Eugene Onegin

The performance this month of Eugene Onegin -->by Tchaikovsky was much more to my liking. I had really been looking forward to seeing this opera in person since I first encountered the opera on DVD and CD over the last year. I had seen Queen of Spades another Tchaikovsky opera earlier this year and had seen Rene Fleming's performance at the Met on DVD. This current performance had Karita Mattila singing the lead soprano role of Tatiana. She was really impressive in the role as many people in the audience were saying to one another. Interestingly, she had the soprano lead in Salome earlier this year which was an entirely different kind of role. Salome required her to appear naked for about 4 seconds in her role as a mega blasphemer. In Onegin she was at the opposite end of the spectrum as a woman who places her wifely obligations over embarking upon an illicit romance with Onegin. Tchaikovsky uses the music to slowly build the dramatic tension over the course of the opera as Tatiana first offers her love as a young girl to Onegin only to be rejected, then moves on into society while Onegin roams around the world beset with guilt over having killed his best friend in a duel, and then finally returns the favor by rejecting Onegin even though both admit their love for one another. The role of Eugene Onegin was sung by Thomas Hampson who was also quite good and really looked the part. Apparently Matilla is someone in the process of making her mark at the Met.