'Anna Karenina' plays to full house in Türkiye’s northwestern metropolitan

ISTANBUL

The play "Anna Karenina" by the Zurich Ballet met with art lovers in Istanbul for the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV).

A team of 83 people with 45 dancers and an opera singer came to Türkiye for the show, which was staged for two days at Zorlu PSM.

The team was joined by two child dancers and eight supporting actors from Türkiye.

Sergei Rachmaninov, Witold Lutoslawski, Sulkhan Tsintsadze and Josef Bardanashvili have written the soundtrack of the work adapted for ballet by Christian Spuck from the novel of the same name by the well-known Russian writer Lev Tolstoy.

The lead actress Katja Wunsche, who plays Anna Karenina in the work, told Anadolu Agency after the screening that she was not completely satisfied with her first performance, stating: "I really enjoyed being here on this big stage with this wonderful team working in the background in front of so many audiences. That was really great."

Wunsche stated that the stage in Zurich was smaller, so she was very impressed by the size of Zorlu PSM's stage, saying: "Dancing on a bigger stage was a nice experience."

Stressing that a team of 70 people is working on the stage, the successful dancer noted that the number is increasing with costumes, makeup and office workers.

As for the stylish and remarkable costumes that attract attention on the stage, she emphasized: "Costume designers and choreographer work very closely together."

Referring to the character Anna Karenina, whom she portrayed, she pointed out: "It feels so beautiful and natural for me to play Anna."

"I think I'm much more comfortable portraying the difficult one," she added.

Wunsche underscored that they have been staging the work for the last few years, mentioning that they have been working really hard for the show.

Noting that the Zurich Ballet has several rules, the head ballerina touched on: "It is determined by the rules how many hours we will work, how long we will take a break, how long the breaks between performances should be."

The artist said that she had come to Istanbul for a holiday before, noting that: "I've had a lot of good memories from that time."

"I stayed on the Historical Peninsula side and went to Hagia Sophia. I've been to the palace and around it. It was so beautiful.

"I had a very good time. I haven't had time to go out yet this time. Maybe tomorrow will be a possibility," she stated.

"However, I can say that I came back here with very good memories. I'm having a really good time again. The people are really friendly, open, helpful and very nice," she said.

The show met with the Istanbul audience under the special sponsorship of Palo Alto Networks, the world's leading cybersecurity company, in cooperation with IKSV and Zorlu PSM.

Türk Havayollari, Türkiye's flag carrier, also contributed to the event, which was supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, as an airline partner.

The show, which impressed the audience with its flamboyant costumes, contemporary stage design, and choreography based mainly on neoclassical dance, played to a full house.

*Writing by Merve Berker