Vietnamese audiences were moved by the masterpiece ballet Anna Karenina

Vietnam is the second stop on the group's six-week world tour.

Mr. Nguyen Bao Anh, Artistic Director of Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), one of the organizing partners, affirmed that Vietnamese audiences have a great demand for high-quality art.

Choosing "Anna Karenina" is a strategic move, because this is a literary work that is "very familiar to Vietnamese audiences", helping the public to more easily access and sympathize with the art of academic ballet.

Choreographed by renowned choreographer Boris Eifman based on Leo Tolstoy's immortal novel, this version of the ballet "Anna Karenina" is a bold departure. German Gureev, the company's Director of Touring and External Relations, revealed that Eifman "cut out all the extraneous details and kept only the core, the three-way relationship" between Anna, her husband Karenin and her lover Vronsky.

Photos of the show in Hanoi. (Photo: Organizer) — Photos of the show in Hanoi . (Photo: Organizer)

The show is a typical example of the psychological Russian ballet theater, focusing on the inner world of the characters' struggles and tragedies. The uniqueness also lies in the music , when Eifman uses "Tchaikovsky symphonies rarely heard in ballets" to push the emotions to a climax.

“Boris Eifman always said he felt lucky to be able to use body language, the language of dance that no one needs to learn, to tell the story. You can just watch, enjoy and feel it yourself,” Mr. Gureev shared.

Ms. Tran Thi Nguyet Suong, one of the audience members and also the director of a ballet center in Ho Chi Minh City, flew to Hanoi to enjoy the performance. For her, this was not only an opportunity to enjoy art, but also a part of her memories and feelings for Russia. Her mother lived in Russia for 12 years, and she herself had a time attached to the land of birch trees when she was young. For her, the performance was an emotional journey.

Ms. Suong added that ballet is still quite unfamiliar to the Vietnamese public, so being able to enjoy a masterpiece right in her home country is "very precious". She was moved to think that this is a very good opportunity for Vietnamese audiences to be exposed to academic ballet art and to have the right technical characteristics of world standards.

The person who contributed to the successful delivery of the emotional play was the talented artist Victoria Mokrousova. Sharing her feelings when taking on the big role, she said she only had three weeks to prepare. However, behind that rush was a solid foundation.

Victoria said "...I had 4 years of experience rehearsing the role of Anna before so that helped me a lot. The role has become familiar to me".

Faced with a complex character like Anna, she chose to approach from her own soul: "I used my own feelings about the character to complete this role of mine." With personal empathy and skillful technique, she brought a tragic Anna Karenina that was realistic and vivid to every breath.

Representatives of the Russian art troupe also expressed good impressions of Vietnam, from the wonderful weather to the warm reception of the audience.

With a crew of more than 60 people and 2 containers of stage equipment, the Eifman Ballet tour was a cultural event of great magnitude. Mr. Gureev shared his surprise and happiness at the tour's unexpected success.

He shared that the warm reception from the audience, especially in the previous performances in Ho Chi Minh City, was something they did not expect and the troupe will always cherish these precious feelings. The experience at the Ho Chi Minh City Dance School made the trip even more meaningful, where the troupe felt "at home", as the teachers they met were all trained in the Russian/Soviet classical ballet method and could communicate in Russian. This not only showed the deep connection in the artistic heritage between the two countries but also opened up the potential for future cooperation.

Phuong Anh

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/khan-gia-viet-xuc-dong-thuong-thuc-vo-ballet-dinh-cao-anna-karenina-ar991058.html