Anna Karenina Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Ballet is not (and never has been) a benign, apolitical endeavor. Its very origin story is rooted in propagandist power grabs. The story of "Anna Karenina" is not universal. It is a product of a particular time and place. It does not move the needle of modern discourse; it does not claim to. But oh my, is it gorgeous."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...This rendering of the story contrasts the impossible couple with Princess Kitty, danced with vibrant youth by Anais Bueno, and her eventual husband Konstatin Levin, danced by Yoshihisa Arai, who is enamored of the country life. While many adaptations end with Anna’s demise, this libretto concludes with a final scene that is a paean to agrarian life, as an antidote to the dark ways of the city and society."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Taking Anna Karenina, one of world literature's wordiest and most complex novels, and adapting it into the purely visual and physical form of ballet is a tall order. It's been done a few times, but when the Joffrey Ballet did it in 2019 in a co-production with The Australian Ballet, it was the first time in the company's history that they commissioned an entirely original score. It's understandable why: a project like this requires a very definite artistic vision, which is easier when you don't have to accommodate music that was made for someone else's concept. The Joffrey is now remounting Yuri Possokhov's choreography for Anna Karenina, but in their new home at the Lyric Opera House, in a production that is as grim and cerebral as it is elegant, and when the story is, perhaps for the first time in a long while, overtly and undeniably political."

WTTW - Highly Recommended

"...Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel “Anna Karenina” was turned into a stunningly feverish, quasi-cinematic work for the Joffrey Ballet by choreographer Yuri Possokhov, set to an evocative score by Ilya Demutsky and winningly designed by Tom Pye."

Buzz Center Stage - Recommended

"...Happy ballets are alike; every unhappy ballet is unhappy in its own way. Joffrey Ballet brings their haunting production of 'Anna Karenina' to the Lyric Opera House for a brief revival. It's easy to see why this new ballet was such a hit when it held its world premiere in Chicago back in 2019. It's a remarkably succinct retelling of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel about an unhappy woman's choice to leave her marriage shortly before the Russian revolution."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...The Chicago Joffrey Ballet never ceases to amaze me with its plethora of talented dancers. This diverse, spectacular ensemble brings Anna Karenina to life in many ways through flawless dance movement, emotion and acting. Christine Rocas (Anna Karenina) was superb and dreamlike with a fiery passion burning inside, as Anna, who must make life-changing decisions when her choices threaten her very place in elite Russian society."