Rossica 3
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Imperial Russian Ballet
Oranienbaum: Chinoiserie a la Russe
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Order nowA la Russe: the Russian art of performance through the 18th and 19th centuries is celebrated in this issue, dedicated to Russia’s most famous ballets and to Catherine the Great’s personal Dacha – Oranienbaum.
Through the history of the creation and realisation of Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, the two most iconic Russian ballets, Vadim Gaevsky reveals what made them the most influential of their time, and how this new and extravagant artistic style became the epitome of classical ballet.
The history of Oranienbaum, no less artistic and extravagant, reveals the secrets of this the forgotten treasure on the outskirts of St Petersburg, first built as private residence for Peter the Great’s favourite Alexander Menshikov, later adorned by Catherine the Great with the most exquisite example of Chinoisery a la Russe, the hidden treasure of the Chinese Palace.
Also in this issue: diamonds (Diamonds in the Russian Avant-garde Tatyana Muntian) and serial melancholy (‘World Literature’ by Vladimir Shinkarev discussed by Ekaterina Andreeva).
