Opéra National de Lorraine 2024-25 Review: Eugene Onegin

(Credit: Nilz Böhme)Contrary to what the opera indicates in most scenes, with the exception of the duel between Lensky and Onegin, the Swiss director sets the first three acts outdoors. Only the final act at Prince Gremin’s house, where the final confrontation between Tatiana Princess Gremin and Eugene Onegin takes place, is performed indoors. Underlining the fact that everything takes place in front of everyone’s eyes.

This would be no more than a detail, were it not for Belgian decorator Alixe Durand Saint Guillain‘s garden setting with its belvedere and greenish hues. Unfortunately, the set has a very strong “toc” quality. Only the last act in Prince Gremine’s palace, with a bare platform surrounded by a white curtain in front of a papier-mache montage, displays any aesthetic quality.



Another annoying feature of this staging is the constant presence of the mute gardener. Serving no useful purpose, except during the duel between Lensky and Onegin, when he suddenly acts as a witness and no less suddenly tries to deflect Onegin’s shot at Lensky, his presence ends up being comical, especially when he dances alone on the floor of Prince Gremine’s ballroom.But the most disturbing aspect of this staging is the exaggerated movements and constant shifting of the performers.

Not one character stays in place for more than two minutes. This borders on overflowing and disturbs the appreciation of certain characters, such as Olga and the Chorus.On the other hand, Dutch dresser Sanne Oostervink has wisely chosen the protagonists’ costumes.

She even gave them a certain chic, especially for the main characters. The casual attire of Lensky and Onegin in short-sleeved shirts and canvas pants, or the dresses of Tatiana, first a young teenager then a married woman, effectively show the era of the action – the Fifties – their social status and the psychology of each of them.But above all, it has to be said that the musical side of this production is not lacking in charm.

And first of all, the orchestra. Conductor Marta Gardolińska may not be conducting a Tchaikovsky work for the first time, but this Eugene Onegin is her first time conducting an opera by the famous Russian composer. Understanding the opera’s orchestra from that of the symphonies, which she has conducted before, she knows perfectly well how to use the melodious marquetry of strings and brass, in which neither has prevalence, complementing each other according to their expression and capacity, and in which the violins show a cohesion all Mozartian.

She also knows how to give each scene its own atmosphere, as in the ball scenes or the duets, without breaking the melodic flow. Such qualities are obviously reminiscent of the orchestra in The Knight of the Rose, but, after all, the passing of time and maturation are common themes in both operas. The orchestra is truly a major asset to this production.

Stunning CastThe vocal set is not to be outdone. The first thing to note is the high quality of the Russian spoken by the performers, who followed the advice of language instructor Inna Petcheniouk. Beginning with the superb duet of French mezzo Julie Pasturaud as Madame Larina, and French mezzo Sophie Pondjiclis as Filipievna, the opera opens with the themes of aging, the passage of time and habit, in their supple, highly articulated, low voices.

Their vocal qualities double their scenes with their heavy, precious heat. French mezzo Héloïse Mas as Olga exudes a light mezzo, clear and fresh as fine velvet, quite salient to this cheerful young woman. The aria in which she reproaches her sister Tatiana for being too dreamy instead of enjoying life as she does, and the party scene at Madame Larina’s, are enough to showcase her talent.

Her interpretation is all the more remarkable for the fact that she keeps moving and moving, while retaining enough breath for her arias and duets.Albanian soprano Enkeleda Kamani makes excellent use of her frankness, clarity and satin timbre to portray first a young, dreamy Tatiana in love, then a strong, mature woman resisting her past love. The letter scene and its recitatives in the last part of the opera show her vocal nuances depicting two states of the same woman.

The male characters are not to be outdone. Welsh tenor Robert Lewis‘s Lensky, whose clarity and freshness emphasize his youth and impulsiveness, is always accurate in his interpretation. His qualities are most apparent in his aria before the duel with Onegin, and in his declarations to Olga.

His acting and tone show a character who is trying to assert himself, but who is still uncertain.South African tenor Jacques Imbrailo‘s Onegin is a perfect success. Never really in his place, he strongly embodies the outcast Eugene Onegin from the outset.

Above all, here’s a tenor who sings like he talks, with natural ease. His address to Tatiana in Act one is striking in its clarity and restraint. His soliloquy in the flow of the last act is a testament to his worth.

The quality of the vocal ensemble is also remarkable in its duets. The duet between Lensky and Onegin has the honesty of a friendship, those between Lensky and Olga in the first act, and those between Madame Larina and Filipievna the assured calm of an old friendship. The final duet between Tatiana, now Princess, and Onegin, now more of an outcast than ever, brings us to a superb close with the confrontation between maturity, which stands in stark contrast to its past, and youth, which refuses to grow old.

All the distance between the two Tatianas is there, all the life that Onegin let pass without changing.One must also acknowledge the fine work of the chorus, very well led by Guillaume Fauchère. Lively, firm and dazzling.

It’s up to its usual high standards. This is a quality of work that many had been waiting for to return to Nancy.From February 28 to March 6, Opéra de Nancy and Magdeburg Opera present a version of Eugene Onegin, directed by Julien Chavaz.

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