Lyrical scenes Eugene Onegin. Opera "Eugene Onegin"
P.I.Tchaikovsky - "Eugene Onegin"
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EUGENE ONEGIN -
opera (lyrical scenes) in three acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a libretto by composer K. Shilovsky, based on the novel of the same name in verse by A.S. Pushkin.
Time of action: the 20s of the XIX century.
Location: village and Petersburg.
First performance: Moscow, March 17 (29), 1879.
In March 1877, the singer Elizaveta Lavrovskaya advised P.I. Tchaikovsky to take "Eugene Onegin" by A.S. Pushkin as a plot for the opera. At first, this thought seemed absurd to Tchaikovsky. He declares that "Onegin" is a "holy book", which he would not dare to touch even in a dream. But soon this idea captures him.
"In Eugene Onegin" the heroine, Tatyana, writes a letter to Eugene, in which she confesses her love to him. Eugene tells her that he cannot answer with mutual love, cannot marry. The result is tragedy.
That same spring of 1877, Tchaikovsky received passionate love letters from a certain Antonina Milyukova, a twenty-four-year-old student at the conservatory whom Tchaikovsky could hardly remember having ever met. Tchaikovsky has absolutely no love for his real correspondent, and he does the same as Onegin did: he writes a polite cold answer that he cannot answer with mutual love. But another letter comes from her, full of passionate feelings, and Tchaikovsky goes to Antonina Milyukova to look at her. He marries her (July 6, 1877). The result is tragedy (three weeks later he flees the marriage).
The scene of Tatyana's letter was written first. Tatyana Larina and Antonina Milyukova unite in the painfully excited consciousness of the composer, giving birth to the marvelous sound of the orchestra and the melody of Tatyana's confession: "... That is the supreme council, / That is the will of heaven: I am yours!"
Despite the fact that the libretto of the opera greatly simplified the content side of the novel by A.S. Pushkin, his language and style as a whole cause less protest than happens in similar cases of referring to other Pushkin's creations. In most cases, the librettists "straightened" Pushkin's text, that is, they transferred it from the narrative into the direct speech of the characters. Here is just one example of such an operation:
A.S. Pushkin:
Chapter Eight, XII
Onegin (I'll take care of him again),
Killing a friend in a duel
Having lived without a goal, without labor
Until the age of twenty-six
Languishing in idle leisure
Couldn't do anything.
Chaikovsky:
Onegin (to himself)
Killing a friend in a duel
Having lived without a goal, without labor
Until the age of twenty-six
Languishing in the inactivity of leisure
No service, no wife, no business,
I didn't have time to take care of myself.
In less than a year - January 20, 1878 - "Eugene Onegin" was completed (in Italy, in San Remo). Tchaikovsky sends the piano score of the opera not to the one he embodied in the image of Tatyana, not to Antonina Milyukova, who dreamed of always being with him, but to Nadezhda von Meck, who admired Tchaikovsky and patronized him, but in a difficult to explain way always avoided - and escaped - a personal meeting with him.
ACT I
A short orchestral introduction introduces the listener into the world of Tatyana's poetic dreams and spiritual impulses. It is entirely based on a recurring motif - "Tatyana's sequence", as B. Asafiev called it.
Picture 1. The Larins' estate is a house and a garden adjacent to it. It's evening. Larina and the nanny are making jam. From the house you can hear the singing of Tatyana and Olga. Their duet sounds (“Have you heard the voice of the night beyond the grove / The singer of love, the singer of sorrow?”). The voices of Larina (mother) and the nanny are woven into the duet. For Larina the mother, the singing of her daughters evokes memories of her own youth. She indulges in these memories with her nanny (Filippievna), and at first the duet now becomes a female quartet (“They sing, and I sang”). The result of the reasoning of the two old women is an unpretentious philosophy: “The habit is given to us from above - it is a substitute for happiness” (this maxim passed exactly from the novel to the opera; A. Pushkin himself in the notes to the novel reveals the source of his borrowing - Chateaubriand: “If I had recklessness still believe in happiness, I would look for it in a habit").
The peasants approach with a song. They return from the field and bring the mistress - according to the old custom - a sheaf as a sign of the end of the harvest. The sing-along sings the song (“My little legs hurt / From walking ...”); Horus picks her up. The youth starts a round dance with a sheaf, the rest sing. Tatyana with a book in her hands and Olga come out of the house onto the balcony. The choir of peasants sounds (“Just like on a bridge-bridge”).
Tatyana admits that she loves “to the sounds of these songs / Sometimes dreams are carried away somewhere, / Somewhere far away ...” Olga, carefree and cheerful, these feelings are unfamiliar. She sings about this in the wonderful aria “I am not capable of languid sadness” (The music of this aria, it must be said, on the contrary, refutes this statement of Olga; perhaps the composer meant to make her sneer at the sighing dreamers, which could be very interesting and spectacular, but Olga almost never acts in the opera and, consequently, nowhere else appears in a cheerful and playful way, so we have to take her word for it, without receiving confirmation of this in music.)
The noise of wheels and the sound of bells of the approaching carriage are heard. The nanny enters hastily with a Cossack; she reports that “Lensky gentleman has arrived, Mr. Onegin is with him!”. Vladimir Lensky, a neighbor of the Larins, is youthfully enthusiastic and romantically in love with Olga. His friend Evgeny has come (he is Lensky's neighbor) to visit from St. Petersburg and is bored in the countryside. And so they pay a visit to the Larins. Onegin's attention is immediately attracted by "the one who is sad and silent, like Svetlana," that is, Tatyana (Tchaikovsky leaves this Pushkin allusion to V.A. Zhukovsky, in whom Svetlana is the heroine of the ballad of the same name: "... Silent and sad / Dear Svetlana"). The impressions of their arrival are expressed in the quartet of the main characters (the second pair, of course, are Olga and Tatyana). But if Onegin and Lensky are engaged in a dialogue, then the girls indulge in their thoughts, each separately. Finally, Lensky approaches Olga. Onegin looks at Tatyana, who is thoughtful for some time, then goes up to her. It turns out that yesterday Lensky saw Olga, but a day apart for him is “an eternity!”. Lensky and Olga go into the depths of the garden. Onegin starts a conversation with Tatyana. Onegin somewhat aloofly asks Tatyana if she is bored in the countryside. She replies that no, she reads a lot, sometimes dreams. “And I once was like that! ..” Onegin rather sluggishly supports the conversation. Continuing to talk, they retire along the garden alley. Olga and Lensky are returning again. He passionately declares his love for her - his aria sounds (one of the best in the opera) "I love you, I love you, Olga." The first picture ends at the pinnacle of romantic illusions of love and friendship. Larina and the nanny come out of the house. It's getting dark. The hosts invite guests to the house. Tatyana and Onegin slowly walk from the pond to the house, followed by a nanny at a distance. Onegin manages to tell a little about his uncle ("My uncle - the most honest rules"). The result of everything - in her own way - is summed up by the nanny: “Didn’t she (Tatyana. - A.M.) like this new gentleman? ..”
Picture 2. Tatiana's room Late evening. Tatyana is excited; she is in love with Onegin and does not find a place for herself. Tatyana's motive makes it clear to the listener that she will be the main character in this picture. Against the background of this motive, Tatyana's conversation with the nanny takes place. The old woman complains of a bad memory. At Tatyana's request to tell if she was in love, the nanny says that she was thirteen years old when she was asked to marry (and the groom was a year younger). In the end, Tatyana can no longer restrain her feelings. She exclaims: "Oh, nanny, nanny, I suffer, I yearn." Filippyevna is excited to see if Tatiana is well. But no, it's not a matter of illness, and Tatyana sends the nanny away to be left alone. Cantilena "Let me die" precedes the scene of the letter: "I am writing to you." The hand slides over the paper. But Tatyana does not like what she wrote. She starts over. The orchestral accompaniment perfectly conveys the disturbing indecision. But here is the letter. Turns out it's been a whole night. The sun is rising. Tatyana opens the window. She hears the shepherd's horn playing. Nanny enters. Tatyana asks the nanny to send her grandson to take the letter to Onegin, but in such a way that no one knows about it. Nanny leaves with a letter. Tatyana sits down at the table and, leaning on her elbows, again plunges into thought.
Picture 3. A secluded corner of the garden at the Larins' estate. Yard girls pick berries. Their choir sounds (“Girls, beauties”). An agitated Tatyana runs in and collapses on the bench in exhaustion. Onegin arrived and now he will be here. She anxiously awaits an answer to her letter. Onegin appears and approaches Tatyana. Onegin is courteous, he is touched by Tatyana's sincerity. But he cannot answer her love, since that would be tantamount to marriage, and marriage is a habit, and a habit is the end of love. With resentment and pain, Tatyana listens to Onegin's moralizing.
ACT II
Picture 1. A ball in the Larins' house (Tchaikovsky's libretto does not have the slightest hint of the time of year when this event takes place; Pushkin, on the other hand, dates it exactly: "Tatyana's name day / On Saturday" - that is, winter, more precisely on January 25 (in other words, between the first and the second act has passed six months). Thus, this is a ball in honor of Tatyana Larina. Young people are dancing. Elderly guests sit in groups and talk, watching the dancers. Everyone praises the feast, which was a success. Among the dancers, Tatyana and Onegin, attracting the attention of ladies. Ladies gossip about Onegin. Passing by them, he hears their unflattering judgments about himself. This makes him angry; he scolds himself that he came to "this stupid ball." And he decides to take revenge on Lensky: "I will look after Olga!" all the dances he invites only her. Now Lensky comes into indignation. He tries to talk to Olga, but his jealousy annoys her. He again invites her to dance, but she prefers Onegin. Olga and Onegin move away from Lensky. Towards them moves more animatedly a group of young ladies. Trike is with them. He proclaims (in the form of couplets "What a beautiful day this is") a dithyramb in honor of Tatyana. Everyone likes Trike's couplets. Dancing resumes. Onegin again dances with Olga; Lensky is becoming more and more gloomy with jealousy. Having finished dancing (it was a cotillion - a ballroom dance that combines a waltz, a mazurka and a polka), Onegin starts a conversation with Lensky. A quarrel breaks out. In a fit of anger, the offended Lensky challenges Onegin. There is general confusion. Everyone unsuccessfully tries to reconcile former friends, but to no avail. Duels are inevitable.
Picture 2. The old abandoned mill is the place designated for the duel. Early winter morning. Lensky and his second Zaretsky are waiting for Onegin. Lensky thinks longingly about the possible outcome of the duel. His aria “Where, where, where have you gone, / Golden days of my spring?” - one of the most brilliant pages not only of Onegin, but, perhaps, in the entire operatic heritage of Tchaikovsky. Appears - belatedly - Onegin, along with his valet (he is also his second) Guillot. There are formal explanations about the upcoming duel. While the seconds are preparing for the duel, our heroes indulge in thoughts about what happened: each to himself, they sing a duet: “Enemies! .. How long have we been separated from each other / Bloodlust took us away?” But now all hesitations are discarded: the laws of honor are above all. Zaretsky spreads opponents to the required distance and gives them pistols. Guillot hides behind a tree. “Now get together,” Zaretsky commands. He claps his hands three times. Opponents take four steps forward and start aiming. Onegin shoots first. Lensky falls. He is killed. Onegin clutches his head in horror.
ACT III
Ball at one of the St. Petersburg dignitaries. The guests dance the polonaise. (This brilliant orchestral piece is often performed as an independent number in symphony concerts.) Onegin is also invited to the ball in this house. He looks absently at the dancers. He's incredibly bored. He is only twenty-six years old, but he already feels tired of life. The guests are discussing his return from wanderings and his appearance here in St. Petersburg. Among those invited to the ball is Onegin's old friend, Prince Gremin (they use "you", although the prince is much older than Onegin). The prince enters arm in arm with Tatyana. Onegin is amazed: “Is it really Tatyana?” It turns out that she is Gremin's wife now. The prince sings his famous aria “All ages are submissive to love”, as if letting Onegin know that his time for love, despite all his disappointment, has not yet passed. And Onegin really falls in love. He falls madly in love with... Tatyana. He is amazed: “Is it really the same Tatyana, whom I am alone with, / In a deaf, distant side, / In the good fervor of moralizing, / Did you ever read instructions?” But Tatyana and her husband leave, and the disappointed hero recalls the motive and even the words of the object of his passion: “Let me die,” Onegin now sings, “but first ...” (and so on; of course, in a baritone key). “But what was appropriate in the mouth of a dreamy heroine,” notes one of the composer’s contemporaries (V.S. Baskin, the author of the first attempt to characterize the composer’s work), “does not at all suit the high-society dandy Onegin.” Onegin leaves quickly. The guests are dancing ecossaise.
Picture 2. Now it is Onegin's turn to write a letter to Tatyana. And he wrote. The scene takes place in one of the rooms in Prince Gremin's house. Tatyana, crying, reads Onegin's letter. “Oh, how hard it is for me,” she sings. Enter Onegin. Seeing Tatyana, he quickly approaches her and falls on his knees in front of her. Tatiana tries to be cold. Onegin prays for love. Their duet is full of beautiful pages. But Tatyana remains faithful to her husband. "Goodbye forever!" are her last words. The last groan that escaped from Onegin's soul: "Shame! .. Longing! .. Oh, my miserable lot!" - unusually dramatically conveyed by Tchaikovsky (it is a pity that there are too few such phrases in the title part).
A. Maykapar
HISTORY OF CREATION
In May 1877, the singer E. A. Lavrovskaya advised Tchaikovsky to write an opera based on the plot of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin". At first, this idea seemed to the composer, according to him, wild, but soon he was so carried away by it that in one night he wrote a script and set to music. Tchaikovsky admired Pushkin. His knowledge of life, the character of a Russian person, a subtle understanding of Russian nature, the musicality of the verse aroused admiration in the composer. The libretto was written by him in collaboration with K. S. Shilovsky (1849-1893). From Pushkin's novel in verse, "an encyclopedia of Russian life," as V. G. Belinsky called it, Tchaikovsky took only what was connected with the spiritual world and personal destinies of Pushkin's heroes, modestly calling his opera "lyrical scenes."
In a letter to his student, the famous composer S. I. Taneyev, Tchaikovsky wrote: “I am looking for an intimate, but strong drama based on a conflict of positions that I have experienced or seen, which can hurt me to the quick.” "Eugene Onegin" was for the composer the ideal of such a drama. Tchaikovsky was worried about the fate of his opera, in which there were no traditional stage effects, and the performance required maximum simplicity and sincerity. Therefore, he decided to entrust its first performance to young people - students of the Moscow Conservatory. On March 17 (29), 1879, the premiere of "Eugene Onegin" took place. Soon, with great success, the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (1881), where its 1500th performance took place in 1963, and at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg (1884) and became one of the most popular works.
MUSIC
"Eugene Onegin" is an unsurpassed example of a lyrical opera in which Pushkin's poetry harmoniously merged with beautiful, soulful music, full of heartfelt warmth and drama. With amazing perfection, Tchaikovsky described Tatyana's ethically beautiful appearance, emphasizing Russian national features in it.
A short orchestral introduction introduces Tatyana into the world of poetic dreams and spiritual impulses.
There are three scenes in the first act. The first describes the background of the action in a multifaceted way and introduces the audience to the images of the main characters. The duet of Tatyana and Olga "Heard a Ling", close to the Russian everyday romance, is imbued with a serene elegiac mood. The voices of the girls are joined by the dialogue between Larina and Filippyevna: the duet turns into a quartet. In the scene with the peasants, the lingering song “My legs are hurting soon” is replaced by the perky comic “It’s like over a bridge-bridge”. The aria “I am not capable of languid sadness” gives a portrait of the carefree and frisky Olga. In Lensky's lyrically enthusiastic arioso "I love you, Olga", the image of an ardent, romantic young man appears.
In the center of the second picture is the image of Tatyana. The nanny's story, sustained in a calm narrative manner, is opposed to her excited speeches. In the scene of the letter, with remarkable psychological sensitivity, various mental states of the heroine are captured: a passionate impulse, timidity, desperate determination, and, finally, the affirmation of love. Tatyana's confusion is expressively set off by the symphonic panorama of the sunrise.
In the center of the third picture is Onegin's aria “If only life were at home”, framed by a transparent and bright choir of girls; Onegin's restrained and measured speech is only briefly enlivened by a warm feeling.
The second act opens with a fascinating waltz. Triquet's naive-innocent couplets "What a beautiful day this is" and other everyday episodes create a contrast to the quarrel scene; the tense dramatic dialogue of the characters sounds against the backdrop of a mazurka. Arioso Lensky "In your house" - a heartfelt memory of the past; Onegin, Tatyana, Olga and Larina gradually join the gentle, smooth melody, and then the excited choir of guests.
At the beginning of the fifth picture (the second picture of the second act), Lensky's elegiac aria “Where, where have you gone, my golden days of spring” sounds; her music is full of sadness, bright memories and painful forebodings; it conquers melodic beauty and sincerity of expression. The duet of Lensky and Onegin "Enemies, Enemies" conveys a state of gloomy meditation. The melody of Lensky's dying aria sounds tragically in the orchestra, completing the picture.
Scene six (act three) begins with a solemn polonaise. Gremin's aria “All ages are submissive to love” is imbued with noble, courageous lyricism. In the final arioso of Onegin, reflecting the love that has flared up in him, a passionate melody sounds from the scene of Tatyana's letter.
In the center of the seventh picture, the duet of Tatyana and Onegin is an agitated, full of emotional contrasts, ending with a rapid rise and a dramatic breakdown.
There are operas that make up the golden fund of mankind. Among them, "Eugene Onegin" is in one of the first places.
We will take one of the greatest arias and listen to how it sounds performed by different singers.
The opera Eugene Onegin was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in May 1877 (Moscow) - February 1878 in San Remo. The composer also worked on it in Kamenka. In May 1877, the singer E. A. Lavrovskaya suggested that the composer write an opera based on the plot of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin". Tchaikovsky was soon taken with the offer and wrote the script and set to music in one night. In a letter to the composer S. I. Taneyev, Tchaikovsky wrote: “I am looking for an intimate, but strong drama based on the conflict of positions that I have experienced or seen, which can hurt my soul.” First production on March 17 (29), 1879 at the Maly Theater by students of the Moscow Conservatory, conductor N. G. Rubinstein, Lensky's part - M. E. Medvedev. Production at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater on January 11 (23), 1881 (conductor E.-M. Beviniani).
In 1999, Baskov sang in the restored performance of the Bolshoi Theater "Eugene Onegin" by Lensky. Here is what the newspapers wrote about this event: "It is unlikely that anyone will deny that the famous aria of Lensky" Where, where have you gone ", performed by Nikolai Baskov, is the vocal pearl of the performance. He sits alone on stage - small and lonely. He does not need no gestures, no facial expressions, no stage competitions with more experienced partners.Here reigns his voice and his lyrical soul.And no "Bravo!" clackers, no memories of the Jester’s lines from the Royal Games on TVC (“That’s cool!”) Will overshadow our tender memories of a charming young tenor against the backdrop of the winter “Pushkin’s” Black River before a deadly duel at the Bolshoi Theater ... "But there were and other statements. Baskov's descent began from this role. First listen to him, and then let's figure out how the Basques turned out to be unnecessary on the opera stage in Russia?
How did the Basques come to such a life? In 1999, Spiegel was introduced to Baskov by G. Seleznev, Chairman of our State. Duma.
Baskov himself said that "... In fact, my career began thanks to him (Seleznev). Alexander Morozov, the composer, heard me in a military hospital and decided that a singer with a classical voice should sing his songs. We began to try something , and then I performed at the Theater of the Soviet Army, where Gennady Seleznev and my future producer Boris Shpigel were. And then, at the request of Gennady Nikolaevich, Boris Isaakovich decided to pursue my creative career. "
Spiegel's daughter, Svetlana, liked the Basques, and in 2000 there appeared a SERIES of curious reviews of Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" restored by B. Pokrovsky at the Bolshoi Theater
In one of them, the newspaper Kommersant wrote "They restored the production of 1944 in the scenery of Pyotr Williams. In this production, Lemeshev and Kozlovsky became famous in 1944. Today, the trainee of the Bolshoi Theater Nikolai Baskov, better known as a box-office pop singer, sang the part of Lensky.
The scenery was restored, but it was more difficult to restore the musical part to the same level. Although Nikolai Baskov is sitting in the same position and in the same suit that Lemeshev was sitting, the similarity ends there. The young singer has good vocal material and distinct diction, but lacks schooling, which cannot be replaced by performances with a microphone. His colleagues sing no better and no worse; everyone lacks elementary precision, brightness, brilliance, acting energy; the exception is the impeccable Hayk Martirosyan as Gremin. An experienced conductor Mark Ermler leads the opera in a very inconsistent way: he either removes the sonority of the orchestra to the limit, or drowns out the singers; the pace of knitting, and the contrasts are too frank.
"Eugene Onegin", the first semi-premier of the season, goes entirely according to the department of the merits of the former leadership. Gennady Rozhdestvensky, who became the theatre's artistic director in September, did not delete this production from the season's plans. This means that "Onegin" will go on, pleasing to the eye and upsetting the ear. The level of the opera troupe will soon become the main problem for the new owners of the country's first stage."
The note was titled - "Onegin's dress was repaired, but they could not put in a voice."
Using the example of Nikolai Baskov, we made sure that
Today's opera world is often cruel and unfair. Breaking into it, especially without influential patrons, is almost impossible. Vocal data alone is not enough here. You must have a good figure, good looks, and at the same time have a steely character and great willpower.
And how Basque started well with L. Kazarnovskaya in 2000 (Weber's Phantom of the Opera)!
Superbly Basque sang Canio's aria in the Pagliacci opera in 2008 in Greece. (We perceive him only in the show as a clown)
If Baskov has enough willpower to resist vulgarity, then more than once he will sing in Vienna in my favorite Musikverein hall
After Baskov became the host of the TV show "Marriage Agency", he will NEVER get away from vulgarity. And he should NEVER sing in this great hall. How weak is man!
But he brought the most unconventional production of Eugene Onegin to Moscow on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater Latvian National Opera House. But that's okay. Latvians have always hated everything Russian, well, they changed Tchaikovsky's masterpiece in a modern way.
It is disgusting to live when instead of culture ... politics! - our humorist M. Zadornov wrote in his blog. , talking about this production of the LNO.
The modern interpretation of Tchaikovsky's opera on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater is a proven move. The production of "Eugene Onegin" by Dmitry Chernyakov" has been sold out for the seventh year already. The Latvian version in Riga is no less popular, people from all over the Baltics come to see it. It is no less original: Evgeny goes to fashion presentations, Tatiana maintains a blog. the main character is a table, then the main image of Latvian scenography is a huge transforming bed, which can be a table, a wooden platform, or a battlefield. It is on it that the duel of Onegin and Lensky takes place. " A person spends a significant part of his life in bed, - the director explained. - There they conceive children, give birth, sleep, see good and bad dreams, this is a place for joy, but at the same time for loneliness. And it is also a place of death. The bed in our "Onegin" is a symbolic image". says Andrejs Žagaris, director of the LNO. An interesting personality, he was both a film actor and an entrepreneur, and now he has become the director of an opera performance.
Interestingly, the Mikhailovsky Theater is now run by the "banana king" Kekhman. Theater, Universities, Nanotechnologies, Medicine are now in the hands of managers. Where will they take our culture?
According to the director of the Latvian version Andrejs Žagars, in 50 years the appearance on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater Onegin with the latest model of the phone in his hands will be quite natural. This will mean that another page of the "encyclopedia of Russian life" has been turned over. (It would be nice if Russian culture would go down at all - Andrejs meant it) Although his "Eugene Onegin" lives in the 21st century, he is experiencing the same thing as in the 19th. “We are talking about the Tatyana and Onegin who live now. I think that in society there is such an image of Onegin, for which parents created a material environment so that a person could study somewhere in London, Paris, America, did not realize himself there, returned back, ”explains the director.
As for the performing staff, it is absolutely wonderful in the Onegin in Riga. In one of the first productions in the Riga theater, Tatyana was sung by a star from Azerbaijan, Dinara Aliyeva.
You can listen to the entire opera performed by artists Latvian National Opera and then we'll talk.
A very interesting cast of performers was brought to Moscow from Riga. World-class star Christina Opolais, who has just made her successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera, will perform as Tatiana. In the title part - a young Latvian singer Janis Apeinis. Lensky is sung by the Czech tenor Pavel Chernokh, whose international career has become more and more impressive in recent years. The role of Olga is played by the Polish singer Małgorzata Panko.
This performance was born on the stage of the New Riga Theatre, it was staged by Alvis Hermanis, a director of a new kind, who declares: "Shakespeare is not an authority for me at all. He is only interested in the manifestation of human nature at the level of instincts. He does not rise above the three lower chakras. Revenge, envy, kill-love - everything is involved in animal instincts. What him for stories? If a boy's mother got married, then why start killing relatives in twenty minutes? Or "Othello"? It's all called "domestic crime". It makes sense to make performances about him in a prison drama club. Maybe these plays where the characters strangle and kill each other when they get into trouble. Usually people don't behave like that. I don't understand the logic of their behavior. It's completely alien to me." So why take and destroy the classics? What goals do these people pursue from culture? In the performance of Alvis Hermanis "Onegin" - this is not a classic and not innovative production of Pushkin's novel in verse, but ironic sketches that overthrow the great classic from the pedestal. Alexander Sergeevich appears as a sexually anxious primate with sideburns. But no one encroached on Pushkin's poems - they sound in the Latvian theater in Russian. It's not all harmless! Alvis Hermanis is a master of provocations. He works for a viewer who is disgusted by the mothball theater. Bold, ironic, often discouraging interpretations - this is how they work in this theater. Why else would it be called new? It is clear that an academic reading of the classics is out of the question here. Harry Gailit, a theater critic from Latvia, writes in his review of Hermanis' play that it is a parody of Russians. Yeah, DO NOT TOUCH RUSSIAN CULTURE, please.
On July 29th (the day of the premiere) 2007 another festival squalor was presented in Salzburg. It was Eugene Onegin. Cast: Onegin - Peter Mattei Tatiana - Anna Samuil Lensky - Josef Kaiser Olga - Ekaterina Gubanova Larina - Rene Morlock Filippievna - Emma Sargsyan Gremin - Ferruccio Furlanetto Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor - Daniel Barenboim Director - Andrea Bret
Musically, the show looks good. Anna Samuil is very good as Tatyana, Ekaterina Gubanova sounds convincing as Olga. Onegin - the Swedish baritone Peter Mattei - is perhaps the best foreigner today who dares to sing this part. The famous bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, who sings Gremin in the uniform of a Soviet general, is very colorful.
As for directing and scenography... Well, that's how they see us. The only thing missing is a bear drinking vodka from a samovar, and everything else is in abundance. It is believed that the action of the opera was transferred to the 70s of the 20th century. See and judge for yourself
Well, a completely unconventional interpretation of the opera "Eugene Onegin" was proposed by the Polish director Krystof Warlikowski, famous for his saying about modern theater : ." Art will be saved by homosexuals and Jews: they look at everything as if from the outside, this is very creatively fruitful. There is drama in this - not in a psychiatric, but in a purely theatrical sense.".
The Polish director Krzysztof Warlikovsky, having taken up the production of "Eugene Onegin", either out of personal convictions, or to attract attention, endowed Pushkin's hero with a non-traditional sexual orientation.
Now, for the German viewer, the "cherished monogram" OE should mean the initials of a Russian gay who killed his lover in a duel.
It is because of this unfortunate detail that Onegin and Tatiana do not have a relationship at the Bavarian Opera. While the poor maiden mourns her unfulfilled dream of a longing homosexual, the hero of her novel is obviously not happy either, tormented by memories of her beloved man Lensky, who had to be killed in order, as the director told an NTV correspondent, to perform an "act of self-affirmation." "He kind of screams: I'm not a homosexual!" - explains the Polish director to the Russian people the true meaning of "Eugene Onegin". I wonder if he wants to call himself the ideal reader for whom the great Russian poet wrote his novel in verse? And did Alexander Sergeevich imagine an admirer of his work in the 21st century (if he imagined him at all)?
Apparently, fortunately, Pushkin could not even imagine the situation in which a love triangle would develop (!) Almost two centuries after the book was written.
In addition to modern clothes and a TV on the stage, which should create a relaxed atmosphere, the interior of the men's strip club at the Larins' ball also adds to the relaxed atmosphere. And all this - under the "gay" music of Tchaikovsky.
Well, why not a beautiful and correct interpretation of the work about the mysterious Russian soul?
But that's not all. The second act, according to unfortunate eyewitnesses, among other things, includes a polonaise performed by cowboys, referring the viewer to the gay western Brokeback Mountain. Obviously, according to Varlikovsky, it is this masterpiece that should fully explain to the Germans the meaning of "Eugene Onegin".
Krzysztof Warlikowski creates a world that has just tasted the fruits of the sexual revolution and is all permeated with its currents (which is in perfect harmony with the sensual music of Tchaikovsky). Tatyana, dreaming about Onegin, literally rolls on the floor, fiddling with a short nightgown. Explaining herself to Onegin in the garden, she not metaphorically, but literally hangs herself around his neck, wrapping her legs around his torso. To entertain the guests who have gathered for Tatyana's name day, Larina-mama invites an ensemble of strippers. Their strip act turns women on (the mistress of the house puts the fee in the shorts of the artists, patting them approvingly) and has an exciting effect on Onegin.
Krzysztof Warlikowski in Eugene Onegin offers love between Onegin and Lensky with a duel in a double bed and Tatiana, who is obsessed with sex and smokes marijuana (the last Munich premiere).
In the German play, Eugene (Michael Fole) rejects Tatiana's love, not because he is fed up with female charms, but because he is attracted to men. He is frankly jealous of Lensky for Olga, trying to upset his friend's passion. And at the moment of a decisive explanation, Onegin sticks an ardent and long kiss on Lensky's lips. The duel takes place on a double bed. Outside the window, brave cowboys are having fun with an inflatable woman. The duelists take off their jackets and shirts for a long time and sit down on the bed. Lensky awkwardly reaches for his friend. Shot. And Onegin for a long time with bewilderment examines the body of his murdered friend, who squeezed his knee in the last gentle embrace. Huge transparent windows are drawn by blue velvet curtains. And around Onegin, bare-chested cowboys dance to the sounds of a polonaise. Then they will tease the hero by arranging an erotic fashion show in ladies' outfits - from evening dresses to swimsuits.
This is the scene of the "duel" of Onegin and Lensky.
Lensky became Onegin's lover before the start of the opera, and then for some reason defected to Olga, whom he intends to marry. From jealousy, Onegin completely loses his head and decides to take revenge by caring for Olga. It is clear that in such a situation he does not care about Tatyana's feelings at all. The duel, if you can call it that, takes place in a hotel room, just next to the bed.
Is it worth wondering why Onegin rejected "the soul of a trusting confession, an innocent outpouring of love"? The local Eugene (Michael Volle) - red-haired, well-groomed, with sideburns - with a grimace of genuine disgust shoves Tatiana who jumped on him, and even accompanies this with sanctimonious teachings: "Learn to rule yourself." During a quarrel in the Larins' house, Onegin tries to reconcile with Lensky (Christoph Strehl) with a passionate kiss, and a duel between friends takes place on a double bed in a hotel room.
After the murder of Lensky, Onegin changes his sexual orientation and falls in love with Tatyana.
And these are drunken cowboys right after the duel. Depict, in all likelihood, the conscience of Onegin.
Shot. And Onegin for a long time with bewilderment examines the body of his murdered friend, who squeezed his knee in the last gentle embrace. Huge transparent windows are drawn by blue velvet curtains. And around Onegin, bare-chested cowboys dance to the sounds of a polonaise. Then they will tease the hero by arranging an erotic fashion show in ladies' outfits - from evening dresses to swimsuits.
So we have seen that among the "killers" of culture, Chernyakov still does not occupy the highest position.
Musical theater today ceases to be musical - this is another, already obvious, serious illness. This is especially clearly expressed in critical articles, where conductors are now only mentioned and the quality of the production is determined, first of all, by the name of the director and the presence of spectacularly outrageous stage action. The director does not come from the music. The music just gets in the way sometimes. He doesn't care who sings and how. And the public began to go to the directors, not the performers. The director-manager became the main director in the theater. And the opera house is turning from a repertoire to an enterprise. It is also indicative that critics welcome the situation when stage and musical interpretations have no common ground at all and exist in parallel. The indifference that is shown today to the musical content and culture of the opera performance prompted the conductors to humility and retreat into the shadows.
We've been talking about tenors, but I think it's appropriate to end by showing you my favorite final scene from Eugene Onegin performed by Dmitri Hvorostovsky and René Fleming at the Metropolitan Opera. Nobody can do it better.
Rene Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ramon Vargas in Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" Recorded by the Metropolitan Opera (2007). Performers: choir and orchestra of the theater "Metropolitan Opera". In the main parties: Onegin - Dmitry Hvorostovsky. Tatyana - Rene Fleming, Lensky - Ramon Vargas. Opening speech by Svyatoslav Belza.
And fell in love with Tchaikovsky's music thanks to the film "Eugene Onegin" in the late 50s. Then I listened to this opera in Odessa, in the famous opera house, where the unforgettable Lemeshev sang Lensky.
Today, all talk about the future of the opera house often comes down to the problem of attracting a young audience to the opera. And here one more disease of the modern opera theater is clearly drawn, expressed in the persistent desire to please the young, and in any way. If we sum up all the trends in fashion and trade, in the entertainment industry, in television and radio broadcasting, then it has long been obvious that everything today is focused on the age of up to 25 and much younger, as if everyone else has already died and does not need clothes, food and attention. Teenager's "outfit" penetrated into intonation and vocabulary, plasticity and facial expressions. Communications have become teenage fast: slang, special terminology, sms, chat - everything is devoid of "complexity" and "complex subordination". And all this together is distinguished by a striking snobbery, based only on a sense of the priority of youth. Although, until modern times, knowledge was considered the basis for snobbery, first of all. Somehow it even became ashamed and indecent to restrain one's instincts and desires, to grow up and grow wiser, to operate with knowledge and emotional experience. The range of topics and ideas narrowed down to a teenage energetic and cheerful, devoid of vibration of chiaroscuro, a sense of life. Against the backdrop of all kinds of industries, the theater also changed its orientation - meaningful (not to educate, but to entertain) and formal (in no case do not talk about anything difficult, long, lengthy). The main thing is attractive, entertaining, extravagant and recognizable, like brands of well-known companies. The stage form of a fashionable opera performance, including scenography, today resembles a message to the public in the style of not even an sms, but a chat that does not require a response, and in form it resembles a fashion boutique showcase. And even more often, the production becomes an occasion for a vivid self-presentation, aimed not at dialogue and a lively response from the public, but at the desire to become instantly recognizable, according to the laws of gloss. It's sad. Involuntarily, Spengler's Decline of Europe comes to mind, where he says that when a new civilization is born, the old culture perishes.:-(
Lyrical scenes in 3 acts. The libretto based on the novel of the same name in verse by A. S. Pushkin was written by the composer in collaboration with K. Shilovsky.
The first performance took place on March 17, 1879 in Moscow on the stage of the Maly Theatre. The performers were students of the Moscow Conservatory.
Tickets for the opera "Eugene Onegin" at the Bolshoi Theater on the website Bolshoy-Teatr.com →
Characters:
Larina, landowner, mezzo-soprano
Her daughters:
Tatiana, soprano
Olga, mezzo-soprano
Filipievna, nanny, mezzo-soprano
Eugene Onegin, baritone
Lensky, tenor
Prince Gremin, bass
Rotary, bass
Zaretsky, bass
Triquet, French, tenor
Guillo, valet, no words
Peasants, peasant women, guests at the ball, landowners and landowners, officers
First action. First picture. An old, overgrown garden. Larina and the nanny are making jam. Girlish voices are heard from the open windows of the manor house. This is sung by Larina's daughters - Tatyana and Olga. Their singing evokes in the mother memories of bygone days, of the years gone by, of the hobbies of youth. A song rang out. It is getting closer and closer, expanding, growing. The peasants came to congratulate the lady on the harvest. The lingering song is replaced by a fast dance. Dreamily thoughtful Tatyana, with a book in her hand, absentmindedly watches the dancers Playful laughter Olga dances merrily with the peasants.
The Larins' neighbor on the estate arrives - Vladimir Lensky, a young poet, passionately in love with his childhood friend Olga. This time he brought with him his friend Onegin, a cold, stiff Petersburger. Out of Tatyana's embarrassment, in the timidity with which she talks with Onegin, the perspicacious old nanny notices that her favorite has taken a liking to the new master.
Second picture. Tatiana's bedroom The girl, excited by the meeting with Onegin, cannot fall asleep. She asks the nanny to tell about the old days. The old woman remembers the past, but Tatyana does not listen. Onegin completely took over her thoughts. In sincere and artless words, Tatyana pours out her feelings in a letter to Yevgeny.
A sleepless night passed. The shepherd's pipe heralds the coming of the morning. Tatyana calls the nanny and asks to send a letter to Onegin.
Third picture. Secluded corner of the garden. Tatyana runs in and sinks down on the bench in exhaustion. With trembling excitement, she expects Yevgeny, his answer to his confession.
Enter Onegin. His rebuke sounds cold and rational: he cannot reciprocate Tatyana's love and patronizingly advises the girl to learn to control herself.
Second action. First picture. Hall in the Larins' house. Ball in honor of Tatyana's name day. Couples whirl in a fast waltz. Among the guests are Onegin and Lensky. Eugene is annoyed with his friend for bringing him to this stupid ball, where you have to listen to the gossip of provincial gossips. In retaliation, he begins courting Olga. Olga's coquetry offends, and Onegin's behavior outrages Lensky. A quarrel breaks out between friends. Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel.
Second picture. Early frosty morning. At the icy mill dam, Lensky and his second Zaretsky are waiting for the late Onegin. Lensky is in deep thought: what awaits him in the future, what does the coming day bring him?
Onegin arrives with his second. Before starting a duel, the opponents remember their former friendship. They hesitate - whether to shake hands with each other, whether to disperse amicably? But it's too late to retreat - the duel must take place, and everyone resolutely rejects the idea of reconciliation. Zaretsky measures the distance. Opponents become to the barrier. Shot. Lensky is killed.
Third action. First picture. Several years have passed. Returning from foreign travels, Onegin ends up in St. Petersburg for a ball. Here the noble prince Gremin introduces him to his wife. In the brilliant secular beauty, Eugene recognizes Tatyana Larina and falls in love with her with unbridled passion.
Second picture. On the way of Tatyana, Onegin again stood up like a merciless ghost. He follows her everywhere relentlessly. And now, running into the living room, Onegin finds Tatiana reading his letter. Tatyana is confused, there are tears in her eyes. For Onegin they are dearer than all the treasures of the world. It means that Tatyana is not indifferent to him, which means that he has hope for reciprocity. Onegin excitedly and passionately explains to Tatyana in love:
No, every minute to see you,
Follow you everywhere
The smile of the mouth, the movement of the eyes
Catch with loving eyes
Listen to you for a long time, understand
Soul all your perfection,
Freeze before you in agony,
To turn pale and go out ... that's bliss!
Tatyana responds to Onegin's ardent confession with the same frank confession. Why hide, why lie? She still loves Onegin. With bitterness and sadness, Tatyana recalls her meeting with Onegin in the countryside, those blissful times when happiness was so possible, so close. But Tatyana's fate is sealed. She is given to another and will be faithful to him all her life. In a fit of despair, abandoned by Tatyana, Onegin exclaims: - Shame! Yearning! O my wretched lot!
The action takes place in the countryside and St. Petersburg in the 1920s.
Created: Moscow - May 1877, San Remo - Feb. 1878. Dated on the basis of Ch.'s letters (vol. VI, no. 565; vol. VII, no. 735).
First performance. Dec. 1878, Moscow Conservatory. Extracts: 1-4 cards. March 17, 1879, Moscow, Maly Theatre. Student performance of the Moscow Conservatory. Conductor N. G. Rubinshtein. Directed by I.V. Samarin. Artist K.F. Waltz.
1877, May, Moscow. P.I. Tchaikovsky has just turned 37 years old. If you look at the entire creative path of Tchaikovsky as a composer, then by this moment he had practically passed half of it. He has already become famous in Russia. His music has already begun to spread in Europe. Tchaikovsky was then the author of three symphonies and four operas. He wrote such world-famous masterpieces as the ballet "Swan Lake", the First Piano Concerto, the piano cycle "The Seasons" and much, much more.
About how, among others, in search of a plot for the opera, Tchaikovsky suddenly, unexpectedly for himself and others, chose the novel in verse by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin", so beloved in Russia, he himself told in all details in a letter to his brother M .I. Tchaikovsky on May 18, 1877: “Last week I was somehow at Lavrovskaya. The conversation turned to plots for the opera.<...>Lizaveta Andreevna was silent and smiled good-naturedly, when she suddenly said: “But why take Evgeny Onegin? This thought seemed wild to me, and I did not answer. began to find Lavrovskaya's thought possible, then got carried away and decided by dinner time.Immediately ran to look for Pushkin.I found it with difficulty, went home, re-read it with delight and spent a completely sleepless night, the result of which was the scenario of a delightful opera with Pushkin's text.You won't believe it<...>how glad I am to be rid of Ethiopian princesses, pharaohs, poisonings, all kinds of stilts. What an abyss of poetry in Onegin. I am not mistaken: I know that there will be few stage effects and movement in this opera. But the general poetry, humanity, simplicity of the plot, combined with a brilliant text, will more than replace these shortcomings.
Dramatic performances of the brilliant novel by A.S. Pushkin were on the Russian stage even before Tchaikovsky. One of them was undertaken in Moscow in 1846 with music by the outstanding Russian composer A.S. Verstovsky. Another staging of Pushkin's novel went on for quite a long time on the St. Petersburg stage with the music of the famous A.F. Lvov, known as the author of the Russian national anthem "God Save the Tsar!". Tchaikovsky, in all likelihood, could have known either both productions, or, most likely, the St. Petersburg one. It is curious that both dramatizations were made by the famous writer GV Kugushev and contained only selected scenes from the novel: 1. Letter. 2. Sermon and duel. 3. Meeting.
The script for his new opera "Eugene Onegin" Tchaikovsky told his brother M.I. Tchaikovsky in the same letter in which he told about the history of the idea of this opera. The structure of the script resembles a dramatic staging of Pushkin's novel, but with some additions. It has three actions. In the latter, a picture was supposed to depict a ball in Moscow (thus, there should have been three balls in the opera!), In which Tatiana meets her future husband, the General, telling him her story and agreeing to marry him. Ultimately, Tchaikovsky omitted the stage of the Moscow ball, thereby even closer to his predecessors, who staged "Eugene Onegin" in the drama theater. It is very possible that the subtitle that Tchaikovsky will give to his opera - "Lyrical Scenes" - came to him precisely from a dramatic performance on the same plot. Moreover, Tchaikovsky's friend K.S. Shilovsky, who was a musician, an artist, and an actor, took part in the development of the script. Moreover, he collaborated with the Maly Theater in Moscow, on the stage of which there was a staging with the music of Verstovsky. Tchaikovsky set about composing the opera immediately. Freed from classes at the Moscow Conservatory, where he taught, he went to the estate of K.S. Shilovsky Glebovo. He settled there in a separate wing and worked with great pleasure: "<...>I am in love with the image of Tatyana, I am fascinated by Pushkin's poems and write music on them<...>because it pulls me. The opera is moving fast," he wrote to his brother.
While living in Glebovo and working on "Eugene Onegin", Tchaikovsky told his family that he intended to marry. He also announced the name of his chosen one: “I will marry the girl Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova. She is a poor, but good and honest girl, who loves me very much,” the composer wrote to his father in June 1877 from Glebovo. The fact of referring to the plot of "Onegin" is usually associated with the personal circumstances of Tchaikovsky, when, almost like in Pushkin's novel, he received a letter from a girl with a declaration of love. After a short conversation, he decides to marry her. What was primary in this story: an appeal to Pushkin and then a decision to get married, as if trying not to repeat Onegin's mistake, or your own affair with A.I. Milyukova, which prompted a plot from Pushkin? One way or another, but the personal fate of the composer developed against the backdrop of composing the opera "Eugene Onegin".
The sketches for the opera were completed in the autumn of 1877. During this time, Tchaikovsky experienced great upheavals in his personal life, an early marriage incredibly quickly ended in a break with his wife. Tchaikovsky left his service at the conservatory, left Moscow, Russia and in Europe finished sketches and instrumented his new opera.
The operas that preceded Onegin were given by Tchaikovsky for performance to the Imperial Theaters of Moscow and St. Petersburg. He aspired to get on these scenes, he grieved very much when productions were delayed or postponed. And suddenly he changed his former views and turned to the director of the Moscow Conservatory N.G. Rubinshtein with a request: “Staging it at the Conservatory is my best dream. A little later, he wrote to his friend K.K. Albrecht, who was the choirmaster in the first production of Onegin: “I will never give this opera to the Theater Directorate before it goes to the conservatory. I wrote it for the conservatory, because I need there's a little stage." Further, the composer listed what he needed to stage "Onegin", adding that if the opera is not staged at the Conservatory, then it will not be staged anywhere: "I am ready to wait as long as I like."
In the fall, the clavier of the opera came out of print, in which the author's subtitle of the opera was printed: "Lyrical Scenes". A little later, in a student concert, excerpts from the opera were performed, to which the reviewer reacted as follows: "Never before has the composer been so much himself as in these lyrical scenes<...>Mr. Tchaikovsky is an incomparable elegiac poet in sounds."
At the beginning of 1879, preparations began for the premiere of the opera by the students and teachers of the conservatory on the stage of the Maly Theater in Moscow. Since it was a small stage, dramatic performances were staged on it, the composition of the performers, the choir, and the orchestra could only be small. For example, we can cite the case when five years earlier A.N. Ostrovsky's fairy tale "The Snow Maiden" was staged with music by Tchaikovsky, but it had a large orchestra, choir, and then this dramatic performance with a large number of performers, choir and orchestra was on stage Bolshoi Theatre. On the stage of the Maly Theater, the choir and orchestra could not be large.
So, in March 1879, the premiere of "Eugene Onegin" took place on the stage of the Maly Theater in Moscow, performed by students of the Moscow Conservatory. According to the list of performers announced in the program and the report on the premiere, the performance included: a choir of 28 students and 20 students, an orchestra of 32 people (they included four professors of the conservatory and two musicians from the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater). Conducted by N.G. Rubinshtein. The director was the actor of the Maly Theater I.V. Samarin. The original finale of the opera was performed in this production, in which Tatyana's husband appeared and pointed Onegin to the door.
The press for the performance was different. Mostly, the opera was not appreciated. The fate of "Eugene Onegin" developed in such a way that even during the life of the author, this opera gradually, from production to production, turned into a performance on a large stage, its finale also changed, which took the development of the plot from Pushkin as a basis. And the composer himself made many changes for the productions on the stage of the Imperial Opera, introducing new scenes, changing the tempo, which already made it impossible for her chamber performance. However, in the 20th century, the great stage reformer K.S. Stanislavsky made an attempt to recreate the appearance of the chamber "Onegin", lyrical scenes. One way or another, but today two performing versions of the opera "Eugene Onegin" continue to live and have an equal right to exist. Each of them has its own merits and rights to the performing life. "Eugene Onegin" until the end of Tchaikovsky's life remained one of his favorite works. He was happy seeing the success of his offspring not only on the stages of opera houses in Russia, but also in Europe. This was explained by the feelings that he put into this opera: “I wrote this opera because one fine day I, with inexpressible strength, wanted to set to music everything that in Onegin asks for music. I did it as best I could. "
OPERA LIBRETTOS
EUGENE
ONEGIN
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
Second Edition
STATE MUSIC PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1963
2
78C1
---
E 14
EUGENE ONEGIN. P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
opera libretto
Editor I. Uvarova
Tech. editor L. Vinogradova
Signed for publication July 13, 1963, A 06390. Form. boom.
50;901/32. Boom. l. 1.125. Pech. l. 2.25. Uch.-ed. l. 2.66.
Circulation 24000 copies. Order 5441
Moscow Printing House No. 6 of the Moscow City Council of National Economy
3
When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky decided to write the opera Eugene Onegin in 1877, there were many skeptics who doubted the suitability of the plot for the opera. And the idea of the famous singer E. A. Lavrovskaya to set the novel in Pushkin’s verse to music at first seemed “wild” to Tchaikovsky himself. True, the very next day he found this idea possible and was so carried away that on the same night he sketched out the script for the future opera. With the help of the gifted amateur K. S. Shilovsky, a libretto was compiled, and Tchaikovsky immediately began to compose. In sketches, the entire opera was written in the summer of 1877, and the instrumentation was completed in January 1878.
The composer worked on the opera "with sincere enthusiasm, with love for the plot and for the characters thereof", but he still believed that "she will not have a brilliant stage fate": "... it seems to me that she is condemned to failure and to inattention of the masses of the public. The content is very ingenuous, stage effects
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Nothing, music devoid of brilliance and crackling showiness.
Tchaikovsky intended his "lyrical scenes" (he did not even want to call "Onegin" an opera) to be performed by students of the Moscow Conservatory: "... with that reasonable production, excellent ensemble, which [N. G.] Rubinstein and Samarin succeed at the Conservatory performances, I will still be more satisfied with the Conservatory than with the performance of my opera on the big stage, even in St. , those eye-catching anachronisms and nonsense, without which a state-owned production is indispensable.
"Eugene Onegin" was first performed by students of the Moscow Conservatory on March 17/29, 1879. The main parties were: M. Klimentova - Tatyana, A. Levitskaya - Olga, S. Gilev - Onegin, M. Medvedev - Lensky, V. Makhalov - Gremin. Conducted by N. G. Rubinstein, the stage part was directed by I. V. Samarin.
Success was moderate. There were people who immediately appreciated the opera. “Nikolai Grigoryevich [Rubinshtein], who is very stingy with praise, told me that he was in love with this music. After the first act, Taneyev wanted to express his sympathy to me, but instead burst into tears, ”wrote Tchaikovsky. Others (including Tchaikovsky's teacher Anton Rubinshtein) could not immediately understand Onegin, and most press reviews were
5
Downright ridiculous. It took time for the new work to win over listeners. This was greatly facilitated by the appearance of the clavier of "lyrical scenes" in the publication of P.I. Jurgenson.
Gradually, "Eugene Onegin" begins to gain popularity. In 1881, it was staged by the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, in 1884 - by the St. Petersburg Mariinsky; the opera also bypassed the provincial scenes. Almost all the outstanding singers of the past performed at Onegin. The era was made up of the performance of the part of Onegin by P. Khokhlov and Lensky - by L. Sobinov.
In 1888, the opera was staged for the first time abroad - in Prague, with the participation of the singer B. Lauterer-Förster. “... Tatyana is the kind of person I could never even dream of,” Tchaikovsky, who conducted the premiere, said of her. The Italian guest performers M. Battistini (Onegin), A. Mazini (Lensky), Z. Arnoldson (Tatiana) willingly sang in Onegin.
In our country, the opera sounded in dozens of cities, in many languages (only in the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR, the number of performances exceeded 1500). Music lovers are well aware of the names of the best performers of this opera. We have the opportunity to listen to them not only in the theater, but also on records and on the radio. Here are a few names: P. Nortsov, S. Migai, P. Lisitsian, T. Kuuzik, G. Ots, N. Vorvulev - Onegin; E. Kruglikova, N. Shpiller, K. Baiseitova, S. Kiizbaeva, R. Mlodek - Tatiana; I. Kozlovsky, S. Lemeshev, P. Belinnik, I. Bolotin - Lensky. Last
G. Vishnevskaya and T. Milashkina - Tatyana, E. Kibkalo - Onegin won fame. They put "Onegin" and amateur groups.
Recently, the opera was filmed, and residents of even the most remote regions of the country could get acquainted with it.
The success of "Eugene Onegin" is growing more and more. Tchaikovsky's dream comes true, who wrote: "I wish with all the strength of my soul that my music would spread, that the number of people who love it, find comfort and support in it" would increase.
I. Uvarova
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EUGENE ONEGIN
Lyrical scenes in three acts
(seven pictures)
Text
according to A. S. PUSHKIN
Music
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
CHARACTERS
Larina, landowner
mezzo soprano
her daughters
Soprano
Contralto
Filippievna, nanny
mezzo soprano
Eugene Onegin
Baritone
Prince Gremin
Zaretsky
Triquet, French tutor
Guillot, Frenchman, Onegin's valet
character without words
Peasants, peasant women, landlords, landowners, officers,
guests at the ball.
The action takes place in the 20s of the XIX century in the village
and in St. Petersburg.
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STEP ONE
Picture one
The Larins' estate - a house and a garden adjacent to it.
It's evening. Larina and the nanny are making jam. From home
the singing of Tatyana and Olga is heard.
When the fields were silent in the morning,
Have you heard?
Together
Have you heard the voice of the night beyond the grove
Singer of love, singer of sorrow?
When the fields were still silent
Flute sound - dull and simple -
Have you heard?
Larina
They sing... and I used to
In years gone by
Do you remember? - and I sang...
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You were young then!
Singer of love, singer of your sorrow?
When you saw a young man in the forests,
Meeting the gaze of his extinct eyes,
Have you breathed?
Together
Did you sigh, listening to the quiet voice
Singer of love, singer of sorrow?
When you saw the young man
Meeting the gaze of his dead eyes.
Have you breathed?
Larina
How I loved Richardson!
You were young then!
Larina
Not because I read
But in the old days, Princess Alina,
My Moscow cousin
She often told me about him.
Ah, Grandison! Ah, Richardson!
Yes, I remember, I remember!
At that time there was still a groom
Your husband ... But you willy-nilly
Then they dreamed about something else.
Who in heart and mind
You liked it much more.
Together
After all, he was a glorious dandy,
Player and guard sergeant!
Long gone years!
Larina
How I was always dressed!
Always in fashion.
Larina
Always in fashion and to the face.
Always in fashion and to the face.
Larina
But suddenly, without my advice...
They suddenly brought you to the crown.
Then, to dispel grief,
The barin came here soon ...
Oh, how I cried at first!
Almost divorced my husband!
Then she took up housekeeping
I got used to it and I'm satisfied.
Together
You've been doing business here.
They got used to it and became satisfied.
And thank God!
Larina and nanny
Habit from above is given to us -
She is a substitute for happiness.
Yes, yes, yes!
Habit from above is given to us -
She is a substitute for happiness.
Corset, album, Princess Polina,
Poems sensitive notebook,
I forgot everything...
They began to call
Shark old Selina,
And finally updated...
Larina and nanny
On cotton wool is a dressing gown and a cap.
Habit from above is given to us -
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She is a substitute for happiness.
Yes, yes, yes!
Habit from above is given to us -
She is a substitute for happiness.
But my husband loved me dearly...
Yes, the master loved you heartily ...
He trusted me in everything.
In everything he believed you carelessly.
Larina and nanny
Habit from above is given to us -
She is a substitute for happiness.
(A peasant song is heard in the distance.)
sang
My feet are hurting fast.
From a hike...
Legs are fast from walking.
sang
My white hands hurt
From work...
14
White hands from work.
My zealous heart aches
From concern:
I don't know how to be
How kind to forget
kind
sang
My feet are hurting
From a hike...
Legs are fast from walking.
sang
My white hands hurt
From work...
White hands from work.
(Peasants enter with a sheaf.)
Peasants
Hello mother lady!
Hello our nurse!
Here we come to your mercy
Sheaf brought decorated:
We are done with the harvest!
Well, that's great! Have fun!
I'm glad toyou.
Sing something fun!
15
Peasants
Excuse me, mother!
Let's entertain the lady!
Well, girls, come together in a circle!
Well, what are you? Get up, get up!
(The youth starts a round dance with a sheaf, the rest sing.
Tatyana comes out of the house to the balcony with a book in her hands.
and Olga.)
Peasants
Just like on a bridge,
On viburnum planks, -
On viburnum boards,
Here and walked-passed the kid -
Like a raspberry,
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
Like a raspberry.
He carries a baton on his shoulder,
Under the hollow carries a bagpipe, -
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
Carries a bagpipe under the hollow,
Under the other carries a horn.
Guess, dear friend!
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
Guess, dear friend!
The sun has set. Are you not sleeping?
Either get out, or get out, -
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
Either get out or get out
Either Sasha or Masha,
Or a darling Parasha, -
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
Or a darling-Parash.
Parasha came out
16
She spoke with a sweet speech, -
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
With a sweet speech she said: -
Don't be foolish, my friend,
In what I went, I came out in that:
In a thin shirt, -
In a short undershirt, -
Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne,
In a thin shirt
In a short, low cut.
Vaynu!
How I love to the sound of these songs
Dreams are carried away sometimes somewhere,
Somewhere far...
Ah, Tanya, Tanya!
You always dream. And I'm not into you, -
I am happy when I hear singing.
(Dancing.)
Just like on a bridge,
On viburnum boards ...
I don't like to dream in silence
Or on the balcony at dark night
Sigh, sigh
Sigh from the depths of your soul.
Are my youthful days flowing by?
I'm carefree and playful
Everyone calls me baby.
I will always have life, always sweet,
And I'll stay the same as before
17
Like a windy hope
Playful, carefree, cheerful.
Like a windy hope
Playful, carefree, cheerful.
I am not capable of languid sadness,
I don't like to dream in silence
Or on the balcony at dark night
Sigh, sigh
Sigh from the depths of your soul.
Why sigh when happy
Are my youthful days flowing by?
I'm carefree and playful
Everyone calls me baby.
Larina (Olga)
Well, you, my delight,
You are a cheerful and playful bird!
I think - I'm ready to dance now,
Is not it?
Nanny (Tatyana)
Tanyusha, and Tanyusha! What happened to you?
Aren't you sick?
No, nanny, I'm fine.
Larina (to the peasants)
Well, dear, thank you for the songs!
Get to the outhouse!
Filippievna,
And you told them to give wine.
Farewell, others!
18
Peasants
Farewell, mother!
(The peasants leave. The nurse also leaves after them.
Tatyana sits down on the steps of the terrace and deepens
to the book.)
Olga (Larina)
Mother, look at Tanya!
(Looks at Tatyana.)
Indeed, my friend
You are very pale!
I'm always like this -
Don't worry, mom!
It's very interesting what I'm reading.
Larina (laughing)
So why are you pale?
But what about, mom: a story of heart torment
I care about two lovers
I feel so sorry for them, the poor!
Oh how they suffer
How they suffer!
All right, Tanya!
I used to be like you
19
Reading these books, I was worried.
All this is fiction! Years have passed
And I saw that there are no heroes in life.
I'm calm...
Really so calm!
Look: you forgot to take off your apron!
Well, when Lensky arrives, what then?
(Larina hastily takes off her apron. Olga laughs.
The noise of the wheels of the approaching carriage and the ringing of
bells.)
Chu! Someone is driving up... It's him!
And indeed!
Tatyana (looking from the terrace)
He is not alone....
Who would it be?
NANNY (hurriedly entering with a Cossack)
Madam, the Lensky master has arrived,
Mr. Onegin is with him!
Oh! I'd rather run away!
(Wants to run.)
20
Larina (holding her)
Where are you, Tanya?
You will be condemned!.. Fathers, but the bonnet
Mine is on the side!
Olga (Larina)
Please ask!
Larina (Cossack)
Ask quickly, please!
(The Cossack runs away. Everyone prepares in the greatest excitement
meet guests. Nanny makes Tatyana pretty
and then leaves, making a sign to her that she should not be afraid.
Enter Lensky and Onegin. Lensky approaches the hand
Larina and bows respectfully to the girls.)
Mesdames! I took the liberty
Bring a friend. I recommend you:
Onegin, my neighbor!
Onegin (bowing)
I am very happy!
Larina (embarrassed)
Have mercy, we are glad to see you; sit down!
Here are my daughters.
I am very, very happy!
Let's enter the rooms! Or maybe you want
Stay in the open air?
21
I ask you to, -
Be without ceremony: we are neighbors, -
So we have nothing to do!
It's lovely here! I love this garden
Secluded and shady!
It's so cozy in there!
Wonderful!
(To daughters.)
I'll go and do chores in the house,
And you take the guests. I now!
(Onegin approaches Lensky and speaks quietly to him.
Tatyana and Olga stand at a distance, thinking.)
Onegin (to Lensky)
Tell me which Tatyana is, -
I'm very curious to know.
Together
Yes, the one that is sad
And silent, like Svetlana.
Onegin
Are you in love with a smaller one?
Lensky
Onegin
I would choose another
When I was like you, a poet.
Olga has no life in features,
Exactly the same in the Vandykova Madonna:
She is round, red-faced,
Like that stupid moon
In this stupid sky.
I would choose another!
Together
Ah, dear friend! Wave and stone
Poetry and prose, ice and fire
Not so different from each other
How we mutual difference!
Tatyana (to herself)
I waited, eyes opened!
I know, I know: it's him!
Alas, now both days and nights
And a hot lonely dream, -
Everything, everything will fill the image of a darling!
Incessantly magical power
Everything will tell me about him
And burn the soul of love with fire!
Olga (to herself)
Ah, I knew that the appearance
Onegin will produce
Everyone is very impressed
And all the neighbors will entertain:
Guess after guess goes
Everyone will interpret furtively,
Joking, judging is not without sin
And Tanya read the groom!
(Lensky approaches Olga. Onegin
looks at Tatyana, who is thinking, then comes up
To her.)
Lensky (Olga)
How happy, how happy I am
I see you again!
We saw each other yesterday, I think.
Oh yeah! But still the whole day
A long day passed by.
This is eternity!
Eternity!
What a terrible word!
Eternity is one day!
Yes, it's a terrible word
But not for my love!
(Lensky and Olga go into the depths of the garden.)
Onegin (to Tatyana)
Tell me, -
I think it happens to you
It's boring here in the wilderness
Although charming, far away?
I don't think there's much entertainment
It was given to you.
24
I read a lot.
Is it true,
Gives us reading abyss of food
For mind and heart
But we can’t always sit with a book!
I dream sometimes, wandering through the garden...
What are you dreaming about?
Thoughtfulness is my friend
From the most lullaby days.
I see - you are terribly dreamy,
And I used to be like that!
(Onegin and Tatyana, continuing to talk, leave
along the garden path. Lensky and Olga return.)
I love you,
I love you Olga
Like one crazy soul of a poet
Still condemned to love:
Always, everywhere one dream,
One habitual wish
25
One familiar sadness!
I was a boy, captivated by you,
I don't know the pain of the heart yet,
I was a touching witness
Your baby fun!
In the shadow of the protective oak forest
I shared your fun, ah!
I love you, I love you
As one soul of the poet only loves:
You are alone in my dreams.
You are my one desire
You are my joy and pain.
I love you, I love you
And never nothing: not a cooling distance,
Not an hour of separation, not fun noise -
Do not sober souls
Warmed by virgin love by fire!
Under the roof of rural silence
We grew up with you...
Together
I love you!
And, remember, they read the crowns
Already in early childhood, we
you our fathers.
Together
I love you, love you!
(Larina and the nanny come out of the house. It gets dark; towards the end
pictures are very dark.
26
Ah, there you are! Where did Tanya go?
He must be walking by the pond with a guest.
I'm going to call her.
Yes, tell her
It's time to go to the rooms, hungry guests
To regale what God sent.
(Nanny leaves.)
Larina (to Lensky)
Please, please!
We are following you!
(Larina goes into the rooms. After her, a little behind, they leave
Olga with Lensky. From the pond to the house slowly go
Tatyana and Onegin, behind them is a nanny.)
Onegin (to Tatyana)
My uncle - the most honest rules.
When I fell ill in earnest,
He forced himself to respect
And I couldn't think of a better one.
His example is science to others.
(Already on the terrace.)
But my god, what a bore
27
With the sick to sit day and night,
Not leaving a single step away!
(Tatyana and Onegin enter the house.)
Nanny (to himself)
My dove bowed her head
And lowering his eyes, he walks quietly ...
It hurts shy! .. And even then:
Didn't she like this new master? ..
(Goes into the house, shaking his head thoughtfully.)
Picture two
Tatiana's room Late evening.
Well, I got sick! It's time, Tanya!
I'll wake you up early for mass.
Sleep soon!
Can't sleep, nanny: it's so stuffy in here!
Open the window and sit next to me!
What, Tanya, what's wrong with you?
I'm bored,
Let's talk about antiquity.
28
About what, Tanya? I used to
Stored in memory a lot
Ancient stories and tales
About evil spirits and girls
And now everything has become dark to me:
What I knew, I forgot. Yes,
The bad line has arrived!
It hurt!..
Tell me nanny
About your old years:
Were you in love then?
And yes, Tanya! In our summers
We haven't heard of love
And then the deceased mother-in-law
I would be driven out of the world!
But how did you get married, nanny?
So, apparently, God ordered. My Vanya
Younger than me, my light,
And I was thirteen years old.
For two weeks the matchmaker went
To my kindred, and finally
Father blessed me.
I cried bitterly from fear
They untwisted my braid with weeping
29
And with singing they led to the church.
And then they brought someone else into the family ...
Are you not listening to me?
Ah, nanny, nanny, I suffer, I yearn,
I'm sick, my dear;
I cry, I'm ready to cry!
My child, you are not well;
Lord have mercy and save!
Let me sprinkle you with holy water
You are on fire...
I'm not sick,
I... you know, nanny... I'm... in love!
Leave me, leave me
I'm in love!
Yes, how...
Come on, leave me alone!
Give me, nanny, a pen and paper
Yes, move the table; I'm going to bed soon...
Sorry...
Good night, Tanya!
(Exits.)
30
Let me die, but first
I'm in blinding hope
Bliss is a dark call,
I know the bliss of life!
I drink the magical poison of desire
Dreams haunt me
Everywhere, everywhere in front of me
My fatal tempter
Everywhere, everywhere he is before me!
(He writes quickly, but immediately tears up what he has written.)
No, it's not that! I'll start over!..
Ah, what's wrong with me! I'm on fire!
I don't know how to start...
(Thinks, then starts writing again.)
I am writing to you - what more?
What else can I say?
Now I know in your will
Punish me with contempt.
But you, to my unfortunate share
Though a drop of pity keeping,
You don't leave me!
At first I wanted to be silent.
Believe me: my shame
You would never know
Never!..
(Continues to write.)
31
Why, why did you visit us?
In the wilderness of a forgotten village
I would never know you
I would not know bitter torment.
Souls of inexperienced excitement
Reconciled with time (who knows?),
By heart I would find a friend,
Would be a faithful wife
And a good mother...
Another! .. No, no one in the world
I wouldn't give my heart!
That is in the highest predestined council,
That is the will of heaven: I am yours!
My whole life has been a pledge
Faithful goodbye to you;
I know you were sent to me by God
Until the grave you are my keeper!
You appeared to me in dreams
Invisible, you were already sweet to me,
Your wonderful look tormented me,
Your voice resounded in my soul
For a long time... No, it was not a dream!
You just entered, I instantly found out
All numb, blazed
And in her thoughts she said: here he is!
Here he is!..
Isn't it true, I heard you
You spoke to me in silence
When I. helped the poor
Or comforted by prayer
Longing of the soul?
And at this very moment
Aren't you, sweet vision,
Flickered in the transparent darkness,
He leaned quietly to the headboard,
Is it not you, with joy and love,
32
Words of hope whispered to me?
Who are you, my guardian angel
Or an insidious tempter, -
Resolve my doubts.
Perhaps this weight is empty,
Deception of an inexperienced soul,
And something completely different is destined? ..
But so be it! my fate
From now on, I give you
I shed tears in front of you
I beg your protection
I beg you!
Imagine I'm here alone
Nobody understands me,
My mind is failing
And I must die silently!
I'm waiting for you,
I'm waiting for you! with one eye
Revive the hopes of the heart
Or break a heavy dream,
Alas, a well-deserved reproach!
I'm finishing... It's scary to reread.
I freeze with shame and fear ...
But our honor is my guarantee,
And I boldly entrust myself to her!
(The sun is rising. Tatyana opens the window.)
Ah, the night is over; la,
Everything is awake and the sun is rising.
(horn sounds)
The shepherd is playing... Everything is calm...
And me, me?!
(Tatiana thinks. Nanny enters.)
33
It's time, my child! Get up!
Yes, you, beauty, are ready!
Oh, my early bird!
Evening, how I was afraid! ..
But, thank God, you, child, are healthy:
Night longing and no trace,
Your face is like a poppy color!
Oh baby, do me a favor...
Please, dear, - order.
Don't think... right... suspicion...
But you see ... Oh, do not refuse! ..
My friend, God bless you!
So let's go quietly grandson
With this note to O ... to that ...
To a neighbor ... Yes, they led him,
That he didn't say a word
So that he...
Don't let him call me!
To whom, my dear?
I've become clueless today.
34
There are many neighbors around, -
Where can I read them!
To whom, to whom? You talk a lot!
How stupid you are, nanny!
Dear friend, I'm old
Old, dull mind, Tanya;
And then, it happened, I'm up:
It happened ... it happened, the word of the lord's will to me ...
Oh, nanny, nanny, how much!
What do I need in your mind!
You see, nanny, the case is about writing!
Well, business, business, business...
What needs, nanny, to me in your mind!
Together
Do not be angry, my soul:
You know - I'm incomprehensible!
Tatiana
To Onegin!
Well, business, business!
35
To Onegin!
I understood!
With a letter to Onegin
Send you grandson, nanny!
Together
Well, well, do not be angry, my soul:
You know - I'm incomprehensible!
(Nanny takes the letter.)
Why are you pale again?
So, nanny ... Really, nothing ...
Send your grandson!
(Nanny leaves. Tatyana sits down at the table and, leaning on her elbows,
sinks into thought again.)
Picture three
A secluded corner of the garden at the Larins' estate. Yard
girls with songs gather berries.
Girls, beauties,
Darlings, girlfriends,
36
Play around, girls
Take a walk, darlings!
Put on a song
cherished song,
Lure the fellow
To our round dance.
How do we lure the young man
As we see from afar,
Run away, darlings
Throw in cherries.
Cherries, raspberries,
Redcurrant.
Don't go eavesdrop
Treasured songs.
Don't go look
Our girls' games.
(The girls go into the depths of the garden. An agitated Tatiana runs in and collapses on a bench in exhaustion.)
Here he is ... here is Eugene! ..
Oh my god, oh my god, what did he think!
What will he say?
Oh what for
Moaning heeding the soul of the sick,
Can't control myself
I wrote him a letter!
Yes, my heart told me now
What laughs at me
My fatal seducer...
Oh my god, how unhappy I am
How sorry I am!
(The sound of footsteps is heard. Tatyana listens.)
37
Footsteps... getting closer...
Yes, it's him, it's him!
(Onegin appears and goes up to Tatyana.)
You wrote to me,
Don't back off. I've read
Souls of trusting confession,
An innocent outpouring of love.
Your sincerity is dear to me;
She got excited
Feelings long gone.
But I don't want to praise you;
I will repay you for it
Recognition also without art.
Accept my confession:
I submit myself to you for judgement.
Tatyana (to herself)
Oh my god, how embarrassing and how painful!
Whenever life is around the house
I wanted to limit
When would I be a father, a spouse
A pleasant lot commanded, -
That, right b, except for you alone
The bride was not looking for another.
But I'm not made for bliss
My soul is alien to him;
In vain are your perfections:
I don't deserve them at all.
Believe me (conscience is a guarantee),
Marriage will be torture for us.
As much as I love you,
38
When I get used to it, I fall in love immediately.
Judge what kind of roses
Hymen will prepare for us
And maybe for many days.
Dreams and years have no return
Ah, no return;
I will not renew my soul!
I love you brother love
Brother's love
Ile, perhaps even more tender!
Listen to me without anger:
The young maiden will change more than once
Dreams are light dreams.
Learn to control yourself
Not everyone will understand you like me;
Inexperience leads to trouble!
Together
Girls (backstage)
Girls, beauties,
Darlings, girlfriends,
Play around, girls
Take a walk, darlings!
(Onegin offers his hand to Tatiana, and they leave in the direction
To home. The girls keep on singing, little by little
moving away.)
How do we lure the young man
As we see from afar,
Run away, darlings
Throw in cherries.
Don't go eavesdrop
Don't go look
Our girls' games.
39
ACT TWO
Picture one
Ball in the Larins' house. The youth are dancing. Elderly guests
sit in groups and talk while watching the dancers.
Such a surprise!
Never expected
Military music!
Fun anywhere!
For a long time we
So they didn't eat.
To the glory of the feast,
Isn't it true, gentlemen?
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
What a surprise for us! Bravo!
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
Nice surprise for us!
Elderly landowners
On our estates we do not often meet
Bala merry joyful brilliance.
40
We only entertain ourselves by hunting:
We love the hunting hubbub and crackle.
Well, it's fun:
They fly all day
Through the wilds, glades, swamps, bushes;
Tired, lay down
And everyone is resting
And here is entertainment for all the poor ladies!
(The company commander appears. Young ladies surround him.)
Ah, Trifon Petrovich,
How sweet you are!
We are so grateful to you!
Complete, sir!
I am very happy myself!
Let's dance for glory!
I also intend
Let's start dancing!
(Dancing resumes. Among the dancers is Tatyana
and Onegin, attracting the attention of ladies.)
group of ladies
Take a look, take a look:
The dudes are dancing!
41
Other group
It would be long overdue!
Well, fiance!
What a pity Tanya!
Take her to wife...
And will tyrannize:
He sounds like a player!
(Having finished dancing, Onegin slowly passes through
hall, listening to the conversations.)
He is a terrible ignoramus, crazy,
He does not fit the ladies to the pen,
He is a farmazon, he drinks one
A glass of red wine!
Onegin (to himself)
And here's your opinion!
I've heard enough
I'm different vile gossip!
Share it all with me!
Why did I come
To this stupid ball? For what?
I will not forgive Vladimir this service!
42
I will take care of Olga,
I'll beat him up!
Here she is!
(Onegin goes to Olga. At the same time to her
Lensky comes up.)
Onegin (Olga)
I ask you to!
Lensky (Olga)
You promised me now!
Onegin (to Lensky)
Wrong, right, you!
(Olga dances with Onegin.)
Lensky (to himself)
Ah, what is it!..
I can't believe my eyes!.. Olga!..
God, what's wrong with me!
A feast for glory!
Such a surprise!
This is such a treat!
Fun anywhere!
Such a surprise!
Never expected
Military music!
Fun anywhere!
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
What a surprise for us! Bravo!
43
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
Bravo! Isn't it true?
A feast for the glory, isn't it?
Yes, military music
We did not expect at all!
A feast for glory
Fun anywhere!
A feast for glory!
(Seeing that Olga has finished dancing, Lensky approaches
To her. Onegin watches them from afar.)
Lensky (Olga)
Have I deserved this mockery from you?
Ah, Olga, how cruel you are to me!
What did I do?
I don't understand,
What is my fault.
All ecossaises, all waltzes
You danced with Onegin!
I invited you
But was rejected!
Vladimir, this is strange:
From trifles you get angry!
How! Because of the rubbish?!
Could I see indifferently
When did you laugh, flirting with him?!
44
He leaned towards you and shook your hand!
I saw everything!
All this is nonsense and nonsense!
You are jealous in vain:
We chatted so much with him.
He is very nice.
Even cute!
Oh, Olga, you don't love me!
How strange you are!
You don't love me!.. Cotillion
Are you dancing with me?
No, with me!
Isn't it true that you gave me your word?
Olga (Onegin)
And I will keep my word!
(Lensky makes a pleading gesture.)
Olga (Lensky)
Here is your punishment for your jealousy!
45
Never!
(Olga and Onegin depart from Lensky. To meet them
a lively group of young ladies is moving.)
Look:
All the young ladies go here with Trike!
French, lives with Kharlikov.
Monsieur Triquet, Monsieur Triquet!
Chantez de gr;ce un couplet!1
I have a couplet with me.
But where, tell me, is mademoiselle?
He should be in front of me
Car le couplet est fait pour elle!2
Young ladies (bringing Tatyana to Trika)
Here she is! Here she is!
46
Aha!
Voila1 queen of this day!
Mesdames, I will begin;
Please don't bother me now!
(Triquet ceremoniously introduces Tatyana into the middle of the circle
young ladies and begins to sing a verse.)
What a beautiful day this is
When in this village canopy
woke up belle2 Tatiana!
And we came here -
Girls, and ladies, and gentlemen -
See how it blooms!
Your couplet is excellent
And very, very nicely sung!
We wish you a lot of happiness
Be forever fairy de ces rives3,
Never be bored, sick!
And let among your bonheurs4
Don't forget your serviteur5
47
And all her girlfriends she!
V is a rose, V is a rose, V is a rose, belle Tatiana!
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo, Monsieur Triquet!
Your couplet is excellent
And very, very nicely sung!
Messieurs, mesdames, please take your seats!
Cotillion1 will start now!
Please!
(The mazurka begins. Onegin dances with Olga. Lensky
jealously watching them. Having finished dancing, Onegin
approaches Lensky.)
You don't dance, Lensky?
You look like Childe Harold!
What happened to you?
With me? Nothing.
I love you
What a wonderful friend you are!
What!
I did not expect such recognition!
What are you pouting for?
48
Am I pouting? Oh, not at all!
I admire how my words play
And secular chatter
You turn heads and embarrass girls
Peace of mind! Apparently for you
One Tatyana is not enough! For the love of me
You, right, want to destroy Olga,
Confuse her peace, and then laugh
Above her! .. Ah, how honest it is!
What?! Yes, you're crazy!
Wonderful! Are you insulting me?
And you call me crazy!
Guests (surrounding Onegin and Lensky)
What's happened? What's the matter there?
Onegin! You are no longer my friend!
to be intimate with you
I don't want more!
I... I despise you!
Here's an unexpected surprise!
What a quarrel boiled:
They didn't make a joke of it!
49
Onegin (taking Lensky aside)
Listen, Lensky, you're wrong, you're wrong!
It is enough for us to attract attention with our quarrel!
I have not disturbed anyone else's peace
And, I confess, I have no desire
Embarrass him.
Then why did you shake her hand,
Whispered something to her?
She blushed and laughed...
What, what did you say to her?
Listen, this is stupid!
We are surrounded...
What's the matter with me!
I am offended by you
And I demand satisfaction!
What's the matter?
Tell me, tell me what happened.
Just... I demand
So that Mr. Onegin explains his actions to me.
He doesn't want it
And I ask him to accept my challenge!
50
Oh my God! In our house!
Have mercy, have mercy!
In your house!.. In your house!..
In your house, like golden dreams,
My childhood years flowed;
In your house I tasted for the first time
The joy of pure and bright love.
But today I learned something else:
I learned that life is not a romance
Honor is just a sound, friendship is an empty word,
An insulting, pitiful lie!
Together
Onegin (to himself)
Alone with your soul
I'm dissatisfied with myself
I joked too casually!
Loving the young man with all my heart,
I should show myself
Not a ball of prejudice,
But a husband with honor and intelligence.
Tatyana (to herself)
I'm shocked, my mind can't
To understand Evgeny... Disturbing,
Jealous longing worries me...
Oh, my heart is tormented by longing!
Like a cold hand
She squeezed my heart
It hurts so badly!
Together
Olga and Larina (to herself)
I'm afraid that after the fun
The night did not end with a duel!
Poor Lensky!
Poor young man!
Onegin (to himself)
I joked too casually!
I learned here that the maiden is beautiful
Maybe just an angel, honey
And beautiful as day, but in soul... but in soul...
Like a demon, insidious and evil!
Tatyana (to herself)
Ah, I died, yes, I died, -
My heart is talking!
But death from him is kind,
Death from him is kind!
I'll die, I'll die, - my heart told me!
I dare not grumble, I dare not!
Oh, why grumble, why grumble?
He cannot, he cannot give me happiness!
Together
Olga (to herself)
Ah, the blood in men is hot, -
They solve everything together
His soul is filled with jealousy,
But I'm not to blame
Not with anything!
Men cannot remain without a quarrel;
Ready!
Well, here's your holiday!
Well, here comes the scandal!
Together
Larina (to herself)
Oh, how hot the youth is, -
They solve everything together
They can't stay without quarrels!
I'm afraid that after the fun
The night did not end with a duel, -
Youth is so hot!
They cannot remain without a quarrel for an hour;
They will quarrel, argue, - now fight
Ready!
Well, here's your holiday!
Well, here comes the scandal!
Onegin (to himself)
Alone with your soul
I'm dissatisfied with myself
Above this passion, timid, tender
I joked too casually!
Loving the young man with all my heart,
I should show myself
Not a ball of prejudice,
Not an ardent child, but a mature husband.
It's my fault!
It's annoying and painful!
Alone with your soul
I'm dissatisfied with myself
Above this passion, timid, tender
I joked too casually
Like an ardent boy or a fighter!
But there's nothing to do now
I have to respond to insults!
Together
Is it now after the fun
Will their quarrel end in a duel?
But youth is so hot, -
They solve everything together
They can’t stay without a quarrel for an hour:
They will quarrel, argue, - now fight
They are ready!
Here is your holiday!
Here comes the scandal!
Lensky (to himself)
Oh no, you're innocent, my angel!
You are innocent, innocent, my angel!
He is a low, treacherous, soulless traitor, -
He will be punished!
You are innocent, my angel!
He is your low seducer,
But I will be your savior!
I will not tolerate a corrupter
Fire and sighs and praises
Tempted a young heart
So that the despicable and poisonous worm
I sharpened the stem of the lily,
To a two-morning flower
Withered still half open!
O traitor, dishonorable seducer!
Onegin (approaching Lensky)
I am at your service!
Enough, - I listened to you:
You are crazy, you are crazy
And the lesson will serve to correct you!
So, see you tomorrow!
Let's see who teaches whom!
I may be crazy, but you...
You are a dishonorable seducer!
Shut up...or I'll kill you!...
What a scandal! We will not allow
Duel between them, massacre:
We just won't let them out. hold,
Hold on, hold on!
Yes, we just won’t let them out of the house,
Let's not let go!
Vladimir, calm down, I beg you!
Ah, Olga, Olga! Farewell forever!
(Quickly leaves.)
Be a duel!
55
Picture two
Old abandoned mill - a designated place
for a duel. Early winter morning. Lensky and his second
Zaretsky is waiting for Onegin.
Zaretsky
Well, it seems that our enemy
Didn't show up!
Appear now!
Zaretsky
But it's still a little strange to me,
That he is not: the seventh hour, after all!
I thought he was waiting for us!
(Zaretsky goes to the mill. Lensky is sitting in
thoughtfulness.)
Where where,
Where did you go
My golden days of spring?
What does the coming day have in store for me?
My gaze catches him in vain,
He lurks in deep darkness.
No need; the law of fate is right!
Will I fall, pierced by an arrow,
Or she will fly by, -
All goodness: wakefulness and sleep
A certain hour comes;
Blessed is the day of worries.
56
Blessed is the arrival of darkness!
In the morning the morning light will shine
And the bright day will play
And I, maybe I'm the tomb
I will descend into the mysterious canopy,
And the memory of the young poet
Swallow the slow Leta,
The world will forget me, but you...
You Olga...
Tell me if you will come, maiden of beauty,
Shed a tear over an early urn
And think: he loved me,
He dedicated one to me
The dawn of a sad stormy life!
Ah, Olga, I loved you,
dedicated to you alone
The dawn of a sad stormy life,
Ah, Olga, I loved you!
Dear friend, dear friend,
Come, come!
Desired friend, come: I am your husband! ..
Come, I am your husband!
Come!.. Come!..
I'm waiting for you, dear friend,
Come, come, I am your husband!
Where where,
Where did you go
golden days,
Golden days of my spring?
(Onegin and his valet Gilo appear. Zaretsky,
Seeing them, he approaches Lensky.)
Zaretsky
Ah, here they are!
But who is your friend with?
I won't understand!
57
Onegin (bows)
I beg your pardon:
I'm a little late...
Zaretsky
Allow me! Where is your second?
In duels, I am a classic, a pedant,
I love the method out of feeling,
And stretch the man
Let me not somehow
But in the strict rules of art,
According to all the legends of antiquity!
What should we praise in you!..
My second? Here he is -
Monsieur Gillot!
I foresee no objection
For my presentation:
Although he is an unknown person,
But perishing, of course, small honest.
Well, start?
Let's start, perhaps.
(Zaretsky and Guillo begin preparations for the duel.
Lensky and Onegin stand thinking.)
Lensky and Onegin (each to himself)
Enemies!.. How long apart
Are we thirsty for blood?
How long have we hours of leisure,
Meal, and thoughts, and deeds
58
Shared together? Now it's wicked
Like hereditary enemies,
We are for each other in silence
Prepare to die in cold blood...
Oh!..
Can't we laugh until
The hand did not turn red
Do not part amicably? ..
No no no no!..
(Zaretsky separates the opponents and gives them pistols.
Guillot hides behind a tree.)
Zaretsky
Now get together!
(Zaretsky claps his hands three times. Opponents make
four steps forward and start aiming.
Onegin shoots first. Lensky falls. Zaretsky and
Onegin rush to him.)
Zaretsky
(Onegin clutches his head in horror.)
ACT THREE
Picture one
Ball at one of the St. Petersburg dignitaries. The guests are dancing
polonaise. Onegin looks absently at the dancers.
Onegin (to himself)
And I'm bored here!
Glitter and bustle of great light
They will not dispel the eternal, languishing longing ..
Killing a friend in a duel
Having lived without a goal, without labor
Until the age of twenty-six
Languishing in the inactivity of leisure,
No service, no wife, no business,
I was unable to occupy myself.
I was overcome with anxiety
Wanderlust
(Very painful property,
Few voluntary cross).
I left my villages
Forests and fields solitude,
Where is the bloodied shadow
She came to me every day.
I started wandering without a goal
60
Affordable to the senses alone...
So what? Unfortunately for me,
And I'm tired of traveling.
I came back and got
Like Chatsky, from the ship to the ball!
(The guests are dancing an ecossaise. Onegin steps aside. On
he gets attention.)
Tell me who is the chosen one in the crowd
Stands silent and misty?
Who is he? Is it Onegin?
Is he? Is it Onegin?
Yes exactly!
Is he still the same, or has he calmed down,
Ile poses as an eccentric -
Now like before?
Tell me how he came back
What will it look like to us so far?
What now will be - Melmoth,
Cosmopolitan, patriot,
Harold or hypocrite
Or another flaunts a mask,
Or just be a good fellow?
(Prince Gremin enters, arm in arm with Tatyana.)
Look, look!
Princess Gremina! Look, look!
(The guests respectfully step aside before Gremin and
Tatyana.)
group of men
Which one?
61
Other group
Take a look here!
Here's the one sitting at the table.
Sweet with carefree charm!
Onegin (looking at Tatiana to himself)
Is it really Tatyana?.. Precisely!.. No!..
How! From the wilderness of the steppe villages?!
It can't be... It can't be...
And how simple, how majestic,
How careless!
She looks like a queen!
(Onegin takes Gremin aside.)
Tatyana (for guests)
Tell me, who is it ... there, with her husband?
I won't look.
eccentric courtier,
A sad, strange madman...
In foreign lands he was ... And now
Returned to us now Onegin.
Eugene?
Is he known to you?
62
He is our neighbor in the village.
(About myself.)
Oh god help me hide
Souls of terrible excitement!
Onegin (to Gremin)
Tell me, prince, don't you know
Who is there in a raspberry beret
Does he speak to the Spanish ambassador?
Yeah, you haven't been in the world for a long time!
Wait, I'll introduce you!
But who is she?
My wife.
So are you married? I didn't know early.
How long ago?
About two years.
On whom?
63
On Larina.
Tatyana?
Are you familiar with her?
I am their neighbor.
Love for all ages:
Her impulses are beneficial
And a young man in his prime,
Barely seeing the light
And hardened by fate
A fighter with a gray head.
Onegin, I will not hide:
Madly I love Tatyana!
My life has been dreary...
She came and gave
I have life and youth
Yes, youth and happiness.
Among the crafty, cowardly,
Crazy, spoiled children,
Villains and funny and boring
Dumb, affectionate judges;
Among the pious coquettes,
Among voluntary servants,
Among everyday fashion scenes,
64
Courteous, affectionate betrayals;
Among the cold sentences
cruel fuss,
In the midst of the desolate emptiness
Calculations, thoughts and conversations, -
She shines like a star in the darkness of the night
In the clear sky
And it always appears to me
In the glow of an angel
In the radiance of an angel radiant! ..
Love for all ages:
Her impulses are beneficial
And a young man in his prime,
Barely seeing the light
And hardened by fate
A fighter with a gray head.
Onegin, I will not hide:
Madly I love Tatyana!
My life has been dreary...
She came and gave
Like a ray of sunshine in the midst of bad weather,
And life and youth
Yes, youth and happiness.
And life, and youth, and happiness!
So let's go, I'll introduce you!
(Gremin brings Onegin to Tatyana and addresses
To her.)
My friend let me introduce you
My family and friend
Onegin!
(Onegin bows.)
65
Tatyana (Onegin)
I'm very happy...
We met before!
In the village... yes... for a long time...
Where?
Is it from our sides?
Oh no! From distant wanderings
I returned.
Today.
Tatyana (to Gremin)
My friend, I'm tired!
(Tatiana leaves, leaning on Gremin's arm. Onegin
follows her with his eyes.)
Onegin (to himself)
Is it the same Tatyana,
I'm alone
In a deaf, distant side,
In the good fervor of moralizing,
Have you ever read instructions?
The girl that I
66
Neglected in humble share?
Was she really
So indifferent, so bold?
But what about me? I'm like in a dream!
What moved in the depths
Souls cold and lazy?
Annoyance?.. Vanity?.. Or again
Care of youth - love? ..
Alas, there is no doubt - I am in love;
In love like a boy, full of youthful passion!
Let me die, but first
I'm in blinding hope
Taste the magical poison of desire
I'm drunk on an impossible dream!
Everywhere, everywhere he is in front of me,
The desired image, dear,
Everywhere, everywhere he is before me!
(Onegin leaves quickly. The guests are dancing an ecossaise.)
Picture two
A room in the house of Prince Gremin. Tatyana reads a letter
Onegin.
Tatyana (crying)
Oh, how hard it is for me! Again Onegin
He stood in my way, like a merciless ghost!
He angered my soul with his fiery gaze,
He resurrected the passion that had died out so vividly,
It's like I'm a girl again
As if nothing could separate me from him!
(Onegin enters. Seeing Tatyana, he quickly approaches
to her and falls on his knees before her.)
67
Enough, get up!.. I must
You explain frankly.
Onegin, remember that hour
When in the garden, in the alley, fate brought us together,
And so humbly did I listen to your lesson?
Oh, have pity... have pity on me:
I was so wrong, I am so punished!
Onegin, I was younger then
I seem to be better
And I loved you... But what,
What I found in your heart
What answer?.. One severity!..
Isn't it true, you weren't news
Humble girls love?
And now - God! - the blood freezes
As soon as I remember the cold look
And this sermon!
But I don't blame you.
In that terrible hour you acted nobly,
You were right in front of me.
Then, isn't it? - in a desert,
Far from the vain rumors,
You didn't like me... Well now
Are you following me?
Why do you have me in mind?
Is it not because in high society
Now I must appear
That I am rich and noble
That the husband is mutilated in battles,
68
What is it that the yard caresses us for?
Is it because my shame
Now everyone would be noticed
And could bring in society
You seductive honor?
Oh! Oh my God! Really,
Is it in my humble prayer
Will see your cold gaze
A contemptible trick?
I am tormented by your reproach!
If only you knew how awful
Longing for love,
Blaze - and mind all the time
Subdue the excitement in the blood;
Want to hug your knees
And, sobbing, at your feet
Pour out prayers, confessions, penalties,
Everything, everything that I could express!
Cry! These tears
More expensive than all the treasures of the world!
Oh!
Happiness was so possible
So close, so close!
Onegin and Tatyana
Happiness was so possible
So close, so close, close!
But my fate is already sealed
And irrevocably!
I got married. You must,
I beg you, leave me!
Leave?! Leave?! How to leave you?!
No! No! See you every minute
Follow you everywhere
The smile of the mouth, the movement of the eyes
Catch with loving eyes
Listen to you for a long time, understand
Soul all your perfection,
To freeze before you in passionate agony,
To fade and fade: this is bliss,
Here is one of my dreams
One bliss!
Onegin, there is in your heart
And pride and direct honor ...
I can't leave you!
Eugene, you must
I beg you, leave me!
70
Oh, take pity!
Why hide, why lie!
Oh! I love you!..
What do I hear?!
What word did you say?
Oh joy! My life!
You have become the former Tatyana! ..
No no!
Don't bring back the past!
I am now given to someone else
My fate is already sealed
I will forever be faithful to him!
Oh don't drive! you love me
And I will not leave you;
You will waste your life in vain ...
That is the will of heaven: you are mine!
Your whole life was a pledge
Connections with me
And know that I am sent to you by God,
Until the grave, I'm your guardian!
You can't reject me
You must leave me
Hateful house and noisy light, -
You have no other way!
71
Onegin! I will remain firm
I am given by fate to another
I will live with him and will not part,
No, I must remember the vows!
(About myself.)
Penetrates deep into the heart
His desperate call
But, having suppressed the ardor of criminal,
The duty of honor is harsh, sacred
Feeling wins!
Together
No, you can't reject me!
You must leave everything for me, everything!
Hateful house, and noisy light, -
You have no other way!
Oh, don't chase me, please!
Do you love me!
You will ruin your life in vain!
You are mine, forever mine!
Tatiana
I'm out!
No no no no!
Enough!
72
Oh please don't go!
No, I will stay strong!
I love you, love you!
Leave me alone!
Love you!
Farewell forever!
(Tatiana leaves.)
Shame!.. Longing!..
Oh, my miserable lot!
Footnotes to page 45
1 Please sing the verse! (fr.).
2 Because the verse was written for her!
Footnotes to page 46
2 beautiful
3 these shores
4 Bonheur - happiness.
Footnotes to page 47
1 Cotillion is a ballroom dance that combines waltz, mazurka, polka.
P.I. Tchaikovsky opera "Eugene Onegin"
In the musical work "" Tchaikovsky sang the height of feelings and the poetry of the soul of Pushkin's Tatyana. Having retained the original characteristics of the main characters, the composer portrayed them somewhat differently. Thus, the operatic image of Lensky becomes a reproduction of sincerity and enthusiasm of feelings, uniting in spiritual kinship with the image of Tatyana. The general characteristics of the lyrical characters, as well as their destinies, are closely intertwined in this drama. The scenes organically depict the emotional experiences of the lyrical heroes, emphasize the depth of their feelings and emotions.The music seems to complete the understatement of the words and is a continuation of the speech of the characters. It must be said that the operatic interpretation of Pushkin's novel literally captivated the public and marked the beginning of a new stage in the genre of lyrical opera.
Summary of the opera Tchaikovsky "Eugene Onegin" and many interesting facts about this work, read on our page.
|
Characters |
Description |
|
| Tatiana | soprano | lyrical heroine in love with Onegin |
| Olga | contralto | Tatiana's sister |
| Larina | mezzo-soprano | lady, landlady |
| baritone | a young man from St. Petersburg, tired of social life | |
| Lensky | tenor | friend of Onegin, admirer of Olga Larina |
| Filippovna | mezzo-soprano | nanny |
| Prince Gremin | bass | Tatyana's husband |
Summary of "Eugene Onegin"
Events begin in the Larin estate. Here you can hear the girlish tunes of young charmers - Tatyana and Olga. The girls' mother and nanny Filippovna recall their young years with nostalgia. Peasants approach the estate with songs and gifts on the occasion of the end of the harvest.
Lensky, a neighbor's youth and admirer of Olga, drives up to the Larins' house. The guest is accompanied by his friend, Onegin, who has arrived from the capital. The freedom-loving guy feels terrible boredom in the wilderness and does not know how to have fun. Sentimental Tatyana falls in love with the mannered Onegin at first sight.
After meeting Onegin, Tatiana finds no peace. Trying to distract herself, the girl asks the nanny to tell her something about her early years. However, the conversation with Filippovna does not bring peace, and Tatyana decides to write a letter to her lover. All night Larina describes her feelings and by morning asks the nanny to secretly deliver a love message.
Tatyana anxiously awaits an answer from her lover. The girl hopes for reciprocity, but Onegin's answer disappointed her. The young man thanks his admirer for her sincerity, but discreetly reports that he is not ready for a serious relationship and marriage. The lectures of the secular guest leave a bitter aftertaste in Tatyana's soul.
Tatyana's birthday. The guests have fun and congratulate the hero of the occasion, among them - Lensky and Onegin. The guest from St. Petersburg is terribly bored, provincial gossip and empty talk at the ball are alien to him. To dispel longing and take revenge on Lensky for a boring evening, Onegin decided to court Olga. The frivolous coquette accepts courtship, and dances with the admirer's friend all evening. Lensky is offended by the actions of the bride and comrade. During the next dance, the friends quarrel and Lensky, in a fit of anger, challenges Onegin to a duel. No persuasion pacifies young people. Challenge accepted.
Winter morning. Lensky arrived at the appointed place of the duel. All his thoughts and reasoning are dedicated to Olga. Onegin appears, and the duelists take their positions. The battle becomes fatal for Lensky.
Onegin returns to St. Petersburg and suddenly meets Tatyana at a ball in the capital. However, now the girl is not free. Prince Gremin enthusiastically introduces his beloved wife to Onegin. Overwhelmed by sudden feelings, Onegin seeks to meet Tatiana alone.
Tatyana reads the confession of Onegin in love. Love for him is still alive, but now she has no power. Onegin enters, he utters words of love and repentance. Anxious, Tatyana recalls the past, her confessions and rejected love. However, now she is a faithful wife and pride does not allow her to commit rash acts and indulge in passionate feelings. Tatyana appeals to Onegin's honor and asks him to leave. Loneliness becomes the eternal companion of the protagonist, who loses a friend, a loved one and hope for reciprocity.
| Performance duration | ||
| I Act | II Act | III Act |
| 70 min. | 45 min. | 35 min. |
Photo:
Interesting Facts
- When writing the opera, the book plot of "Eugene Onegin" underwent a number of changes. For example, Chaikovsky described Lensky's challenge to Onegin differently. According to Pushkin's original, the appointment of a duel between friends was secret, and in the opera the quarrel took place in the presence of the guests of the ball. The people commented on the quarrel and tried to reason with their comrades, but in vain. Also, Tchaikovsky portrays Tatyana in love in a slightly different way. Unlike Pushkin's heroine, the "opera" Tatyana regrets the written confession even before the conversation with Onegin. Such a change in events contributes to a certain rethinking of the images of the main characters.
- The first performances of the opera "Eugene Onegin" ended with the tender embrace of Tatiana and Onegin, as well as the sudden appearance of Tatiana's husband, Gremin. Such a denouement caused public discontent, so the composer had to bring the piece of music as close as possible to the original.
- The performance "Eugene Onegin" is a new stage in the development of operatic art, since it was the first piece of music created under the direction of Stanislavsky.
- After staging the opera in Hamburg and Vienna under the direction of Gustav Mahler , the performance was very highly appreciated by Tchaikovsky thanks to the high conducting art of the talented Austrian composer.
- To some extent, work on "Eugene Onegin" influenced the author's personal life. Actively working on the sketches of the opera, in the spring of 1877, the composer learns about Milyukova's passionate love. A young student, like Tatyana, writes a love letter to Tchaikovsky. The musician cannot reciprocate and hardly remembers the girl, therefore, by analogy with Pushkin's hero, he writes a polite refusal. However, after some time, another frank letter comes from Antonina. Tchaikovsky is puzzled, he goes to the girl in love to see her. Acquaintance and communication with a persistent admirer led to the composer's marriage in the summer of 1877. There is an opinion that Tchaikovsky tried to avoid repeating Onegin's mistake, but, in fact, he himself committed a rash act. A sudden marriage did not bring happiness, and three weeks after the marriage, the composer leaves his young wife.
- Initially, a chamber performance of the opera was planned, but some time later Tchaikovsky created a new edition of the work. During the Soviet Union, K.S. Stanislavsky initiated the reconstruction of the original version of the opera. Now the viewer has the opportunity to see both editions.
- The recognition of the opera by the public happened gradually. The work received high marks after the changes in scenes from production to production. Thus, the piece of music turned into a performance intended for the big stage. Tchaikovsky's favorite brainchild was highly appreciated by both Russian and European audiences.
- Pushkin's novel was staged on the Russian stage even before Tchaikovsky. The first production was created by the composer A.S. Verstovsky, and the other - A.F. Lvov. Interestingly, the dramatizations contained only some scenes of the work.
- Some printed responses about "Eugene Onegin" described the weakness of the image of the main character. Of course, Onegin did not evoke the same sympathy and approval from Tchaikovsky as Lensky and Tatyana, however, his role in the opera is outlined quite clearly. The first picture describes the secular mannerisms and cold restraint of the St. Petersburg guest, and the last two pictures present Onegin in a completely different light. A special drama can be seen in the final scene of the opera, when a young man from the capital confesses his passionate love to Tatyana.
- Whatever contradictory opinions were printed by critics in the press, the Russian public accepted the opera "Eugene Onegin" with their soul. The musical and dramatic work has become the most popular in Russia and has withstood 16 performances.
Popular arias and numbers from the opera "Eugene Onegin"
Lensky's aria "What is the coming day preparing for me?" (listen)
The scene of Tatyana's letter "Let me die..." (listen)
Polonaise (listen)
Onegin's aria "You wrote to me..." (listen)
Aria Gremin "Love all ages" (listen)
Music
"Eugene Onegin" is rightfully considered one of the best operas. In this work, the verses of the great poet naturally harmonize with the music, which carries soulfulness and drama. Through melodies, the talented composer showed the national traits of a Russian person in the best light, conveyed the sublimity of feelings, morality and moral stability of the main character.
As the Russian composer and music critic Asafiev noted, the integrity of the musical composition of "Eugene Onegin" is a series of arches and sound arches, a kind of overlap from one point of events to another. The musical fabric consists of decorated themes, small motifs and modal turns.
The performance consists of a variety of solo numbers, duets, but the mass scenes are shown here not so widely. A large ensemble meets in the opera only once - in the finale of the fourth scene, during a scandal at a festive ball at the Larins. Only once does a small quartet sound in that part of the opera, when, against the background of the communication between Lensky and Onegin, Tatiana's voice is agitated, full of passion and curiosity.
Numerous duets help to reveal the thoughts and feelings of the characters in the opera. The duet of the Larin sisters shows the character of the dreamy Tatyana and the coquettish Olga, and the ensemble of Onegin and Lensky before the duel emphasizes all the drama of the circumstances that have become an obstacle for former friends. Even the chosen form of presentation for the duet only reinforces this.
There are few arias in a piece of music. In fact, only the final scene of Lensky during the duel, as well as the episode with Gremin at the ball, can be called arias. Onegin's answer to Tatyana's confession was originally also called an aria, but the lack of contrasts and the comparative brevity of the music brings him closer to an arioso.
The history of the creation of "Eugene Onegin"
The opera based on the plot of "Eugene Onegin" was written by Tchaikovsky on the advice of the singer E.A. Lavrovskaya. Initially, this idea seemed ridiculous to him, but over time, the composer was so carried away by the novel that he created the plot in just a night, after which he began to write music. Pushkin's knowledge of life and subtle spiritual organization delighted Tchaikovsky, and the composer called the book "Eugene Onegin" "a saint."
Collaborating with K.S. Shilovsky, Tchaikovsky wrote the libretto. In the script, the author sought to show the emotions and experiences of the characters, and called his work just “lyrical scenes” of the novel.
"Eugene Onegin" is the embodiment of an ideal intimate and powerful drama for Tchaikovsky, so the author was very worried about the future fate of his work. Wanting to achieve immediacy and innocence during stage effects, the composer entrusted the performance of the roles to students of the Moscow Conservatory.
The play premiered in March 1879. After triumphant performances at the Bolshoi Moscow Theater and the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the opera has become one of the most sought-after and popular musical works.
Opera success Tchaikovsky "Eugene Onegin" consisted in the fact that each viewer found in a piece of music an echo of their own experiences and feelings, and the heroes of the drama were perceived by the public as living and congenial people. The great Russian composer described Pushkin's heroes in his own way, retaining their original charm and poetry.
P.I. Tchaikovsky "Eugene Onegin"
