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Love and Conflict in the 19th Century, and the 21st Love and Conflict in the 19th Century, and the 21st
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By tradition the gala opening night of a Metropolitan Opera season is a fashionable and pricey affair. But during his tenure as general manager of the company Peter Gelb has also made opening night a statement of artistic purpose, as it was on Monday when the Met opened the season with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” a landmark Russian opera based on the novel in verse by Pushkin. By tradition the gala opening night of a Metropolitan Opera season is a fashionable and pricey affair. But during his tenure as general manager of the company, Peter Gelb has also made opening night a statement of artistic purpose, as it was on Monday when the Met opened the season with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” a landmark Russian opera based on the novel in verse by Pushkin.
The production, directed by Deborah Warner (though there are some complications to this story), starred the appealing Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as the dashing but aloof Onegin, a bored aristocrat; the glamorous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko as Tatiana, the bookish young dreamer who falls impulsively for Onegin; and the Russian maestro Valery Gergiev conducting an insightful and rhapsodic, if sometimes untidy, account of Tchaikovsky’s great score. The production, by Deborah Warner but directed by Fiona Shaw (there are some complications to this story), starred the appealing Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien as the dashing but aloof Onegin, a bored aristocrat; the glamorous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko as Tatiana, the bookish young dreamer who falls impulsively for Onegin; and the Russian maestro Valery Gergiev conducting an insightful and rhapsodic, if sometimes untidy, account of Tchaikovsky’s great score.
Opening nights under Mr. Gelb have also become a gift to the people of New York. The performance was broadcast live on a huge outdoor video screen to an audience that packed Lincoln Center Plaza and was also shown on video in Times Square. Opening nights under Mr. Gelb have become a gift to the people of New York. The performance was broadcast live on huge outdoor video screens to audiences that packed Lincoln Center Plaza and Times Square.
But, as things turned out, Mr. Gelb felt compelled to make an unanticipated statement on this opening night. For weeks, an online petition had been gathering signatures (about 10,000 to date) calling for the Met to dedicate opening night to the support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people as a protest of the punitive law in Russia signed this June by President Vladimir V. Putin banning all “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships.” As the head of the storied Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Mr. Gergiev has received crucial support from Mr. Putin and the government. He and Ms. Netrebko, longtime colleagues, were open advocates for Mr. Putin’s election last year. But, as things turned out, Mr. Gelb felt compelled to make an unanticipated statement on this opening night. For weeks, an online petition had been gathering signatures (about 10,000 to date) calling for the Met to dedicate opening night to the support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people as a protest for the punitive law in Russia signed in June by President Vladimir V. Putin banning all “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships.” As the head of the storied Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Mr. Gergiev has received crucial support from Mr. Putin and the government. He and Ms. Netrebko, longtime colleagues, were open advocates for Mr. Putin’s election last year.
In addition, a contingent of about three dozens protesters organized by the activist group Queer Nation stood near Lincoln Center Plaza on Monday calling on Mr. Gergiev and Ms. Netrebko to speak up against Mr. Putin’s antigay policies. And in the house, just before the start of the opera, some activists sitting in the Family Circle shouted “Putin, end your war on Russian gays” and more. After a couple of minutes the demonstrators were led out and the opera proceeded without interference. In addition, a contingent of about three dozen protesters stood near Lincoln Center Plaza on Monday calling for Mr. Gergiev and Ms. Netrebko to speak out against Mr. Putin’s anti-gay policies. And in the house, just before the start of the opera, some activists sitting in the uppermost balcony shouted, “Putin, end your war on Russian gays” and more. After a couple of minutes, the demonstrators were led out and the opera proceeded without interference.
The opening night program book contained an insert by Mr. Gelb, a copy of a statement published on Monday by Bloomberg News, in which, while deploring the “tyranny of Russian’s new antigay laws,” he explains why it would be inappropriate for the Met to dedicate a particular performance to any special social or political cause. It has been terrible to see the rights of gay people in Russian trampled upon. Still, to make the Met the target of this call for action seems not entirely fair. If opera lovers, activists and journalists want to press Mr. Gergiev for his position on Mr. Putin’s policies, that is their right, just as it is his right not to reply and take the consequences to his reputation. It should be remembered, though, that standing up for civil rights in Russia does not come without risk. The opening-night program book contained a statement by Mr. Gelb, published on Monday by Bloomberg News, in which, while deploring the “tyranny of Russia’s new antigay laws,” he explains why it would be inappropriate for the Met to dedicate a particular performance to any special social or political cause, that the Met cannot be “a vehicle for waging nightly battles against the social injustices of the world.”
It has been terrible to see the rights of gay people in Russia trampled upon. Still, to make the Met the target of this call for action seems not entirely fair. Street protesting is in the best American tradition and the activists seized this opportunity to put their case directly to Mr. Gergiev and Ms. Netrebko. But interrupting a performance in the opera house on a high-pressured opening night is another matter, though these protesters clearly cooperated with the security guards.
For now, let me put aside these difficult questions and get to the new “Eugene Onegin.”For now, let me put aside these difficult questions and get to the new “Eugene Onegin.”
Mr. Gelb has raised the stakes for every new production at the Met by talking up how essential it is for the art form to bring in today’s most lively and innovative directors and designers. Some of the productions on his watch have met that standard. Some have been curiously bland, or nothing special. This disappointing “Eugene Onegin” belongs among the roster of also-rans.Mr. Gelb has raised the stakes for every new production at the Met by talking up how essential it is for the art form to bring in today’s most lively and innovative directors and designers. Some of the productions on his watch have met that standard. Some have been curiously bland, or nothing special. This disappointing “Eugene Onegin” belongs among the roster of also-rans.
It replaces a 1997 production by the director Robert Carsen that was visually arresting, with an almost abstract look, full of autumnal colors and a stage floor covered with fallen tree leaves. There was one problem: the set had no real walls or ceiling to help project the voices into the house. But the production was actually bolder than the new one. It replaces a 1997 production by the director Robert Carsen that was visually arresting, with an almost abstract look, full of autumnal colors and a stage floor covered with fallen tree leaves. There was one problem: the set had no real walls or ceiling to help project the voices into the house. But that production was actually bolder than this new one.
Ms. Warner’s staging, with sets by Tom Pye, is a coproduction with the English National Opera. It shifts the story’s setting from the 1820s to roughly the late 1870s, contemporaneous with the years Tchaikovsky wrote the piece. Handsome costumes of the period are designed by Chloe Obolensky. Ms. Warner’s staging, with sets by Tom Pye, is a co-production with the English National Opera. It shifts the story’s setting from the 1820s to roughly the late 1870s, contemporaneous with the years Tchaikovsky wrote the piece. Handsome costumes of the period are designed by Chloe Obolensky.
The opening scene is typically set, as per the stage directions, in a garden of the Larin estate in the country, where we meet the sisters Tatiana and Olga and their fretful mother, Madame Larina. In this production the action takes place in what looks like a sun room that opens to a garden grove. Dingy curtains cover wall-size windows. Lots of work takes place on a country estate and this drab room looks like a real workplace, which is the problem: you get tired of it.The opening scene is typically set, as per the stage directions, in a garden of the Larin estate in the country, where we meet the sisters Tatiana and Olga and their fretful mother, Madame Larina. In this production the action takes place in what looks like a sun room that opens to a garden grove. Dingy curtains cover wall-size windows. Lots of work takes place on a country estate and this drab room looks like a real workplace, which is the problem: you get tired of it.
Olga, the strong mezzo-soprano Oksana Volkova, and Tatiana sing a wistful song together. The pensive Tatiana lives in a world of books. But vivacious Olga has a fiancée, the boyish Lenski, an aspiring poet (the excellent Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, in bright, ringing voice). Lenski arrives with his friend Onegin, who has inherited a neighboring estate from his uncle, though he has no interest in running it. Flirting with Tatiana amuses the superior Onegin. This is all it takes to unleash pent-up fantasies of romantic love in Tatiana.Olga, the strong mezzo-soprano Oksana Volkova, and Tatiana sing a wistful song together. The pensive Tatiana lives in a world of books. But vivacious Olga has a fiancée, the boyish Lenski, an aspiring poet (the excellent Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, in bright, ringing voice). Lenski arrives with his friend Onegin, who has inherited a neighboring estate from his uncle, though he has no interest in running it. Flirting with Tatiana amuses the superior Onegin. This is all it takes to unleash pent-up fantasies of romantic love in Tatiana.
In the remarkable “Letter Scene,” Tatiana, in a rash act, stays up half the night writing a letter to Onegin declaring her love. Here, though, instead of being shown in the privacy of her bedroom, Tatiana is seen sitting at a writing table in the drab sun room from the previous scene, a staging touch that makes no sense, even as a heavy-handed metaphor. In the remarkable “Letter Scene,” Tatiana, in a rash act, stays up half the night writing a letter to Onegin, declaring her love. Here, instead of taking place in the privacy of her bedroom, a writing table is set up in the drab sun room from the previous scene, which makes no sense, even as a heavy-handed metaphor.
The dramatic tension of the performance in Act I seemed unfocused and tentative, which may be a result of the crisis that beset this production. In early August, Ms. Warner pulled out in order to have an unspecified surgical procedure. Her friend Fiona Shaw, the acclaimed actress and director, took over. Ms. Shaw has directed several opera productions, but never at the Met. Moreover, she was committed to directing a production of Britten’s “Rape of Lucretia” for the Glyndebourne Festival fall tour, which overlapped with “Eugene Onegin” at the Met. So, with the exception of one hectic day, Ms. Shaw has not been at the Met in more than two weeks, including Monday’s opening night. The dramatic tension of the performance in Act I seemed unfocused and tentative, which may be a result of the crisis that beset this production. In early August, Ms. Warner pulled out as director in order to have an unspecified surgical procedure. Her friend Ms. Shaw, the acclaimed actress and director, took over. Ms. Shaw has directed several opera productions, but never at the Met. Moreover, she was committed to directing a production of Britten’s “Rape of Lucretia” for the Glyndebourne Festival’s fall tour, which overlapped with “Eugene Onegin” at the Met. So, with the exception of one hectic day, Ms. Shaw has not been at the Met in more than two weeks, including Monday’s opening night. Mr. Gelb said in an interview that Ms. Warner’s staging was already blocked in detail and that Ms. Shaw left copious notes. What about all the last-minute changes and ideas that typically take place during dress rehearsals?
Mr. Gelb said in an interview that Ms. Warner’s staging was already blocked in detail and that Ms. Shaw left copious notes. What about all the last-minute changes and ideas that typically take place during dress rehearsals? It seemed like the cast, and even the usually exemplary Met Chorus, was feeling its way during the first act. By the second act, the focus and sweep picked up. Ms. Netrebko sang Tatiana to acclaim at the Vienna State Opera in April, so she knows what she thinks of this character and the music, not to mention how to savor the words in her native Russian. In the opening scenes she conveys Tatiana’s mousy demeanor. But the plummy richness and shimmering sensuality of her voice reveal inner feelings in this young woman waiting to be tapped by a man like Onegin. In the “Letter Scene” she went from hushed expressions of insecurity and longing to full-throated bursts of desire and soaring lyricism.
It seemed like the cast, and even the usually exemplary Met Chorus, was feeling its way during the first act. By the second act the focus and sweep picked up. Ms. Netrebko sang Tatiana to acclaim at the Vienna State Opera in April, so she knows how she thinks of this character and the music, not to mention how to savor the words in her native Russian. In the opening scenes she conveys Tatiana’s mousy demeanor. But the plumy richness and shimmering sensuality of her voice reveal inner feelings in this young woman waiting to be tapped by a man like Onegin. In the “Letter Scene” she went from hushed expressions of insecurity and longing to full-throated bursts of desire and soaring lyricism. Mr. Beczala’s muscular, youthful tenor voice is ideal for Lenski. He brings out the charming goofiness of this young man’s love for the smitten Olga, until he turns hothead when he sees Onegin dancing seductively with her and challenges him to a fateful duel. Mr. Kwiecien’s Onegin is a handsome and entitled man who takes all that for granted. His voice, while dark and virile, did not on this night have as much innate vocal charisma as Ms. Netrebko’s or Mr. Beczala’s. Still, Mr. Kwiecien’s singing is volatile and exciting.
Mr. Beczala’s muscular, youthful tenor voice is ideal for Lenski. He brings out the charming goofiness of this young man’s love for the smitten Olga, until he turns hothead when he sees Onegin dancing seductively with Olga and challenges him to a fateful duel. Mr. Kwiecien’s Onegin is a handsome and entitled man who takes all that for granted. His voice, while dark and virile, did not on this night have as much innate vocal charisma as Ms. Netrebko’s or Mr. Beczala’s. Still, Mr. Kwiecien’s singing is volatile and exciting.
In a way, Mr. Gergiev directs the production from the pit. He is a musician who values spontaneity to the point of impetuosity. There were moments when the playing of the orchestra was a little scrambled. Still, Mr. Gergiev knows the Tchaikovsky style like few other conductors. At times he had the Met orchestra sounding like a Russian ensemble with reedy woodwinds, mellow brass and dark, throbbing strings.In a way, Mr. Gergiev directs the production from the pit. He is a musician who values spontaneity to the point of impetuosity. There were moments when the playing of the orchestra was a little scrambled. Still, Mr. Gergiev knows the Tchaikovsky style like few other conductors. At times he had the Met orchestra sounding like a Russian ensemble with reedy woodwinds, mellow brass and dark, throbbing strings.
After the performance, the cast appeared on the outdoor balcony overlooking the plaza where the outdoor audience remained to applause. The protesters were gone. The issues they raised remain.After the performance, the cast appeared on the outdoor balcony overlooking the plaza where the outdoor audience remained to applause. The protesters were gone. The issues they raised remain.
“Eugene Onegin” runs at the Metropolitan Opera House through Dec. 12; (212) 362-6000, metopera.org.