“Anna Karenina” has been one of the most anticipated ballets of the year among the genre’s fans, as the Korea National ballet led by ballerina Kang Sue-jin will perform the show with a production cost of 2 billion won, in support of next year’s Winter Olympic Games which will be held around three months later in South Korea. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea National Ballet is set to perform “Anna Karenina,” a ballet performance based on the Russian novel of the same title, at the Seoul Arts Center’s opera theater between November 1 and 5 in celebration of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
“Anna Karenina” has been one of the most anticipated ballets of the year among the genre’s fans, as the Korea National ballet led by ballerina Kang Sue-jin will perform the show with a production cost of 2 billion won, in support of next year’s Winter Olympic Games which will be held around three months later in South Korea.
Christian Spuck, artistic director of Ballet Zurich in Switzerland, who choreographed the ballet, said during a press conference on Tuesday that the new performance will focus on the essence of the original piece, not the main story.
While Spuck said he contemplated which parts of the original piece the performance will deliver, he also said instead of a Hollywood movie that could depict Russian society in detail, he decided to take advantage of the strength of ballet by focusing on characters and situations in depth.
When asked about the decision to make a ballet performance based on “Anna Karenina,” Spuck said he was attracted to the depiction of a woman who loses herself in the midst of passion and emotion.
“For the global audience of the Pyeongchang Olympics, I selected ‘Anna Karenina’ because its main theme, love, is something everyone can relate to,” Spuck said.
“Anna Karenina” is based on Russian writer Leo Tolstoy’s eponymous novel with a tragic plot involving married aristocrat Anna Karenina and her love affair with affluent officer Count Vronsky set in 19th century Russia under mounting pressure from social norms.
The Korea National Ballet is set to perform “Anna Karenina,” a ballet performance based on the Russian novel of the same title, at the Seoul Arts Center’s opera theater between November 1 and 5 in celebration of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. (Image: Yonhap)
After the first set of shows during early November to mark 100 days before the beginning of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the ballet will once again be performed during the Winter Games at the Olympic Art Center in Gangneung, on February 10 and 11 next year.
Ticket prices range from 5,000 to 50,000 won. For more information, call 02-587-6181.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
