Review-Anna Karenina-Eifman Ballet
19-10-13
By: Meaghan McGurgan
I've found the new tag line for this production.
Anna Karenina: Suicide Has Never Looked So Pretty.
Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg is the opening production of the World Cultures Festival this month. The production has been a smash hit in Russia since its creation in 2005. Boris Eifman is both the Artistic Director and Choreographer of the company. Based on Tolstoy's most known work, this ballet is a beautiful example of a production that blends the traditional with modern ballet. Eifman's staging is beautiful. He creates stunning stage pictures, uses the stage well and is masterful in blending the dance with the scenery. I especially loved the recurring themes of twisting and pulling in the choreography.
The leads of Anna, Karenin and Vronsky, played by Nina Zmievetz, Oleg Markov and Oleg Gabyshov were wonderful. They were powerful, committed to the characters and great dancers. Each had their own strengths. Anna's legs were very powerful. I especially loved her portrayal of the character during the drug and depression sequence in Act 2. Vronsky had beautiful lines and was the ideal romantic Russian lover. You wanted to run away with him. Karenin had great height on his leaps and a passion when he danced that made him captivating to watch as a performer.
The corps du ballet was fine but I wasn't a huge fan of the scene at the ball in the grey costumes. There were tiny things in the corps that threw things off. Lines weren't perfectly straight. Spacing seemed off. Sections of the choreography were done in rotation but because a couple of corp members were off in their timing it came across as messy rather than a perfect round.
The second act is much stronger than the first. The staging on Anna's descent into depression and the train scene is beautifully creative. Lighting Design by Gleb Filshtinsky is one of the best I've seen in a long time. As much as I loved the dancing, I thought it was a bit odd that sometimes the choreography didn't match the rhythms in the music. Tchaikovsky and Russian ballet go together like peas and carrots so you would think it would work together perfectly. It worked but the crescendo of the music would happen and then the crescendo in the choreography would happen 10-15 seconds later. Maybe people were off with their timing or maybe Eifman was going for something a little more non-traditional? Either way, the music choice was one of my least favorite parts of the show. I did however, LOVE the integration of bells and train sounds into the sound scape.
I would highly recommend this show. It's gorgeous and one of the best ballets I've seen in a while. Whether you're a fan of Tolstoy or ballet you will love the interpretation of this woman's tragic tale.
Anna Karenina has sold out! For more information, click here.
Comments
Veronica Lam
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT ! I saw the matinee with a different cast and they were amazing !! I loved the contrasting dynamics between Anna/Karenin and Anna/Vronsky and the use of color in their costumes to signify the strength/state the character was in ! I also agree music was the weak link in the production but it did a solid job lifting the performance
08 November 2013