Programs · Episode

TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, May 18, 2019 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

A brooding masterpiece, Tchaikovsky's dark drama deals with a caddish aristocrat whose indifference towards others turns full circle and comes back to destroy him.  We’ll hear extended highlights from two recordings. From 1970, Mstislav Rostropovich leads the Bolshoi Orchestra and Chorus of Moscow, with Yuri Mazoukov as Onegin, and Galina Vishnyevskaya as Tatyana.  Also, a 1993 release with Dmitri Hvrostovsky in the title role, alongside Nuccia Focile as Tatyana, and led by conductor Semyon Bychkov.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor
Bolshoi Theater Orchestra and Chorus
CAST:  Yuri Mazoukov (Eugene Onegin); Galina Vishnyevskaya (Tatyana); Vladimir Atlantov (Lensky); Tamara Siniavskaya (Olga); Tatiana Tougarinova (Madame Larina); Alexander Ognivtsev (Prince Gremin); Larissa Avdeyeva (Filipyevna)
(Harmonia Mundi 278485/86)

Semyon Bychkov, conductor
Orchestra of Paris, St. Petersburg Chamber Choir
CAST:  Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Eugene Onegin); Nuccia Focile (Tatyana); Neil Shicoff (Lensky); Olga Borodina (Olga); Sarah Walker (Madame Larina); Alexander Anisimov (Prince Gremin); Irina Arkhipova (Filipyevna)
(Decca 4757017)

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

There are plenty of ways to take chances in life — some more obvious, and optional, than others. Skydiving and bungee jumping, for example, are among the many activities that daredevils may relish, but more risk-averse individuals tend to avoid.

Still, even those who are leery of physical danger will often brave emotional territory that may be even more intimidating — by taking what might be called the "romantic plunge." It happens when you fall so hard for someone that you simply spill it all, telling your new heartthrob exactly how you feel without knowing if those feelings are anything close to mutual.

These days, that sort of risk can easily be taken without truly thinking about it: with a spontaneous text, a reckless tweet, or an impulsive Instagram message. But, back before “devices” dominated communication it was often done with a love letter, and a letter is more than just an impulse.  A love letter takes genuine courage — the courage to ponder your fondest hopes, carefully commit them to paper, drop them in the mail and then wait, helplessly, for a reply.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky knew all about love letters. In the spring of 1877, he received one from a music student he hardly remembered from the Moscow Conservatory. It seems he didn't pay it much mind — never considering how that might affect his would-be lover.

Then, during the same month, a friend introduced him to Eugene Onegin, a verse novel by Pushkin, thinking it might make a good opera.  In the story, the title character receives a touching love letter from an earnest young woman — and rejects her passion out of hand, with disastrous consequences.

Tchaikovsky was determined not to live out that same scenario. So, when he received another letter from his admirer, he agreed to meet her.  Before long he actually proposed marriage. Weeks later, with the wedding at hand, the composer had also finished two thirds of his new opera.

The marriage didn't turn out so well. Tchaikovsky and his new wife were both miserable, and they split after only a few months. The opera has fared much better.  It may now be the most popular Russian opera of all time.

On At the Opera,  we’ll follow the drama’s three, intense acts, in a pair of recordings.  One, from 1970, features the Bolshoi Orchestra and Chorus, led by Mstislav Rostropovich, with Yuri Mazoukov in the title role.  From 1993, Dmitri Hvorostovsky is Onegin, with conductor Semyon Bychkov.

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