The long-awaited operatic event of the year is finally upon us: the Bolshoi Opera’s first visit to Israel and their production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. This opera will sum up the 2012-2013 season at the Israel Opera, which has featured operas based on great works of world literature.
The character of Eugene Onegin was the basis for the “superfluous man” – a Russian equivalent of the Byronic hero, who was reborn after Pushkin in the writings of Turgenev and Lermontov. Onegin is a young Russian dandy with a cynical attitude towards love and life. Through his friend Lensky he meets Tatiana, who falls in love with him. He rebuffs her and she marries another man. At a country ball, he dances with Lensky’s betrothed, angering the younger man. Though they both realize the absurdity of it, they duel, and Onegin kills his friend, and flees. When he finally returns years later, Onegin approaches Tatiana again, but she turns him away, leaving him devastated.
Tchaikovsky himself arranged the libretto with the assistance of Konstantin Shilovsky. Their text is closely based on Pushkin’s original novel-in-verse. Just as the novel became a standing-stone of Russian literary canon, Tchaikovsky’s opera has remained a favorite. It’s one of the most performed operas in the world today (#16 on Operabase). At the helm of this production is controversial director Dmitri Tcherniakov, who has received accolades for his arresting productions of Dialogues des carmélites, Don Giovanni and Macbeth.
Eugene Onegin premieres Monday, June 24 at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. Purchase tickets via the Israel Opera’s website www.israel-opera.co.il or by phone at 03-692-7777. Ticket holders can enjoy a pre-performance lecture half an hour before curtain time.
