This was the second time that the Met had presented Eugene Onegin on the HD Live series, the previous time being in February of 2007 in a production that was pretty stark and sterile. This new production’s second half retained the stark and sterile, but the first half was more visually appealing.
The first act was set in a room in the Larin mansion that seemed to be a transition from “inside” to “outside.” The back wall of the set comprised about half a dozen panels of large windows, with pull-down shades in front of each window. One panel was omitted, which permitted us to look out into the garden beyond, said garden consisting of birch trees. Inside was some fairly simple wooden furniture, the kind that wouldn’t get hurt too much if subjected to the elements. To the right, a short flight of painted wooden steps led into the house proper. For Tatiana’s letter scene, the curtain came down, stagehands pushed things around to no great effect, and the curtain came back up on a room that looked pretty much the same, just darker. Then the stagehands put things back the way they were for the final scene.
Act 2 Scene 1 was set in the ballroom of the Larin estate. This time we saw back to the rear wall of the ballroom, with a large opening (the width of several doors) to another large room. A few windows in the back wall, and a few upholstered dining chairs completed the set. For Scene 2, the duel, we returned to stark and sterile, not that the previous scenes had been particularly lavish. The ground was black and shiny, and dotted with a few small leafless trees; a larger, fallen leafless tree occupied much of center stage. Well, it’s winter, that’s OK.
In Act 3, several years later, we were at another ball, this time in St. Petersburg. The ballroom dancers needed to navigate among a number of wide marble columns that rose out of sight. An simple but elegant upholstered dining chair was positioned in front of each of the forward columns. Scene 2 dimmed the lights, removed the chairs, retained the columns, and added a small leafless tree and falling snow.
Our cast:
Eugene Onegin: Mariusz Kwiecien
Tatiana: Anna Netrebko
Olga: Oksana Volkova
Lenski: Piotr Beczala
Prince Gremin: Alexei Tanovitski
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Production: Deborah Warner
Director: Fiona Shaw
Most of the principals sang well, although the general mood seemed subdued; Anna Netrebko, whom I have been following for nearly 20 years, was more suited to the matronly role of Mrs. Gremin than to the young woman who fell head-over-heels for Onegin. Alexei Tanovitski must have been having an off day. I’ve not heard him before, but his aria for Prince Gremin in Act 3 fell flat, I’ve heard better from regional opera companies. I doubt that this performance will have any staying power at all in my memory, so it’s short of a beta.
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