Eugene Onegin

Eugene Onegin
By Tchaikovsky. The Metropolitan Opera. Captured in HD. Screening in cinemas nationally on October 26 & 27, 2013.

Having seen the previous Met production of Eugene Onegin with the great Renee Fleming, I was interested to encounter this new production, opening the current Met season, with the current Met star, the Russian soprano, Anna Netrebko. I was not disappointed.

Netrebko has a little more steel in her voice, but it is still beautiful and so relaxed. She has great presence on stage and moved easily from the naivety of the young girl to the confidence of the grown woman. She worked well with the mezzo Oksana Volkova as her younger sister.

In the title role Mariusz Kwiecien looked younger than Netrebko but sang beautifully, though I felt he was nastier than he needed to be in his initial rejection of her. Just rejecting her should have been enough. Kissing her at the end of this scene before walking out was just wrong and it’s not mentioned in my score. But the performance was a tour de force for the young baritone. Piotr Beczala was a young and impressive Lensky, his aria was a highlight, while mezzos Elena Zaremba and Larissa Diadkova stood out.

One of my favourite arias is that of Prince Gremin. It requires a real bass and should be very relaxed as the Prince is explaining how life is good for him. As with the previous Eugene Onegin, the Met failed again. Alexei Tanovitski has a big bass voice, but it is very tense, very uneven and not always in tune.

I remembered the previous production being very abstract and pristine. This was the exact opposite, with the upper class farmhouse being rustic and quite a contrast to the last act in the Prince’s palace. This made for a more authentic experience, though getting Tatiana to finish off her letter to Onegin dancing round the room was a mistake. I’m sure he wouldn’t have been able to read it. The chorus and orchestra were in fine form.

Even fans of the great Renee Fleming will enjoy this.Graham Ford

More Details

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.