North American Premiere Anna Karenina

What lengths would you go to for love? This question sits at the heart of Spuck’s ballet, which follows the aristocratic Anna Karenina through an extramarital affair that both liberates and condemns her. Anna’s love triangle with Count Vronsky and her husband Alexei Karenin is the epicentre of a detailed portrait of Russian society in the 19th-century and its parallel stories of love and infidelity. Anna is ostracized for her desire – stripped of her status, separated from her child and driven to suicide – revealing the inequities within her society.

• Spuck created Anna Karenina for Ballett Zürich in 2014 and it has drawn widespread praise for its powerful storytelling.
   
• Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo and Keira Knightley are just a sampling of the women who have portrayed Tolstoy’s great heroine, Anna Karenina, in its countless adaptations.
   
• Slender birch trees, opulent society balls and snowy landscapes are part of an evocative design by Spuck’s trusted creative team.
   
• Tieni Burkhalter’s black-and-white video projections of trains feel like a home movie and foreshadow Anna’s derailment and eventual suicide on the tracks.
   
• The score follows the emotional tides of the story, moving from the lyricism of Rachmaninoff to the more strident sounds of Lutoslawski.

German choreographer Christian Spuck joined Stuttgart Ballet in 1995 and became Resident Choreographer in 2001. He was Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Ballett Zürich from 2012 to 2022 and is now Artistic Director of Berlin State Ballet. Spuck was awarded the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse for best choreography in 2019 for Winterreise.

The curated score to Anna Karenina is comprised of selections from several 20th century composers including Sergei Rachmaninoff and Witold Lutoslawski, reflecting the complexities and intricacies of Tolstoy’s tragic story.  This juxtaposition in the quality of the music reveals Anna’s inner conflict as she moves towards her unhappy end.

Choreography:
Christian Spuck

Music:
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Witold Lutoslawski, Sulkhan Tsintsadze and Josef Bardanashvili

Set Design:
Christian Spuck and Jörg Zielinski

Costume Design:
Emma Ryott

Lighting Design:
Martin Gebhardt

Video Design:
Tieni Burkhalter

Sound Collages:
Martin Donner

Dramaturge:
Claus Spahn

Intimacy Consultant:
Anisa Tejpar

Costumes and Scenery Courtesy of Opernhaus Zürich and Den Norske Opera & Ballett

World Premiere: Ballett Zürich, Switzerland, October 12, 2014

The National Ballet of Canada Premiere: Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, June 13, 2025

Lead philanthropic support for Anna Karenina is provided by Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney and The Walter Carsen New Creations Fund with additional support provided by The Producers' Circle.

The Producers’ Circle (2025): John & Claudine Bailey, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C., The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado, C.M. & Jim Pitblado, C.M., The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and Alexander Younger & Sarah Richardson.