque style proved too unorthodox and ahead of his own time’s understanding of graphic art. The lightweight strokes in the sketches that Hoffmann made for the anthology Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot possess a mocking ironical character and illustrate his own admission: “I wanted to work in the manner of Callot.”
As a result, the style of the outstanding master etcher Jacques Callot can be detected in the modern-day artist’s designs as a tribute to Hoffmann’s unaccomplished dream.
In the designs that Mikhail Chemiakin produced for the ballet one can sense a style closely akin to Hoffmann the artist, who from an early age dreamed of a career as a professional draughtsman, but his grotesque style proved too unorthodox and ahead of his own time’s understanding of graphic art. The lightweight strokes in the sketches that Hoffmann made for the anthology Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of Callot possess a mocking ironical character and illustrate his own admission: “I wanted to work in the manner of Callot.”
As a result, the style of the outstanding master etcher Jacques Callot can be detected in the modern-day artist’s designs as a tribute to Hoffmann’s unaccomplished dream.
Chemiakin also strives to convey not so much the literary as the metaphysical presence of the author on the stage. He creates two worlds that exist in parallel — the world of people and the world of rats, a fully-fledged rodent society with a royal family, a rat aristocracy, a military and the common folk.
The different rodent classes are distinguished in the ballet by their costumes: the high society are elegantly decked out in robes, uniforms and smart frock coats, their heads crowned with splendid wigs; the commoner rats are, of course, less well dressed: “A frock coat, shirt, waistcoat, tricorn hat — all fairly worn out. The colours quite dim from age and dirt. They are clutching a string of stolen sausages and a bottle of wine.”
The different rodent classes are distinguished in the ballet by their costumes: the high society are elegantly decked out in robes, uniforms and smart frock coats, their heads crowned with splendid wigs; the commoner rats are, of course, less well dressed: “A frock coat, shirt, waistcoat, tricorn hat — all fairly worn out. The colours quite dim from age and dirt. They are clutching a string of stolen sausages and a bottle of wine.”
Binding
The book is bound in the finest light grey silk. The design is based on Mikhail Chemiakin’s drawings depicting the chief protagonists of the tale. The colourful costumes of the Nutcracker, Clara/Marie and the amusing rats acquire visual volume thanks to the use of an exquisite technique combining gold thread and hand-made satin-stitch embroidery.
The endpapers are made from an Italian silk moiré and the book is kept in a case that is also finished with silk.
The endpapers are made from an Italian silk moiré and the book is kept in a case that is also finished with silk.
Piotr Tchaikovsky
THE NUTCRACKER
The story of the legendary production of the celebrated Russian ballet
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