Eugene Onegin represents one of the most successful translations in music of a literary masterpiece. The “novel in verse”, written by Pushkin in the first half of the 19th century, helped establish him as perhaps the greatest Russian poet; Tchaikovsky wrote some of his best music for it, scoring a success that would last centuries. The eponymous character became a classic trope: a dandy, with money and privilege but no purpose in life, selfish, aloof, devoid of empathy, a cynic to the core. His superficial culture makes him apparently refined and sophisticated, but most of it is just arrogance and a sense of superiority. He negatively affects the lives of anybody who succumbs to his charms, and is destined to loneliness and despair.
This bleak character is delineated against real people with real feelings: his country neighbours (Madame Larina and her family), simple country aristocrats, with daughters Tatyana, a bookish introvert, and Olga, a spirited, lively girl; and Onegin’s 18-year old friend Lensky, a passionate poet in love with Olga. Later in the opera, there's Prince Gremin, an older man desperately in love with his wife. The contrast is staggering, highlighting Onegin’s lack of human feelings.
Barrie Kosky’s production is a pleasant surprise: true to the spirit of the work, restrained, respectful of the music, grown-up. He represents Tatyana’s world as embedded in nature, a green meadow surrounded by trees. There are some incomprehensible things, of course: Tatyana and Onegin do not wander around during their first meeting, they just sit next to each other, she reads and he sulks, so there is really no conversation happening that would justify her falling in love with him. But the sets are beautiful, particularly due to Franck Evin’s lighting, which really enhances the visual experience, bringing out the silver in the tree leaves, or the golden sunset.
The third act presents the nobleman’s mansion in St Petersburg as something in between a courtyard and a salon; we still have grass on the floor (representing Tatyana’s roots, perhaps), but there are couches and chaises-longues where the guests can sit. An effective idea is the dismantling of the palace, done by stagehands in full view, when Onegin realises his mistake in coldly dismissing Tatyana many years before. The societal structures are crumbling and he’s now left in the meadow, facing his feelings. Also the rain during the last duet, when Tatyana refuses to ruin her life for him, is moving, giving a sensual feeling to the whole scene. Kosky's Personenregie is particularly accurate, each scene is clearly thought through and all singers showed commitment and intent in their acting.
Gianandrea Noseda led the Philharmonia Zürich in a passionate, enthusiastic performance. The pace was pressing, the sound appropriately crepuscular and ominous. The Polonaise was perfect, brilliant and with the right amount of zing. The Oper Zürich chorus was very enjoyable in their many interventions, lagging behind the pit only on a few occasions.
Igor Golovatenko showed the right voice for Onegin, his baritone elegant and aristocratic, but capable of outbursts which managed to cut through Noseda’s thick orchestral texture. In the finale, his transformation was impressive, his desperation palpable. Ekaterina Sannikova has the perfect physique du rôle for Tatyana (who is supposed to be 17 in Act 1). Her soprano was at times not homogeneous; light, subdued phrases suddenly exploding in powerful, resounding high notes. This was much more evident at the beginning; my feeling was that she was trying to whiten her voice to convey the freshness of youth. In the Letter Scene and in the last act, her voice sounded much more uniformly round and velvety. In any case, her high notes were big and beautiful, and she gave a passionate interpretation of the character, with fine acting.
Benjamin Bernheim was a great Lensky, his high, bright tenor and youthful physical appearance are perfect. I have always thought that Lensky has the best music in this opera, and Bernheim gave a beautiful interpretation. His “Kuda, kuda” was deeply moving and heartfelt. I cannot judge his Russian, but we could hear the prompter from Row 8 of the orchestra stalls during this aria, which made me jokingly think he may have been frustrated!
Vitalij Kowaljow, as Prince Gremin, gave a wonderful rendition of his aria “Lyubvi vse vozrasty pokorny” with great legato and feeling. I have heard this singer many times, but I never appreciated him as much as in this occasion. Rachael Wilson was a suitably spirited Olga, and all the “minor” characters – Stefanie Schaefer as Larina, Irène Friedli as Filippyevna, Nathan Haller as Triquet – were enjoyable and committed, with special mention for Amin Ahangaran as Zaretsky.
