This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.
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| Mariusz Kwiecheń and Ana María Martínez Photo: Todd Rosenberg |
My wife Sherry once
observed that the phrase “men behaving badly” could summarize the stories of
most of opera’s core repertory. Tchaikovsky's
1879 Eugene Onegin, a powerful
production of which runs through March 20th at Lyric Opera of
Chicago, would certainly be a classic example.
The self-absorbed
protagonist, to quote Wikipedia’s pithy plot summary, “lives to regret his
blasé rejection of a young woman's love and his careless incitement of a fatal
duel with his best friend.” He could
easily become tiresome, but the fact that Pushkin was able to make this callow
fellow the basis for a beloved verse novel is a tribute to his genius. The fact that Tchaikovsky and his librettist
Konstantin Shilovsky turned that novel into a moving work for the stage is a
tribute to theirs.
Lyric Opera's production originated
with the Met in New York back in 1997.
It has been revived often since then and even set down for posterity on
DVD in 2007. Paula Suozzi is credited
with directing the current production, based on Robert Carsen's original, and
the results are impressive, to say the least.
Blocking flows from and enhances the characters, pacing is always right,
and the stage pictures created are visually striking.
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| Alisa Kolosova, Ana María Martínez, and Charles Castronovo Photo: Todd Rosenberg |
Michael Levine's minimal
set contributes a great deal to the compelling look of this show. Using only furniture on a bare stage to
indicate time and place, it forcefully underscores the emotional aridity of
Onegin's world. Covering the stage with
brightly colored autumn leaves for the opening scenes in the countryside,
meanwhile, emphasizes the contrast of that world with Onegin's.
Those wonderful visuals
wouldn't be worth much without a great cast, of course, and Lyric certainly has
that. Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecheń's
Onegin is properly cool and even a bit arrogant at first as he rejects the
amorous advances of the young and naïve Tatiana, which makes his emotional
breakdown at the end of the opera that much more effective. His potent voice rings with true authority.
Tenor Charles Castronovo is
his friend Lensky, whom Onegin kills in a duel after an absurd argument caused
by an innocent bit of flirtation on the part of Onegin and Lensky's love
Olga. His first act confession of love
for Olga was heartfelt and beautifully sung, as was the famed second act
monolog in which he contemplates his impending death in the duel. Both were enthusiastically received by the
audience at the premiere, with shouts of "bravo" after the latter.
Perhaps the best-known
number in the entire opera in the Act I "letter" scene in which Tatiana recklessly declares her infatuation with
Onegin. Tchaikovsky is said to have very
much identified with Tatiana’s hopelessly thwarted passion (being gay in a
sexually repressive culture will do that to a person) and has given the
character some of the most dramatic and compelling music in the opera.
Soprano
Ana María Martínez is Lyric's Tatiana and while she clearly looks much older
than the character's nineteen years in Act I, she acted the role with complete
conviction. When she dashed about the
stage in giddy abandon after pouring out her heart in her letter to Onegin, she
was so obviously the hormone-fueled adolescent that suspension of disbelief was
automatic. She also used all the colors
of her wide-ranging voice to brilliantly illuminate this crucial scene.
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| Alisa Kolosova and Charles Castronovo Photo: Todd Rosenberg |
Russian
mezzo Alisa Kolosova was equally credible as Tatnia's sister Olga, brimming
with youthful optimism. Her cool, fluid
voice was a perfect fit for the part.
Eugene
Onegin opens with a bit of wistful comedy as Tatiana’s mother Larina and the family nurse Filipyevna peel apples
and reminisce about the former's days as a fashionable young girl, before
marriage turned her into a member of the landed gentry in the country where
"heaven sends us habit to take the place of happiness". Mezzos Katharine Goeldner and Jill Grove,
respectively, were impeccable in those roles, hitting just the right balance of
humor and nostalgia.
There
are a couple of plum cameo parts in the opera as well, the most notable being
that of Prince Gremin, the
middle-aged general whom Tatiana, following in her mother’s dutiful footsteps,
eventually marries. Russian bass Dmitry Belosselskiy
captured all the character's emotional warmth and calm, ethical center as he
tells Onegin of his love for Tatiana in a touching and lyrical aria. At passionate length, he muses that she is a
welcome change from the shallow, insincere, and morally questionable characters
that he’s obliged to deal with on a regular basis – characters, in short,
rather like Onegin. It was a truly
memorable performance, sung with great authority and real power even in the
lowest notes.
The
other great cameo is foppish
Triquet, whose little French language serenade to Olga at her name-day party
offers a brief respite from the raging hormone- and vodka-fueled battle that
leads to the fatal duel between Lensky and Onegin. Tenor Keith Jameson sang the role with just
the right light lyricism and made the character just affected enough to be
amusing without falling over into cheap comedy.
The
chorus serves an important narrative function in Onegin, especially in the famous Act II waltz, so kudos to Chorus
Mater Michael Black for getting such a clear and crisp sound from his
thoroughly professional singers. Down in
the pit Alejo Pérez, making his American debut, conducted a warm and very
convincing account of Tchaikovsky's score.
When
Tchaikovsky wrote what he described as
“lyrical scenes” from the famous novel (he declined to label it an
opera), it was with the understanding that his Russian audience would fill in
all the narrative gaps and backstory between those scenes. Now, the place and culture that produced Eugene Onegin may be forever beyond our
grasp, but Lyric's excellent production bridges the gap and brings the powerful
emotions home.
Performances
of Lyric Opera of Chicago's Eugene Onegin
continue through March 20th at the Civic Opera House in the Chicago
Loop. For more information: lyricopera.org.
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