Konovalenko: Gem Carvings of Russian Folk Life January 2, 2013

Vasily Konovalenko (koh-noh-vuh-len-koh) was born in 1929 in Petrivka, Ukraine (just north of the Black Sea). After earning a degree in art and architecture, he became a stage designer for the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. He worked on productions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and other classic operas and ballets. In 1957, while working at the Mariinka Theatre in St. Petersburg, Konovalenko produced sets for the ballet Stone Flower, in which the protagonist is a stonecutter. Konovalenko's gem carvings for the ballet earned rave reviews, and he became smitten with the art form.