Anna Karenina is an opera in two acts by American composer David Carlson

David Carlson

David Carlson American composer.Carlson studied theory and composition at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts...

, based on the novel Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...

by Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...

, commissioned by Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...

 to celebrate the 2007 opening of the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in the Omni neighborhood of Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States...

, co-commissioned by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which is divided into two...

. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 is by British director Colin Graham

Colin Graham

Colin Graham, OBE was a British-born stage director of opera, theater, and television.Graham was educated at Northaw School , Stowe School and RADA...

, originally contemplated for Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

's opera commissioned by the Bolshoi

Bolshoi

Bolshoi may refer to:*Bolshoi Theatre, a major ballet and opera theatre in Moscow, Russia**Bolshoi Ballet, resident ballet company at the Bolshoi Theatre**Moscow State Academy of Choreography, commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy...

 Theatre (the project was cancelled by the British after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...

). Graham was to have directed the original production; after his death only weeks before the opera's opening night, the direction was taken over by Mark Streshinsky. The opera is in two acts with a Prologue and an Epilogue, lasting just over two hours.

The composer added a new scene to the score for the West Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

 premiere at the Opera San José in 2010.

Orchestration

The opera exists in two orchestral versions. The original calls for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (both doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons (#2 doubling on contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, three percussionists, harp, celesta, and strings, with off-stage and recorded sounds.

The new version, created for Opera San José in California, re-scored by conductor Bryan Nies, is scored for 2 flutes (#2 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, two percussionists, harp, synthesizer/celesta, and strings.

Recordings

The opera was recorded during the performances by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra performing, led by Stewart Robertson

Stewart Robertson

Stewart Robertson is a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol University...

, and was released on the Signum Classics label.

Performance History and List of Roles

Role	Voice Type	Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...  Premiere (April 2007)	Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which is divided into two...  Premiere (June 2007)	Opera San José Opera San Jose Opera San José is the professional opera company in San Jose, California, United States, founded in 1984 by Irene Dalis. In 1988, it formed a resident company of principal artists, for which it has purchased fourteen apartment units to provide rent-free accommodation...  Premiere (September 2010)
Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...		Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson is a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol University...	Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson Stewart Robertson is a Scottish conductor. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and Bristol University...	Stewart Robertson & Bryan Nies
Stage Director		Colin Graham & Mark Streshinsky	Colin Graham & Mark Streshinsky	Brad Dalton Brad Dalton Bradley Dalton is a former Australian basketball player, who played for the City of Sydney Astronauts , West Adelaide Bearcats , Sydney Supersonics , Geelong Supercats and the Sydney Kings in the NBL.Dalton represented Australia in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics...
Set Designer		Neil Patel Neil Patel Neil Patel is a prolific award winning American scenic designer. He has designed productions for theater, opera and dance...	Neil Patel	Steven C. Kemp
Costume Designer Costume Designer A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...		Robert Perdziola	Robert Perdziola	Elizabeth Poindexter
Lighting Designer Lighting designer The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...		Mark McCullough Mark McCullough Mark McCullough is an American businessman, attorney, and Republican politician from Oklahoma. McCullough is the Representative for District 30 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House District 30 encompasses Sapulpa, Mounds, Kiefer, Glenpool, and outlying areas...	Mark McCullough	Kent Dorsey
Anna Karenina	Soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Kelly Kaduce Kelly Kaduce Kelly Kaduce is an American soprano. She was born in Winnebago, Minnesota, United States of America. A graduate of St. Olaf College and Boston University , Kaduce won the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions...	Kelly Kaduce Kelly Kaduce Kelly Kaduce is an American soprano. She was born in Winnebago, Minnesota, United States of America. A graduate of St. Olaf College and Boston University , Kaduce won the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions...	Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste & Jasmina Halimic
Alexei Karenin	Bass-baritone Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...	Christian van Horn	Christian van Horn	Kirk Eichelberger & Isaiah Musik-Ayala
Alexei Vronsky	Baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Robert Gierlach	Robert Gierlach	Krassen Karagiozov & Torlef Borsting
Kitty	Soprano	Sarah Coburn Sarah Coburn Sarah Coburn is an American operatic soprano.-Biography:Sarah Coburn was born in Petersburg, Virginia on August 4, 1977. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and received a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, studying under Larry Wade Keller...	Sarah Coburn Sarah Coburn Sarah Coburn is an American operatic soprano.-Biography:Sarah Coburn was born in Petersburg, Virginia on August 4, 1977. She graduated from Oklahoma State University and received a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, studying under Larry Wade Keller...	Khori Dastoor
Levin	Tenor	Brandon Jovanovich	Brandon Jovanovich	Michael Dailey & Alexander Boyer
Dolly	Mezzo-Soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Christine Abraham	Christine Abraham	Betany Coffland & Tori Grayum
Agafia	Mezzo-Soprano	Rosalind Elias Rosalind Elias Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...	Rosalind Elias Rosalind Elias Rosalind Elias is an American mezzo-soprano, a rich-voiced singer of fine musicianship who enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the Metropolitan Opera.-Life and career:...	Heather McFadden
Lydia	Mezzo-Soprano	Dorothy Byrne Dorothy Byrne (mezzo-soprano) Dorothy Byrne is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She has performed leading and comprimario roles at several opera houses in the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Opera Theater, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Hawaii...	Dorothy Byrne Dorothy Byrne Dorothy Byrne is Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4 Television. She was born in Paisley, the daughter of Charles and Agnes Byrne. She was educated at Layton Hill Convent, Blackpool, Manchester University and Sheffield University .She was producer for World in Action, 1987–94, and...	Kindra Scharich
Stiva	Tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	William Joyner	William Joyner	Christopher Bengochea & Michael Mendelsohn
Betsy	Mezzo Soprano	Josepha Gayer	Josepha Gayer	Megan Stetson
Prince Yashvin	Baritone	Cory Crider	Nicolas Pallesen	Paul Murray

• Various spoken roles

The Opera is published by Carl Fischer Music, New York.