Due to a glitch, this apparently never made it online — so here it is for online readers.

OTSL’S “ANNA KARENINA’ IS A STRONG DRAMA

By Sarah Bryan Miller
POST-DISPATCH CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

IF YOU GO: OPERA THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS PRESENTS DAVID CARLSON’S “ANNA KARENINA’
Loretto Hilton Center, Webster University, Webster Groves
8 p.m. June 9, 13, 15, 21
$32 to $106; 314-961-0644 or opera-stl.org

It’s hard to accept that Colin Graham has written his last libretto and staged his last production: as artistic director of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, his was a constantly felt presence at the company. In “Anna Karenina,” seen Sunday evening at its premiere, Graham has a worthy monument.

Turning Tolstoy’s vast novel into an opera with a three-hour running time was a formidable task. It was made more so since Graham retained the story of Kitty and Kostya, whose upward-to-happiness tale is the counterpoint to Anna and Vronsky’s tragic affair.

The resulting story, though complex, moves quickly and is sometimes startlingly episodic. Anna is in love; she’s pregnant. Anna is dying; she’s not dead yet. We lack a vital piece of information - Anna was prescribed an opiate for pain after childbirth, and became addicted to it - which makes her laudanum-fueled desperation and paranoia inexplicable and unsympathetic.

The ending pits Tolstoy’s drama against his philosophy. Graham ends not with Anna’s death, but with a happy epilogue for Kostya and family. It’s an admirable idea, but after Anna’s devastating demise, it’s anticlimactic; its worthy sentiments seem almost banal in contrast, and it goes on much too long.

David Carlson’s lush, neo-Romantic music supports the drama, with some moments of gorgeous lyrical vocal writing and nods to the Russian Romantics. The opera could use some tweaks, but it works well overall.

Much of that success is due to an almost uniformly strong cast of singing actors. As Anna, soprano Kelly Kaduce is strikingly beautiful, dramatically wide-ranging and nuanced in her portrayal: we see why she’s loved, and how she suffers. Kaduce’s voice is like velvet-covered steel; it’s sweet when appropriate and soars in big moments. She holds the stage with ease.

Soprano Sarah Coburn, as Kitty, and tenor Brandon Jovanovich, as Kostya, had a real connection in their scenes together, and sang beautifully. Christine Abraham, as Kitty’s sister, Dolly, was warm and believable.

Bass-baritone Robert Gierlach’s Vronsky sang richly but seemed stiff and dramatically thin next to Kaduce’s vivid character; the spark in that relationship was inconsistent. As Karenin, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn drew a superb portrait of the cold, wounded husband.

Tenor William Joyner’s hedonistic but kind Stiva, along with mezzo-sopranos Josefa Gayer as the deliciously gossipy Princess Betsy and Dorothy Byrne’s hypocritical Lydia were all perfectly etched and well sung. Mezzo Rosalind Elias’ aged servant Agafia offered homespun wisdom and religion that contrasted nicely with Lydia’s.

Director Mark Streshinsky, who worked with Graham on the production, found ways to bring movement and connection to the opera, particularly in the race scene.

The production is beautiful, with a double turntable assisting the action, and sets bearing Tolstoy’s Cyrillic shorthand to remind us of the story’s origins. Robert Perdziola’s gorgeous period costumes have cinema-worthy details and offer plenty for the eye to dwell on.

Conductor Stewart Robinson brought it all together in the pit, drawing beautiful performances from his instrumentalists, and supporting his singers magnificently.

Audiences for “Anna Karenina” have been asked to be particularly silent during the performances: the opera is being recorded for commercial release. That’s a first for Opera Theatre; watch this space for further details.

sbmiller@post-dispatch.com     314-340-8249