AS Tolstoy put it, at the start of “Anna Karenina”: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
By the same token, ballets about love are all alike, and Boris Eifman’s new ballet version of “Anna Karenina,” which had its New York premiere Wednesday night, is definitely all about love.
In setting the novel in dance, appropriately to Tchaikovsky music, Tolstoy’s complex, almost sociological story is pared down to a faithless wife, Anna (Maria Abashova), her dashing lover, Vronsky (Yuri Smekalov) and her stiffly betrayed husband, Karenin (Albert Galachanin).
No matter. The love story is a great one – any love that ends tragically with a passionate suicide in front of an express train has a lot going for it – and much more suitable for dance than Tolstoy’s worthy philosophizing.
Eifman’s choreography is controversial, largely for the emphasis he places on purely dramatic and theatrical values. But this was a 20th century choreographic tradition extending from Michel Fokine to Antony Tudor.
And with Anna’s love triangle, Eifman has hit upon a theme perfect for such translation. It’s aided by the expertly chosen
Tchaikovsky music – chiefly from the symphonies, suites and overtures, such as “Hamlet,” “Manfred” and, of course, “Romeo and Juliet.”
Zinovy Margolin’s adroit settings and Slava Okunev’s sumptuous costumes play their role in bringing Tolstoy to theatrical life, but chiefly it’s Eifman’s expressive choreography and the dedicated dancing of the 50-strong troupe, particularly the finely modulated performances of its three leads.
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EIFMAN BALLET
City Center, 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues; (212) 581-1212. Season runs through Sunday.