On December 29th, the Russian musical "Anna Karenina" premiered at Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center. A variety of styles of music, dance, dazzling and magnificent choreography, and gorgeous and moving costumes showed the original Russian aesthetics to the audience in Beijing. The play will be staged in Beijing for six performances over four days.
The musical Anna Karenina, based on Leo Tolstoy's magnum opus, was written by Yuli Kim, "one of Russia's four great bards", who condensed the original book into a two-hour volume. The play was composed by Roman Ignatiev and directed by Alina Chevik. In this tour, veteran Russian musical actor Anfisa Kirillina and "Golden Mask Theater Award" winner Diona Dolnikova lead the role of Anna Karenina, and Al Chom Elisev played Alexei Vronsky, etc., which can be said to have gathered the top Russian creative lineup and cast.
The story of the play takes place in Russia at the end of the 19th century. The dashing aristocrat Count Alexei Vronsky met the young and charming wife of an influential government official, Anna Karenina. After a short meeting, the two fell in love with each other. For the two, this relationship was the first time they felt true love, so strong that the desperate Anna chose to break with the conventions of high society, leaving her husband and son in St. Petersburg to escape with Vronsky from the glitz and luxury of Russian aristocratic society. But the love fairy tale soon ends, and fate tests their feelings.
The musical captures the subtle psychological and emotional depth of the original book. The characters in the musical struggle with overwhelming, controversial emotions – love and betrayal, passion and duty, hope and despair. Although nearly a century and a half have passed since the story took place, the events unfolded before the audience are still gripping and touching with their timeless qualities.
Since its launch in 2016, the production has been highly acclaimed, winning awards such as "Hot of the Season" and "Audience Star" in the category "Best Musical" in Russia, as well as being the box office leader of Russian musicals, attracting thousands of enthusiastic audiences. As the first musical in Russian history to be made into a film and screened worldwide, the work has also received a lot of international attention.
Created by the Russian creator, the musical "Anna Karenina" embodies the original "Russian style". Nine moving screens, metal structures weighing several tons, and hundreds of lighting fixtures are combined on stage to create realistic scenes that immerse the audience in the action. The complex system manipulates groups of video screens to constantly change and move, creating an impressive "multimedia puzzle" in a venue filled with lights and music. It draws the audience into the plot of the musical, which makes the audience feel as if they are in the middle of it, from the 19th-century opera house to the ice rink, the lavish palace to the countryside in the summer.
More than 40 pieces of music in the play include classical, pop and rock singing passages, which perfectly complement the plot and create an atmosphere. Art forms such as figure skating, modern dance, ballet, court dance, and Russian folk dance will bring a double feast for the eyes and ears of the audience.
The biggest feature of the show is the famous train scene. From the setting of the character "train conductor" to the dance movement design of the dance members like train parts, from the display of stage elements such as "locomotive" and "gear" to the expression of "life train" in the lyrics. This element not only runs through the whole play, but also brings a spectacular and dramatic climax to the audience before the finale, leaving a deep impression on the audience.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
Editor/Gong Lifang