Patrick Nolan's staging of Eugene Onegin for Opera North, a co-production with Irish National Opera and Opera Queensland, brings Tchaikovsky's opera into the era of pre-Putin oligarchy. The production captures the aching melancholy of Pushkin's original while reflecting on the gloomy transition from the Brezhnev-era Soviet state to reckless excess.
A shifting timeframe
The opera's central theme of the road not taken is reflected in a gently elasticated timeframe. In Act I, Leslie Travers' crumbling civic gymnasium is used to rehearse a pageant praising Soviet agricultural policy. Lenin-emblazoned flags remind the audience that Madame Larina and Filipyevna would have grown up in the shadow of Stalin.
Act II's gaudy tracksuits and 80s bling, with costume designer Elizabeth Gadsby having a field day, give way to formal evening wear and diamonds in the final act. This suggests an entire way of life has been swept away, along with any chance to correct past mistakes.
Vivid details and a genius duel
Nolan never fully explores the darker side of Soviet society. The Opera North Chorus, 100% committed and singing heroically in convincing Russian, appear as contented comrades with little to fear. However, the production is full of vivid details, and turning the anachronistic duel into a game of Russian roulette was a stroke of genius.
Some blocking and gestures feel stagy at times, and vogueing to Tchaikovsky's waltz is bizarre, but Nolan's concept is crystal clear and his handling of the central story is emotionally satisfying.
Standout performances
British soprano Verity Wingate and American baritone John Brancy stand out as the hapless lovers. Wingate's warm timbre and alertness to text crushes the great letter scene, while Brancy's steely tone renders Onegin as a fully complex antihero.
Caspar Singh delivers a supple rendition of Lensky's famous aria, and Jingwen Cai's burgundy mezzo-soprano suits the fun-loving Olga. Joshua Bloom brings theatrical allure to Prince Gremin, a silver fox whose silken bass and oligarch's smile mask a hint of menace.
Musical direction
Opera North music director Garry Walker mines Tchaikovsky's expressive score for every nugget of passion and pathos in an idiomatically stylish account. The orchestra, especially the lustrous woodwind and coursing strings, plays with terrific elan.
The production runs at Leeds Grand theatre until 29 October, then tours.
