The Kreutzer Sonata

Adaptations

Plays

Langdon Mitchell's The Kreutzer Sonata, adapted from Jacob Gordin's earlier Yiddish adaptation, premiered at the Lyric Theatre in New York on September 10, 1906, directed by Harrison Grey Fiske.Bertha Kalich portrayed Miriam Friedlander in Langdon Mitchell's The Kreutzer Sonata (1906).
  • The novella was adapted into a Yiddish play in 1902 by Russian-Jewish playwright Jacob Gordin. American playwright Langdon Mitchell later adapted Gordin's version into English, which debuted on Broadway on September 10, 1906.
  • In 2007 in Wellington, New Zealand, a newly devised theatrical work, The Kreutzer, was premiered, combining dance, music, theatre and multimedia projections with both pieces of music (Beethoven and Janáček) played live. Sara Brodie provided the adaptation, direction and choreography. A reworked version was presented in Auckland during March 2009 at the Auckland Arts Festival.
  • The novella was adapted for the stage by Darko Spasov in 2008, and produced as a one-act play in 2009 for the National Theatre in Štip, Republic of Macedonia, directed by Ljupco Bresliski, performed by Milorad Angelov.[9]
  • Laura Wade's Kreutzer vs. Kreutzer is also inspired by Tolstoy.[10]
  • The novella was adapted for the stage by Ted Dykstra and produced as a one-act play for the Art of Time Ensemble of Toronto in 2008, and again for the Soulpepper Theatre Company in 2011.
  • Nancy Harris adapted the novella into a one-act monologue for the Gate Theatre in London in 2009, directed by Natalie Abrahami and starring Hilton McRae. The production was revived in 2012 at the Gate Theatre, and also at La MaMa in New York City.
  • The novella was adapted by Sue Smith for the State Theatre Company of South Australia as part of the 2013 Adelaide Festival. It was directed by Geordie Brookman and featured Renato Musolino (who stepped into the role at the last minute, as a replacement for Barry Otto, who had taken ill).[11]
  • A one-act adaptation[12] by Utah playwright Eric Samuelson was produced by Plan-B Theatre Company and the NOVA Chamber Music Series in 2015. It ran from 18 October to 9 November at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was directed by Jerry Rapier, and featured Robert Scott Smith, Kathryn Eberle, and Jason Hardnik. Eberle and Hardnik were musicians in the Utah Symphony at the time.[13]

Films

The Kreutzer Sonata has been adapted for film well over a dozen times. Some of these include:

  • The Kreutzer Sonata (1911, Russian Empire), directed by Pyotr Chardynin
  • The Kreutzer Sonata (1914, Russian Empire), directed by Vladimir Gardin
  • The Kreutzer Sonata (1915, USA), directed by Herbert Brenon
  • Kreutzerova sonáta (1927, Czechoslovakia), directed by Gustav Machatý
  • Kreutzersonate (1937, Germany), directed by Veit Harlan
  • Celos (Jealousy, 1946, Argentina), directed by Mario Soffici and starring Pedro López Lagar and Zully Moreno
  • Prelude to Madness (1948, Italy), directed by Gianni Franciolini
  • La Sonate à Kreutzer (1956, France), short film directed by Éric Rohmer[14]
  • Locura pasional (Passionate Madness, 1956, Mexico), directed by Tulio Demicheli and starring Silvia Pinal and Carlos López Moctezuma
  • Kreitserova sonata (1969, TV, Yugoslavia) directed by Jovan Konjović
  • The Kreutzer Sonata (1987, USSR), directed by Mikhail Shveytser
  • Quale amore (2006, Italy), directed by Maurizio Sciarra
  • The Kreutzer Sonata (2008, UK), directed by Bernard Rose and starring Elisabeth Röhm
  • Sonata (2013, Spain), directed by Jon Ander Tomás

Music

  • The novella, inspired by Beethoven's music, in turn gave rise to Leoš Janáček's First String Quartet.[15]
  • In Frederic Rzewski's piece Marriage for speaking pianist the performer recites Pozdnyshev's words while playing the instrument.

Ballet

In 2000, the Carolina Ballet, with original choreography by Robert Weiss and combining the music of Beethoven, Janáček, and J. Mark Scearce, mounted an innovative production combining dance and drama, with a narrator/actor telling the story and flashbacks leading into the ballet segments.[16]

Painting

The novella inspired the 1901 painting The Kreutzer Sonata by René François Xavier Prinet, which shows a passionate kiss between the violinist and the pianist. The painting was used for years in Tabu perfume ads.

Novels

Arab Israeli author Sayed Kashua's 2010 novel Second Person Singular echoes The Kreutzer Sonata set in present-day Israel. A copy of The Kreutzer Sonata also functions as a major plot device.[17]

The Dutch author Margriet de Moor wrote a book called Kreutzersonate after Janáček's string quartet, which was inspired by the novella and Beethoven.


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