Tchaikovsky’s Romantic Tragedy at Orcas Center

Sunday, April 23, 1 p.m., Orcas Center

— from Susannah Weaver —

Orcas Center presents the New York Met’s revival of “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky streaming Live in HD on Sunday, Apr. 23 at 1 p.m. Box office star Anna Netrebko, singing at the top of her power, is a natural for the role of Tatiana, the naïve heroine of the Russian opera, in the poignant and anguished account of lost love.

Netrebko returns to the Met in her acclaimed interpretation of the heroine Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” adapted from Pushkin’s classic verse novel. Robin Ticciati conducts all performances of Deborah Warner’s production. Peter Mattei stars as the title character, who rejects Tatiana’s love until it’s too late. The cast also features Alexey Dolgov as Onegin’s friend Lenski, Elena Maximova as Tatiana’s sister Olga, and Štefan Kocán as Prince Gremin. Peter Mattei reprises the role of Onegin, a role he sang with the company during the 2013-14 season.

The New York Times raves: “Ms. Netrebko put everything on the line during the great ‘letter scene. ’Her distinctive sound, warm and sumptuous with a dusky cast, and her raw intensity combined to convey the longing and fear embedded in every phrase.” Her counterpart, “the charismatic baritone Peter Mattei sounded lustrous as the title character, vividly conveying Onegin’s transformation from the aloof, cold-hearted bachelor who patronizingly rejects Tatiana to the heartbroken man who realizes, too late, that he loves her.”

Tchaikovsky created the opera “Eugene Onegin,” based on Alexander Pushkin’s popular novel suggested to him as the basis of an opera by an acclaimed Russian mezzo-soprano. The composer originally felt the plot was not strong enough to sustain an opera. However, he kept thinking about the story as an opera and ultimately felt that if he used original verses from Pushkin’s novel, the opera could be a success. Since this story was well-known, Tchaikovsky figured the audience could fill in any details that were not included in the actual opera, similar to Puccini’s “La Bohème.” Don’t miss this opportunity to be initiated to a “front row” opera with internationally acclaimed greats at Orcas Center.

Tickets for the Met’s “Eugene Onegin” are $20 and $15 for students, with $2 off for Orcas Center members. They may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12-2 pm. $5 subsidized tickets available at the Box Office. This show is rescheduled from March 26 and those ticket holders have tickets available in the box office for the April 9 event. For more information about Orcas Center’s 2017 season visit www.orcascenter.org.