Yevgeny Onegin

Synopsis

Eugene Onegin. A classic Russian tale which traces the story of someone moving from the rural life of the provinces to the pomp of St Petersburg. Looks at class divides, unrequited love and bitter regrets.

Our Review:

14 July 2012

If Tchaikovsky had not been so smitten with the character of Tatyana, the dramatic arc of (let’s stick to the usual moniker) Eugene Onegin might have been clearer. As the title suggests, the drama’s central perspective really needs to be that of the eponymous hero, not the dreamy girl who too late becomes the girl of his dreams; yet Onegin himself is little more than a cipher in Act One while Tatyana’s finely-etched personality not only dominates the action but holds the stage alone for a 20-minute scena (her celebrated ‘letter’ scene).

All flows well dramatically until Tchaikovsky uses the duel with Lensky (suitor to Tatyana’s sister Olga) to shift the focus onto Onegin himself. By then the opera is half over and the audience’s emotional investment remains with the idealistic young bookworm.


My point here is to take issue with director Daniel Slater’s accretion of a ‘memory play’ element to ...

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Latest User Review

Alun Evans - 3 August 2012:

Slater's topsy turvy attempt to turn the opera into first a reason for the 1917 revolution (exploited peasants) and then a celebration of the event in the penultimate and normal ballroom scene added nothing to one's understanding of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece. Fortunately the singers and the musice surmounted all the obstacles placed before them....

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