Name: Yevgeny Onegin
Start: 2021-11-24
End: 2021-11-24
Location: National Opera of Ukraine

Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Olga Matushenko

Larina

Tetiana Kharauzova

Soprano

Victoria Chenska

Tatiana

Ksenia Bakhritdinova

Tamara Kalinkina

Contralto

Angelina Seamstress

Olga

Tetiana Piminova

Irina Petrova

Baritone

Mykhailo Kirishev

Eugene Onegin

Igor Yevdokimenko

Tenor

Valentyn Dytiuk

Lensky

Dimitry Ivashchenko

Dmytro Kuzmin

Bass

Sergii Magera

Prince Gremin

Taras Shtonda

Sergii Kovnir

Oleksandr Milev

Alexander Boyko

Company Commander

Yuriy Goryn

Zaretsky

Alexander Dyachenko

Triquet

Sergii Skochelyas

Maria Berezovska

Filippyevna

Stage director

Irina Molostova

Conductor

Alla Kulbaba

Vladimir Kozhukhar

Bogdan Plish

Costume designer

Maria Levitskaya

Set designer

Fedor Nirod

Choreographer

Robert Klyavin

Chorus master

Lev Venedyktov

Viktoria Savenko

Alexander Tarasenko

National Opera of Ukraine

Russian

Yevgeny Onegin -  (Eugene Onegin)

Kyiv

Ukraine

Main Stage

Public

Approved

"YEVHENIY ONEGIN" by P. Tchaikovsky

March 17, 1879 was a significant date in the history of world music culture. The premiere of one of the best operas of the Russian classical repertoire - "Eugene Onegin" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky took place in Moscow that day. Years and decades pass, and the work continues to fascinate with the freshness of melody, depth and insight, special sublimity and watercolor purity. The "lyrical scenes" of the genius composer still remain in tune with the times, they excite us as they excited Tchaikovsky's contemporaries. Academician B. Asafyev wrote: "Eugene Onegin", a novel in Pushkin's poems - how many thoughts, feelings, artistic pleasure are associated with this work! Pushkin's poetry has deeply entered the lives of many generations of our compatriots. Poems from "Onegin" are quoted by heart, some expressions become epigraphs of books, titles of articles, intertwined in the literary text and in our language. When the novel formed the basis of the work of the second greatest artist, "Eugene Onegin" shone with new colors in the unfading music of PI Tchaikovsky, "to the depths of his Russian ..."

Analyzing the creation of an opera, it is not always possible to accurately name even the year when the composer had an idea. "Eugene Onegin" is a happy exception in this regard. We know that on May 13, 1877, the famous singer Elizaveta Andriivna Lavrovska unexpectedly suggested to Peter Ilyich the theme of a new opera. "Last week I once visited Lavrovskaya. We talked about the plots for the stage. Elizabeth Andreevna was silent and smiled good-naturedly, and then suddenly said: "What if we take" Eugene Onegin "? This thought seemed unreasonable to me, and I did not answer. Later, while having lunch at the tavern, I remembered Onegin, thought about it, then found Lavrovskaya's opinion correct, then became fascinated and dared to finish the dinner. He immediately ran to look for Pushkin's novel. Hard to find, went home, reread with admiration and spent a sleepless night,

Already on May 29, the composer went to the village of Glebovo to devote his time to work on the opera.

The exuberance of spring, rural silence, creative uplift, due to such a road theme for Tchaikovsky, inspired the work. Ten days later he wrote to his brother Modest: “I have already written the whole second picture of the first act (Tatiana and her nanny) and I am very pleased with what happened. Most of the first picture is also written ... "And a week later in a letter to his brother Anatoly said:" All the first action in three pictures is ready, today I started the second. If I had stayed here for the whole summer, the opera would no doubt have been completed by the end of the summer ... ”Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky lived in Gleb for only a month that year.

"... What a depth of poetry in Onegin!" I'm not mistaken; I know that there will not be enough stage effects and movement in this opera. But the continuous poeticism, humanity, simplicity of the plot in combination with a brilliant text replaces all these shortcomings.

Returning from Glebov to Moscow did not contribute to creative inspiration. Visits, meetings, worries at the conservatory took a lot of time, did not allow to concentrate. Only in August, with difficulty escaping from Moscow to the lovely Kamyanka in Ukraine, he set to work again: he instrumentalized the first picture of the opera.

In September, Peter Ilyich returned to Moscow. But inner dissatisfaction, heavy and depressing state of mind throw the composer off balance. Doctors advise him to change the situation immediately. The composer travels to Switzerland, settles in a small cozy boarding house in the resort town of Clarane. And again plunges into the poetic lines of Pushkin. In October, he sent the score of the first act to Nikolai Rubinstein, then director of the Moscow Conservatory. "... I will never give this opera to the Directorate of Theaters before it goes to the conservatory. I wrote it for the conservatory because I don't need a big stage here with its routine, conventions, with its incompetent directors, silly, albeit bizarre production, with its waving machines instead of bandmasters, etc. "

After moving to Venice, Tchaikovsky enthusiastically instruments the second act. In five days he completely finishes work on the first picture (Larin's ball) of the second act.

From a letter to Nadezhda von Meck:

"I can't understand how, loving music so much, you may not recognize Pushkin, who by virtue of his genius talent often breaks out of the narrow spheres of poetry into the endless realm of music. This is not an empty phrase. Regardless of the essence of what he teaches in the form of a poem, in the poem itself, in its sound sequence there is something penetrating to the very depths of the soul. This is something and there is music ... ”

On February 1, 1878, in the Italian city of San Remo, Peter Ilyich completed his work on Eugene Onegin. Many people watched the work on the new work. Figures of Russian musical culture placed great hopes on Tchaikovsky, then the author of the opera The Blacksmith Vakula, the First Piano Concerto, the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini, the ballet Swan Lake. Of course, like every extraordinary work, "Eugene Onegin" had both fans and opponents. Not immediately in all depth felt and understood the opera, for example, Ivan Turgenev, who sharply criticized the changes made by Tchaikovsky in Pushkin's texts.

From the review of S. Kruglikov

"The time when only what was too absurd to be sung was sung," he said. All the best composers are now inspired by the best works of literature ... But the more serious the case, the more difficult it is to embody ... not the present ... Eugene himself is a sign of the times, a type, a hero of the novel, but not an opera hero ... : not her task - emotional coldness and phrasing ... I'm not talking about Tatiana ... Her dreaminess, romance, sincerity and strength of feelings, moral purity and young devotion of impulses intertwined into a single, slender, poetic harmony ... "

While working on the opera, Peter Ilyich clearly defined his idea as "lyrical scenes" selected from Pushkin's novel. It is those scenes that clearly and unambiguously outline the moral and ethical principles of young heroes - Tatiana, Onegin and Lensky.

PI Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin started a new type of opera, built not on intrigue and historical paradox, but on revealing the inner world of the heroes. It was based on typical human feelings that many people had to go through. Tchaikovsky asserted in the art of opera still unusual at the time the principle of psychological realism "intimate but strong drama."

Two years after the premiere of the opera on the stage of the Maly Theater, the play appears in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater. On October 19, 1884, the premiere of "Lyrical Scenes" took place at the Mariinsky Theater. The play was a great success. The grateful audience presented the composer with a silver wreath.

Subsequent performances took place in crowded halls. In April 1884, "Eugene Onegin" was first shown in Ukraine (Kharkiv). And on October 11 of the same year the premiere of the opera took place in Kyiv.

Foreign theaters also showed considerable interest in the work. On November 24, 1888, Eugene Onegin was first shown at the Prague National Theater. Tchaikovsky stood behind the console. Gustav Mahler soon staged "lyrical scenes" on the Hamburg stage. In the time that has passed since the opera was created, it has been performed on almost all major stages of the world - in London, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm, New York ...

The Kyiv Opera House has repeatedly turned to the stage incarnation of "Eugene Onegin", and this masterpiece of world opera classics is preserved in the repertoire for over 100 years.

Thus, in November 1913, the theater celebrated the 20th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's death with a new production of the opera, performed by director O. Ulukhanov and conductor D. Pagani.

It is also known about the production of 1927, conducted by M. Verykivsky. By the way, Lensky's part was performed by the famous Russian singer L. Sobinov, who carefully studied the text of the part in Ukrainian.

The season of 1928/29 was marked by the appearance of a new play. Conductor L. Braginsky and director V. Manziy showed a bright performance, attracting young performers.

Tatiana's part was sung by Z. Gaidai, Olga by A. Levitska, Lensky by O. Kolodub and B. Bobko, Gremina by E. Tsynyov and M. Trifonov.

During the stay of the Kyiv Opera in Irkutsk, conductor V. Yorysh and director M. Smolych performed a new interpretation of Pushkin's work.

The seasons 45/46 and 51/52 were marked by the appearance of two more productions made by directors M. Smolych and V. Manziy. The performances were conducted by V. Tolba and O. Klimov.

The 1968 production was marked by originality and a bold search for new means of expression, both dramatic and artistic. Directed by V. Sklyarenko, decoration - famous set designer Tatiana Bruni. Conducted a play by L. Venediktov. An interesting interpretation, marked by many creative discoveries, was created in 1972 by director I. Molostov together with conductor O. Ryabov and artist V. Levental.

In 1983, the director I. Molostov together with the conductor S. Turchak, artists F. Nirod and M. Levitskaya who created sketches of costumes, for the second time turned to the beautiful opera by P. Tchaikovsky.

During the long stage history of "Eugene Onegin" the leading parts in it were sung by the best opera performers - Z. Gaidai, L. Lobanova, T. Ponomarenko, L. Chkonia, E. Kolesnyk, G. Tsypola, L. Rudenko, G. Tuftina, V. Boryschenko, V. Kozeratsky, P. Bilinnik, K. Ogneva, A. Solovyanenko, M. Vorvulev, Y. Gulyaev, D. Hnatyuk, A. Mokrenko, M. Romensky, A. Kikot, M. Chastiy, A. .Kocherga and others.

English

Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, P. I., Wed 24 Nov 2021, From (2021/2022), Directed by Irina Molostova,, Conductor Alla Kulbaba, Vladimir Kozhukhar, Bogdan Plish, National Opera of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues