opera notebook
some operas I have seen on videoPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin (1879)
libretto by the composer
Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf, 2024
- Conductor: Vitali Alekseenok
- Director: Michael Thalheimer
- Set Designer: Henrik Ahr
- Onegin: Bogdan Baciu
- Tatiana: Ekaterina Sannikova
- Lensky: Ovidiu Purcel
- Gremin: Bogdan Taloş
Despite a design concept that is basically "Excel Spreadsheet," the 2024 production of Eugene Onegin at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein develops considerable musical and dramatic power. Almost no props appear. Tatiana must mime the writing of her letter. The duellists do get pistols, and climb a ladder to a height where they duel; and in the third act, a chair appears because Onegin must be tired by that point. Everything else takes place on a bare stage in front of the spreadsheet – though elements of the spreadsheet can be moved forward and backward, creating stairs or the duelling platform.