Eugene Onegin

P. Tchaikovsky Opera 12+

Lyrical scenes

Libretto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Konstantin Shilovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse

The opera was written in 1878. This version will first performed in Perm in 2022.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin is the first opera premiere at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2022. The production is a double debut: Mikhail Tatarnikov, a musical director and conductor, performs at the Perm Opera for the first time, while for stage director Vladislavs Nastavševs, the “lyrical scenes” are his first work on the big opera stage.

Conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov has established himself as one of the leading specialists in the Russian opera repertoire both in Russia and abroad. Last summer, Tatarnikov was the musical director of a new production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Maid of Pskov in London (directed by David Pountney at the Grange Park Opera). His upcoming projects include a production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades at the Semperoper Dresden.

Director Vladislavs Nastavševs’ first opera production, Georges Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles, first performed at the Pokrovsky Chamber Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in December 2020, was acclaimed by the press as one of the highlights of the past theatre season and received eight nominations at the “Golden Mask” National Theatre Award. A graduate of the Saint-Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy (under Lev Dodin) and stage directing course at the Central Saint Martins, Nastavševs has staged his first drama productions in London and Riga. The Gogol Center, Moscow, discovered him for Russian audiences.

The production is supported by “Gubernia” charitable foundation

Synopsis

A garden at the Larins’ country estate. Tatyana and Olga are singing in the distance. Madame Larina and the nurse, listening to them, recall their youth. Unexpected visitors arrive: Lensky, Larins’ neighbour and Olga’s fiancé, has brought his friend Onegin, a young man who has recently come from the capital. While Lensky is talking to Olga, the new acquaintance is conversing with Tatyana. The nurse notices her excitement about this meeting.

Tatyana’s room. Tatyana cannot sleep. The nurse attempts to soothe her agitation and tells about her youth and marriage. Left alone, Tatyana writes a letter to Onegin. At dawn, she asks her nurse to deliver it.

The Larins’ garden. Tatyana waits anxiously for an answer. Onegin enters. Her confession touches him, but he cannot return the feeling.

The Larins’ house. A ball on Tatyana’s name day. Lensky has persuaded his friend to visit the Larins, but Onegin is irritated with the celebration and the guests. In revenge, he begins to flirt with Olga. Lensky falls into despair, seeing how easy she receives Onegin’s attentions. He quarrels with Onegin and challenges him to a duel.

An abandoned mill. Lensky and his second are waiting for Onegin. Vladimir sorrowfully thinks of the bygone “golden days” of his youth. At last, his opponent appears. The former friends are ready to forget their tensions, but for reasons of honour, they have to continue. A shot rings out — Lensky is dead.

A ballroom of a nobleman’s house in St Petersburg. After a long absence, Onegin returns to the capital and meets Tatyana as a married woman. She is now the front and centre of high society. Tatyana’s husband, Prince Gremin, tells Eugene of his happiness. The transformation of his old acquaintance ignites Onegin’s feelings.

A drawing-room in Gremin’s house. Tatyana is reading Onegin’s letter in tears. Unexpectedly, he comes himself and passionately pleads for a confession in return, which he gets. But Tatyana’s decision is irrevocable: she will remain faithful to her husband.