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Music
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Libretto
Konstantin
Shilovsky and
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
English
version by
David Lloyd-Jones
Director
Julia Hollander
Conductor
Jonathan
Darlington
Set
Designer
Fotini Dimou
Cast:
Tatyana
Catrin Wyn-Davies
Olga
Louise Poole
Madame
Larina
Yvonne Howard
Filippyevna
Susan Gorton
Vladimir
Lensky
Gwyn Hughes
Jones
Eugene
Onegin
Gerald Finley
Prince
Gremin
Peter Rose |
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Coliseum
10 - 25 June 2005 |
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Tchaikovsky's
Eugene
Onegin,
based on Pushkin's poem, is
a simple story about Madame
Larina's two children, Tatyana
and Olga. Lensky (who is courting
Olga), brings a visitor to
the Larina house, Eugene Onegin.
Tatyana (usually buried in
romantic novels) falls immediately
and desperately in love with
Onegin, and stays up all night
writing him a love letter,
which he receives the next
day and rejects her out of
hand. Years later (after killing
Lensky in a duel) Onegin meets
Olga again, this time falls
desperately in love with her,
but she is now married to
Prince Gremin and it is her
turn to reject him. In 1877
Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother
from that it was the humanity
and simplicity of the story
that he liked, which made
up for what he called its
lack of theatricality and
movement.
In my view there are three
problems with Julia Hollander's
production (now revived by
the ENO for the third time),
and one major draw which makes
up for them. First, she tries
to make up for the lack of
theatricality and movement
in the story with acting that
is so over the top that I
can only describe it as hammy.
In another letter Tchaikovsky
said that he wrote the opera
sincerely, to express a human
feeling (himself in total
despair at a loveless marriage).
But rather than conveying
an intensely moving tale of
sincere love and rejection,
this feels like a series of
teenage crushes, like one
of Tatyana's slushy novels,
with which the sincerity of
the real thing should be juxtaposed
and not likened. The second
problem is the conventional
staging, which although attractive,
does nothing to add depth.
The third is the clanging
rhymes of David Lloyd Jones's
translation. It is ironic
that at the time of the ENO's
decision to introduce sur-titles
they should stage a production
whose words are entirely lucid,
but left me wishing it had
been in Russian.
However, the huge success
is the superb singing and
conducting. Gerard Finley
in particular is sublime,
but there is not a weak link
among the cast. This is a
hugely pleasurable concert,
but not an intense emotional
experience.
Maya Lester |
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