Moscow State academic E. Vakhtangov theatre
Dance performance in two acts on Leo Tolstoy's novel by Alfred Schnittke's and other composers music.
Choreographer: Anželika Cholina.
Set designer: Marijus Jacovskis.
Costume designer: Juozas Statkevičius.
Light designer: Tadas Valeika.
Soloists
Anna Karenina: Olga Lerman.
Aleksej Karenin: Evgenij Kniazev.
Aleksej Vronskiy: Dmitrij Solomykin.
Duration: 2 h. 30 min. with a break.
Premiere at Moscow State academic E. Vakhtangov theatre with drama actors: April 28th, 2012
Anželika Cholina
© Paulius Gasiunas
„I don’t try to define and enframe my performances with specific genres. Instead I strive to create life itself on stage. Life that is complicated and manifold as Leo Tolstoy described it in “Anna Karenina”. So many stories in that novel, one might get lost. The same happens when facing real life complexities. I wanted to bring out the things that mater to me personally and things that resonates with today’s realities,” says Cholina.
When asked why there’s no train in her performance that most viewers expect, the choreographer replied: “You can hurt a person more with a word or an action these days. Actually that was always the case. That’s what my performance is all about.”
Awards and Nominations:
In 2013 nominated in 3 categories (best choreographer, best set designer, best female dancer) for the highest theatreaward in Russia “Golden Mask”
In October 2013 „Anna Karenina“ opened International Havana Theatre Festival (Cuba) that showcased more than 40 performances from abroad.
On January 31st 2014 “Anna Karenina” was announced to be the best foreign performance and awarded at gala ceremony "Villanueva 2013". The prize is established by National Cuba Writers and Creators Union (UNEAC). The head of theatre criticism and discovery department N. Espinoza was delivering congratulatory speech and noted that “The dance performance which is an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classical novel impressed our audience. We acknowledge this show’s undisputed directorial value, high professionalism, impressive artistry of the actors, creative and technical complexity of this work. This story told by dance and movement is a definite artistic masterpiece”.
About performance
When writing his novel “Anna Karenina” Tolstoy spoke for the first time about woman’s right to her own happiness without becoming a vehicle for male ego and it’s gratification. Life according to rules is opposed to true life, living human. That is just one of the themes the choreographer is interested in.
Set designer is Marijus Jacovskis, costume and make-up designer – Juozas Statkevičius. The works by composer Alfred Schnittke are used in this performance. Schnittke’s bodywork is diverse, deep and delivers a wide range of emotions. In this regard, music and Tolstoy's novel are very close.
„Anna Karenina“ is one of the most complex performances movement-vise - there’s no professional dancers, only dancing drama actors, creating a special atmosphere and lifelike authenticity.
Repertoire
Performance repertoire is on www.vakhtangov.ru