''Anna Karenina'' is an opera in two acts by American composer

David Carlson David Carlson (born 13 March 1952) is an American composer. Early life Carlson studied theory and composition at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts. From 1988 to 1992 he was coo ...

, based on the 1877 novel ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, commissioned by

Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. It is the oldest performing arts organization in Florida and the seventh oldest opera company in the United States. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of ...

to celebrate the 2007 opening of the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...

, co-commissioned by

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by th ...

. The libretto is by British director

Colin Graham Colin Graham OBE (22 September 1931 in Hove, England – 6 April 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a stage director of opera, theatre, and television. Graham was educated at Northaw School (Hertfordshire), Stowe School and RADA. Early in his ...

, originally contemplated for

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's opera commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre (the project was cancelled by the British after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

). Graham was to have directed the original production; after his death only weeks before the opera's opening night, the direction was taken over by Mark Streshinsky. The opera is in two acts with a prologue and an epilogue, lasting just over two hours. The composer added a new scene to the score for the West Coast premiere at the

Opera San José Opera San José is an American opera company founded in 1984 by Irene Dalis (1925-2014) based in San Jose, California. History Opera San José was founded in 1984 by mezzo-soprano singer Irene Dalis (1925-2014), who directed the company for ...

in 2010.

Orchestration

The opera exists in two orchestral versions. The original calls for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (both doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons (#2 doubling on contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, three percussionists, harp, celesta, and strings, with off-stage and recorded sounds. The new version, created for Opera San José in California, re-scored by conductor Bryan Nies, is scored for 2 flutes (#2 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, two percussionists, harp, synthesizer/celesta, and strings.

Recordings

The opera was recorded during the performances by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra performing, led by

Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson (born 22 May 1948, Glasgow''International Who's Who in Classical Music 2009''. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group (2009), p. 693 ()) is a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol U ...

, and was released on the Signum Classics label.

Performance history and roles

*Various spoken roles The opera is published by Carl Fischer Music, New York.

References

{{Anna Karenina 2007 operas Operas English-language operas Operas by David Carlson Operas based on novels Operas based on works by Leo Tolstoy Operas set in Russia