The problems of growing up in the artistic concept by John Neumeier

The article is devoted to the ballet by John Neumeier “Anna Karenina” based on the novel by L. N. Tolstoy. An interesting implementation in the play finds important topics for Tolstoy: the world of children and the world of adults, the problem of growing up. The following parallels are noted: the relations of the characters with children as one of the essential features of their characteristics, children as a factor of family stability, the preserved features of a child in the soul of an adult. At the same time, the differences between Neumeier's ballet and Tolstoy's novel in the interpretation of the images of Levin and Kitty are noted. In the ballet they embody the idea of the transition from adolescent to adult consciousness. This is emphasized by the musical side, namely the juxtaposition of folk rock (Cat Stevens) and the music of the academic tradition (P. I. Tchaikovsky, A. G. Schnittke). As a result of comparison the theme of growing up as it seems in the novel and ballet with the embodiment of in the literary work of Western European and Russian writers of the XVIII-XIX centuries, conclusions are drawn about the artistic depth and volume of the concept of Neumeier.