‘Eugene Onegin’ at the ROH: fine singing, dull production

Member ratings
  • Well argued: 100%
  • Interesting points: 100%
  • Agree with arguments: 100%
4 ratings - view all
‘Eugene Onegin’ at the ROH: fine singing, dull production

Kristina Mkhitaryan (Tatyana), Gordon Bintner (Eugene Onegin), Liparit Avetisyan (Lensky) in Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky. A Royal Ballet & Op...

This story of love, loss, rejection and despair, based on Pushkin’s novel, is one of the most beautiful and lyrical works in Russian music and literature. The opera itself is episodic, structured in seven scenes showing highlights from Onegin’s life, and Tchaikovsky worried whether the lack of traditional scene changes would allow it to gain public acceptance.

Would he be spoiling a pinnacle of Russian literature by setting it to music? But within ten years of its 1879 premiere it had been performed over a hundred times in St Petersburg. The premiere itself was given in Moscow with the maximum simplicity and sincerity by students at the Moscow Conservatory. This new Covent Garden production by American director Ted Huffman follows the same line, using a plain white stage, making for an almost semi-staged concert performance.

The nub of the story is that Onegin visits Madame Larina’s estate with his friend Lensky who is betrothed to one of the daughters, Olga. The other daughter Tatyana stays up all night, writing a letter declaring her love for Onegin, who rejects it the following morning. Then at Tatyana’s name-day dance, when the bored Onegin provocatively flirts with Olga, he is challenged to a duel by the jealous Lensky. At dawn the next day he shoots Lensky dead. Some years later, Onegin meets Tatyana, now married to Prince Gremin, at a party. He realises she is much more than the naive girl he once met, and passionately implores her to run away with him. Although the old attraction flares up again, she refuses, and bids Onegin farewell forever.

It’s a thrillingly emotional story, but this new Covent Garden production is pretty dull. I can see that its simplicity may be intended to reflect Tchaikovsky’s initial production with students, but although the entire, very deep stage at the Royal Opera House may speak to the emptiness of Onegin’s life, this staging is unattractive. 

Fortunately it was relieved by the conducting of Henrik Nánási and very fine singing by Kristina Mkhitaryan as Tatyana, who delivered a beautifully sung letter song, along with Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan as Lensky, and Brindley Sherratt as Prince Gremin, who were both excellent. Alison Kettlewell and Rhonda Browne sang well as Madame Larina and Tatyana’s nurse Filipyevna, as did Avery Amereau as a lively Olga, making her Royal Opera debut. In the title role, the Canadian bass-baritone Gordon Bintner sang well, but made a rather uninspiring Onegin.

Costumes showed Tatyana and her sister in modern, almost identical dresses, differing only in colour. N an effort to bring the staging up to the modern day, this production made a hash of the dancing, with some professionals brought in to do a few numbers, as if hired for the occasion of Tatyana’s party. One unusual aspect was that in the duel, Onegin simply laid his gun down, and Lensky shot himself through the neck. 

Altogether a less than satisfactory experience of what should be a glorious opera, despite Tchaikovsky’s own original misgivings.

A Message from TheArticle

We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout these hard economic times. So please, make a donation.


Member ratings
  • Well argued: 100%
  • Interesting points: 100%
  • Agree with arguments: 100%
4 ratings - view all

You may also like