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Saturday, March 2nd │ 7:30pm Get Tickets
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This production will be performed in its original language with English supertitles.
Please note: this production contains depictions of violence and loud noises.
#EugeneOC
What’s Interesting About This Opera…
- Eugene Onegin is thought to be Tchaikovsky’s greatest opera
- All of Opera Columbus’ 2023-24 Season shows are directed by females!
SYNOPSIS
Prologue
Tatyana’s Room, St. Petersburg
Tatyana pours over a letter she has reread many times since her youth.
Act One
Scene one | Autumn. The country estate of Madam Larina
Larina and the nurse Filippyevna are doing housework while Tatyana and Olga, Larina’s daughters, sing. Larina recalls the days of her courtship when she was loved by another man before marrying her husband.
Their friends arrive singing a folk tune. Tatyana daydreams, lost in a romance novel, while Olga asserts that she would rather dance and be playful. Larina exhorts to Tatyana that life is not like romantic heroines in novels, but Tatyana disregards her.
Lensky, Olga’s fiancé, and his friend Onegin arrive. Onegin questions why Lensky would choose the superficial Olga over her more enigmatic sister. Quickly, Tatyana reveals herself attracted to Onegin, which Olga notices with concern.
The couples separate for walks. Onegin describes his boredom with the countryside to Tatyana. Lensky poetically declares his love for Olga.
Scene two | Tatyana’s bedroom
Tatyana pesters Filippyevna to tell her stories of her youth and marriage. Tatyana confesses that she has fallen in love and asks to be left alone. In her feverish passion, she writes a letter to Onegin
revealing the force of her love and declaring herself to him. Dawn breaks. Tatyana gives the letter to Filippyevna to deliver to Onegin.
Scene three | The garden
The workers are gathering fruit while Tatyana anxiously awaits Onegin. He arrives and acknowledges the letter. He tells her, kindly, but patronizingly, that while he admires her candor, he has no intention of marrying and would be bored by it. He is not interested in such love and can only offer her brotherly affection. Onegin suggests Tatyana not be so open in the future, lest other men take advantage of her innocence. Tatyana is distraught and cannot reply.
Act Two
Scene one | Three months later
It is Tatyana’s name day. The community has been invited to the house to celebrate. Reluctantly, Onegin has agreed to accompany Lensky, but is annoyed that it is an enormous party and not an intimate celebration and he grows irritated by those gossiping around him. To frustrate them and Lenksy, he flirts with Olga. Olga reciprocates Onegin’s attention, which causes Lensky’s jealousy to grow. Lensky protests, but Olga cannot see what she has done wrong. Onegin laughingly persists by engaging with her again. The situation is temporarily defused with a song by Monsieur Triquet, Tatyana’s French tutor. With his temper and jealousy raging, Lensky, in front of all the guests, renounces his friendship with Onegin and impetuously challenges him. Onegin realizes he has pushed his friend too far, but Lensky’s accusations enrage him as well.
Scene two | The next morning
Lensky, with his second, Zaretsky, awaits his opponent. He broods on his daft decision to challenge his friend and mourns over his love for Olga and his potential death. Onegin arrives late. Both men raise their regrets, but the argument escalates into a tense game of Russian Roulette.
Act Three
Scene one | Years later, St. Petersburg
A grand ball is taking place. Onegin, back from years of travel abroad is bored and remorseful. He reflects on the emptiness of his existence. Prince Gremin enters with his gorgeous young wife. In shock, Onegin recognizes the princess as Tatyana, now regal, dignified and beautiful. Gremin tells Onegin of his transformation by his love for Tatyana. He introduces him to her, unaware of their past. Tatyana and Onegin are formal with each other. Tatyana says she is tired and leaves the ball. Onegin realizes he has fallen in love with Tatyana.
Scene two | Gremin’s House
Tatyana has received a love letter from Onegin. Distressed with her reawakened passion, she awaits his arrival. Entering, he falls at her feet, proclaiming his deep love for her. Tatyana reminds him of his previous rejection of her, not comprehending why he has changed. Onegin denies all cynical motives. Tatyana is greatly moved, but she asks him to leave. Even in hearing Onegin’s overtures of love, Tatyana explains that she will not yield. Though she admits that she still loves him, her loyalty must lie with her duty to Gremin. Resolved, she departs. Onegin is left alone with his misery and despair.
Credit: Omaha Opera
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Should I Wear?
There is no dress code for the opera! Some patrons choose to dress for a special occasion and others prefer to keep it casual.
Where Should I Park?
Parking is available at the Columbus Commons Parking Garage located off of Rich or Main Street.
When Should I Arrive?
Plan on arriving about 30-40 minutes early. This gives you plenty of time to park, get your tickets from will call if you need to and find your seats without feeling rushed. Latecomers are seated (or stand) in the rear of the theatre until ushers take them to their seats at an appropriate point in the production.
CREATIVES
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Konstantin Shilovsky
Rosetta Cucchi studied at the ‘Rossini’ Conservatoire in Pesaro and DAMS University in Bologna. She graduated at Piano and Music History. Master degree at Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Pianistico di Imola. From 2001 to 2015 she was appointed as Artistic Director of Lugo Opera Festival (in Lugo), and began an intense collaboration with Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Lugo Opera Festival (LOF) set itself the goal of rediscovering obsolete operas and enhancing the operatic, chamber and symphonic repertoire of the 20th century. Among the most significant seasons, achieving great public and critics success, we can recall “The triumph of Clelia” C.W. Gluck (2001); the diptych “Une education manquè” E. Chabrier and “Le pauvre matelot” D. Milhaud (2002); “El retablo de maese Pedro” M. De Falla (2004), “la bella addormentata nel bosco” by O. Respighi (2005/2006) “Arlecchino” by F.Busoni and “Pulcinella” by I Stravinskij in co-production with Wexford Opera Festival (2006/07); Italian premiere of “Jackie O” by M. Dougherty (2008); “Sweeney Todd” by S. Sondheim, Italian premiere (2009), Italian premiere of “Powder her face” by Thomas Ades ( 2010/11), “The servant” by M.Tutino (2012), “Jacob Lenz” by Wolfgang Rihm (2013), the world premiere commissioned by Lugo Opera Festival and Angelica Bologna of “Himmels – T Ü R (Heaven’s door- ) “By Karlheinz Stockhausen (2014/15). Many performers have participated in LOF: Since 2005 she has been appointed as Artistic Director of Arturo Toscanini Foundation (FAT) in Parma of which she is still at the helm. (www.fondazionetoscanini.it ) She begins the artistic reorganization with the repositioning of the two orchestras under FAT: ORER (Regional Orchestra ‘Emilia Romagna) which becomes a service orchestra for operas in various theatres of the region and for all the educational activity; and Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini (quality brand) that performs an intense concert-symphonic activity and participates as a reference orchestra at Verdi Festival at Teatro Regio in Parma. Directing FAT since 2005, she led the foundation to have an intense cultural activity, creating a concert season of 18 concerts, called “Nuove Atmosfere”, which is held every year in Parma at Paganini Auditorium (780 seats). In 2007, only two years after its birth, all the tickets for the concert season were sold out, and the second round of season tickets was proposed to accomodate the numerous requests. The two rounds (season tickets as well as single ones) are sold out so far. Parallel to the symphonic season, an Educational activity has been developed through concerts, educational, sound, cultural and emotional workshops dedicated to young people, which involves every year 5,000 youths between 6 and 18 years of age. 3 Rosetta Cucchi has given new life to “Arturo Toscanini International Competition”, for young conductors with a biennial rhythm that has become one of the most recognized competitions in Europe once again. Between 2008 and 2012 Rosetta was commissioned by FAT to artistically direct the Municipal Theatre of Piacenza where she successfully staged four seasons of such operas as: Salome R. Strauss; Elektra R. Strauss; Cenerentola G. Rossini; Traviata G. Verdi; Romeo and Juliette C. Gounod; Idomeneo W.A. Mozart; I Vespri Siciliani G. Verdi; Trovatore G. Verdi; Il viaggio a Reims G. Rossini. She brought Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic on tour in Italy and around the world. Among the most significant performances we can recall: Tour China -Laurence Foster conductor; Concert for the Memorial Day in 2016 at the Santa Cecilia auditorium in Rome (live on television RAI) – Joel Levi conductor; Taormina Festival; Festival Bad Kissingen – Gautier Capucon (cello); Festival Rheingau Wiesbaden – Peretyatko, (S) Brownlee, (T) Scappucci conductor; Festival Enescu (Bucharest) – Emmanuel Krivine conductor. The recordings of these years were: Respighi – Gregorian Concert with Domenico Nordio for Sony label; Vissi d’arte, Vissi d’amore with Daniela Dessì for Decca label; Tutto buffo with Paolo Bordogna for Decca label; and a 2019 project of Fanciulla del west by Puccini with Lawrence Foster for Penthaton Music. FAT activities include 130 concerts and 45 lyrical recitals every year so far. Since 1995 Rosetta works for Wexford Festival Opera in many roles, as pianist, stage director and associated AD, which allowed her to accumulate a great knowledge and experience of this wonderful Festival and his great tradition of discovering rare works.
Rosetta Cucchi
-among the singers we can recall Mariella Devia, Sonia Ganassi, Daniela Barcelona, Fiona Mc Andrew, Paolo Bordogna, Bruno Praticò and Michele Pertusi;
-among the directors: Damiano Michieletto, Pierluigi Pizzi, Michał Znaniecki, Henning Brockhouse and many others;
-among the conductors: Diego Fasolis, Michele Mariotti, Christofer Franklin and many more.
The artistic direction of Rosetta Cucchi has led Lugo to become a cultural and artistic event established and appreciated throughout Italy and recognized by the press and the public as one of the most important and acclaimed niche festivals.
-Among the conductors invited in the various seasons I would like to mention: Vladimir Juroskij; James Conlon; Kazushi Ono; Tom Koopman; Michele Mariotti; Tan Dun; Lawrence Foster; Stephane Deneuve; Carlo Rizzi; Wayne Marshal.
-Among the soloists: Christian Zimmerman (piano); Ivo Pogorelich (piano); Rudolf Buchbinder (piano); Stephen Hough (piano); Michail Vasil’evič Pletnëv (piano); Sergey Krilov (violin); Isabelle Faust (violin); Rachel Barton-Pine (violin); Midori Goto (violin); Mischa Maisky (cello); Mario Brunello (cello); Natalia Gutman (cello); Sharon Isbin (guitar).
-Among the singers who took part in concerts or recitals: Juan Diego Florez; Mariella Devia; Olga Peretyatko; Lawrence Brownlee; Anja Kampe; Ian Bostridge; Thomas Hampson; Paolo Bordogna; Roberto De candia; Michele Pertusi.
Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is currently the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and newly appointed chief conductor of the Slovenian RTV Orchestra in Ljubljana. Milanov has established himself as a conductor with considerable national and international presence. He recently completed a seven-year tenure as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. Nationally, he has appeared with the Colorado, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Seattle, and Fort Worth symphonies, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Link-Up education projects with Carnegie Hall and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and with the Civic Orchestra in Chicago. Internationally, he has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de la Suisse Romand, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Aalborg, Latvian, and Hungarian National Symphony Orchestras and the orchestras in Toronto, Vancouver, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic (South Africa), Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paolo, Belo Horizonte, and New Zealand. In the Far East, he has appeared with NHK, Sapporo, Tokyo, and Singapore symphonies, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, and Malaysian and Hong Kong Philharmonics. Milanov has collaborated with some of the world’s preeminent artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff, and André Watts. During his 11-year tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milanov conducted more than 200 performances. In 2015, he completed a 15-year tenure as music director of the nationally recognized training orchestra Symphony in C in New Jersey, and in 2013, a 17-year tenure with the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. His passion for new music has resulted in numerous world premieres of works by composers such as Derek Bermel, Mason Bates, Caroline Shaw, Phillip Glass, Richard Danielpour, Nicolas Maw, and Gabriel Prokofiev, among others. Noted for his versatility, Milanov is also a welcomed presence in the worlds of opera and ballet. He has collaborated with Komische Oper Berlin (Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk), Opera Oviedo (Spanish premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Mazzepa and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle – awarded best Spanish production for 2015), and Opera Columbus (Verdi’s La Traviata). An experienced ballet conductor, he has been seen at New York City Ballet and collaborated with some of the best known choreographers of our time such Mats Ek, Benjamin Millepied, and most recently, Alexei Ratmansky in the critically acclaimed revival of Swan Lake in Zurich with the Zurich Ballet and in Paris with La Scala Ballet. Milanov was recipient of an Arts Prize by The Columbus Foundation. Under his leadership, the Columbus Symphony has expanded its reach by connecting original programing with community-wide initiatives such as focusing on women composers, nature conservancy, presenting original festivals, and supporting and commissioning new music. In Princeton, he celebrated his tenth anniversary as music director, and under his leadership, the orchestra has established an excellent artistic reputation and has been recognized for its innovation and vital role in the community. Milanov studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, where he received the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship. A passionate chef, he often dedicates his culinary talents to various charities.
Rossen Milanov
Brandon Shaw McKnight passionately believes that art has the power to inspire, reflect, educate, and empower. Well-versed in multiple genres of the performing arts, they most recently served as the assistant director for Le Nozze di Figaro, Annapolis Opera and Dreamgirls, Morgan State University. In 2019, Shaw McKnight produced and directed a staged version of Handel’s Messiah, which they have since performed annually. An exceptional artist who can be found on and behind the stage, Shaw McKnight has been a part of productions on Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center with Teatro Nuovo, The Kennedy Center, Toledo Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Baltimore and in Italy. They are often seen performing in his hometown of Baltimore, MD. In addition to joining Opera Columbus as the Crane Directing Fellow, Shaw McKnight is currently a directing resident artist with Opera North.
Brandon Shaw McKnight
Shaw McKnight has been a young artist with programs such as La Musica Lirica, New York City Lyric Opera Theatre, and Utopia Arts. Their love of opera began as a student at Morgan State University.
TCHAIKOVSKY & UKRAINE:
- Tchaikovsky first visited Ukraine in 1864 and thereafter often spent his summers there in Kamianka at the home of his sister and in Nyzy, where he lived during 1876–79.
- Tchaikovsky’s paternal grandfather was born in Ukraine, and he spent time there every year.
- At least 30 of his works have Ukrainian subjects or incorporate Ukrainian folk songs or melodies.
- Tchaikovsky composed works such as Swan Lake, The Maid of Orleans, The Sleeping Beauty, and Eugene Onegin while living in Kamianka, Ukraine.
- He was one of the first artists to bridge connections with Western European music of the day.
