Anna Karenina
(West Coast Premiere!)

by
 
David Carlson


Libretto by
Colin Graham

Based on the novel by
Leo Tolstoy

Synopsis

Sung in English with English supertitles

September 11 - 26, 2010

All performances start at 8 p.m. except for Sunday matinees which start at 3 p.m.

Free pre-performance talks and events

(Click here for information)

Click here for ticket ordering information

Watch an interview with the composer

 

Photo by Chris Ayers

Sponsored by the Carol Franc Buck Foundation

She's a lady: beautiful, wealthy, aristocratic. But Anna Karenina is also vulnerable: trapped in an unhappy marriage and caught in a rigid society that crushes anyone who does not follow the rules of the game.

Her story has long been familiar through the practically perfect novel by Leo Tolstoy and the two most memorable film versions starring Greta Garbo and Vivien Leigh. Of the two operatic versions, we have chosen the new American opera by David Carlson that has received wide acclaim since its premiere in 2007. This deeply personal story follows an upper-class woman in 19th-century Russia through a loveless marriage, burning love affair, wrenching heartbreak, and finally, her sudden death. It is told with compassion, unsentimental observation, and ultimately, our horror at her inevitable, violent end.

Anna Karenina is at once new and familiar, brilliant and accessible. We are pleased to present this modern American opera for its West Coast premiere.