Eugene Onegin at Ohio Theatre

The birth of the opera Eugene Onegin began in 1877 when the opera singer Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya spoke to Tchaikovsky about creating an opera based on the plot of Alexander Pushkin’s 1825-1832 verse novel “Eugene Onegin.” According to his memoirs, the composer thought this concept was crazy at first. Tchaikovsky felt that the plot of the work was weak - a dandy rejects a young country girl, she matures into a worldly woman, and he attempts to seduce her, but it is too late. The novel’s power came from its character development and social satire, as well as the beauty of its literary delivery. Tchaikovsky came to accept the notion after a sleepless night. He wrote the scenes in one night before beginning to compose the music.

The Guardian said Eugene Onegin is a masterpiece and said, “Eugene Onegin is the exception to the rule that great operas have lives of their own, independent of their literary sources. It is a masterpiece, but impossible to detach from Alexander Pushkin’s verse novel on which it is based. Tchaikovsky knew that carefully categorizing it as “lyric scenes” intended for an audience in 19th-century Russia that probably could have recited large chunks of Pushkin’s work from memory. He could be sure that the crucial strands of the story of Onegin and Tatyana he omitted from his libretto would have been well known to his first audiences.”

Witness the timeless tale of Eugene Onegin and immerse yourself in the story of first love, friendships, and deep regret. Connect with the characters Eugene Onegin and Tatyana - you feel for Onegin as much as you realize he has only himself to blame. Enjoy a story of love requited too late and friendship gone irreversibly wrong.

The show will be live at the Ohio Theatre - Columbus on Friday, the 1st of March, 2024. The production will only be available for a very limited period of time, so be sure to buy your tickets before the show sells out.

Notes:
This production will be performed in its original language with English supertitles.
This production contains depictions of violence and loud noises.