-ONEGIN- TEATRO ALLA SCALA 7-18 September 2011
 

Performing in the magnificent Teatro alla Scala, don't miss your chance to see international ballet star Roberto Bolle with guest artist Maria Eichwald in the leading roles of Onegin. Impulsive first love, rejection and passionate abandon sweep their way throughout John Cranko's Onegin .
Based on Pushkin's poetic work of art, paired with music by Tchaikovsky, Cranko's interpretation has been performed by leading ballet companies in Europe and abroad. Set in elegant 19th century St. Petersburg, Onegin shows the development of a young girl's naivete, as she turns into a mature and beautiful woman and is forced to choose between rejection or her heart's deepest desire. Pushkin's heroine, Tatiana instantly falls in love with the worldly and mysterious Onegin. With igniting passion she writes to him in her bedchamber and imagines what life would be like with him. Onegin breaks her heart, tearing her letter into pieces. Only years later does he see Tatiana again, married to a prince, but Tatiana cannot allow herself to feel anything for Onegin. With her heart still in pieces, she finds the strength to live a life without her only love.
Cranko's pas de deuxs between Tatiana and Onegin rival the beauty of Tchaikovsky's majestic score and convey the sheer torment, lust, and fervour between both characters, drawing on raw emotions, making this ballet intimate, yet rich with vibrancy. Inspired by Russian tradition, splendid costuming evoking the grandness of the Russian court, and music by one of the greatest Russian composers of all time, Onegin will draw you in to a fascinating world of grandeur, love, and loss.
By Lisa Zatulovsky