Anna Karenina: A Triumph of Storytelling

What happens when a leader in balletic storytelling takes on one of the world’s greatest novels? A production of incredible clarity and symbiosis, where the distinction between movement and narrative dissolves. Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina is a triumph of storytelling, distilling Leo Tolstoy’s novel into a unified artistic expression for the modern stage. 

Making its North American premiere, Anna Karenina is part of a storytelling renaissance at The National Ballet of Canada under Artistic Director Hope Muir, who is welcoming a range of choreographers approaching stories in fresh ways. Spuck, the Artistic Director of Staatsballett Berlin, is a natural choice. His roots are at Stuttgart Ballet, where John Cranko redefined the story ballet, and he has built his own acclaimed oeuvre of narrative work. 

“Storytelling is the crown of ballet creation,” says Spuck. “It’s in my blood; it’s in my heritage. Everything we put on stage tells us something about ourselves as human beings. That’s why I go to the theatre. I want to have an emotional experience.”

The innovation and theatricality in Spuck’s approach is evident in works like Der Sandmann, based on E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (The Little Match Girl), which Tanz magazine named “production of the year” in 2019. He first encountered Anna Karenina as a teenager, through a film, and was struck by the injustice of Anna’s ostracization following her affair. That initial impression would later fuel his own interpretation, which he created for Ballett Zürich in 2014. 

“Anna has this battle of either living what she’s feeling and what she has a desire and passion for or being excluded from society,” he says. “She pays an enormous price. It begs the question, can love only work within a social system? How far can I follow my passion?”

Spuck views the language of ballet as a vehicle for storytelling and not merely decoration, so the dancing always serves the drama. In Anna Karenina, the love triangle of Anna, her husband Karenin and her lover Vronsky are part of a panoramic view of 19th-century Russian society. Parallel to them are Kitty and Levin, and Dolly and Stiva, whose relationships each turn a different lens on core themes around marriage, morality and social life. 

Given the scope of Tolstoy’s novel, Spuck worked with dramaturg Claus Spahn to refine the focus, a practice derived from the theatre. Spahn brought in-depth knowledge of the book, asked critical questions throughout the creation process and involved the dancers in shaping the work. Each time the production is restaged, Spuck invites new dancers to interpret the characters, even adjusting the choreography if necessary to suit different casts. 

Visually, Spuck and his longtime creative team balance minimalism and splendour. The ballet shifts seamlessly from its iconic set pieces – a high-society ball, the racetrack, working fields – achieving a cinematic sweep befitting the cadence, romance and detail of the novel. Black and white projections echo Tolstoy’s use of trains as a symbol of death, foreshadowing Anna’s fate. The score is equally invested in the larger project of storytelling, with Spuck curating the diverse musical selection himself over nearly two years. 

“Every element in Anna Karenina is highly considered and effective in the end result,” says Artistic Director Hope Muir. “Christian streamlines and moves the ballet in such a way that you can follow and understand these characters really intimately. I’m certain this will not be our last collaboration with him. It’s a gift.”

Anna Karenina is onstage June 13 – 21

Top Photo: Alexander Jones and Katja Wünsche in Anna Karenina. Photo by Gregory Batardon. Courtesy of Ballett Zürich.