I'm singing to you: the French were brought to tears by the opera "Eugene Onegin"
In the heart of Paris, at the world—famous Grand Opera House, a Russian classic is once again playing: Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, directed by British actor and three-time Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes, who performed for the first time as an opera director. According to the audience, his debut turned out to be emotionally exciting and unexpectedly accessible even for those who came to the opera for the first time. The main role is played by Boris Pinkhasovich, soloist of the Mikhailovsky Theater, and Semyon Bychkov, the future musical director of the Paris Opera, is at the conductor's desk. The article in Izvestia tells about how Russian music and Pushkin's story were perceived by the Paris audience and why the audience left the hall with tears in their eyes.
"I didn't expect it to be so emotional."
On the eve of the grand premiere on January 26, the debut production by Ralph Fiennes was shown to French students. For many of them, it was the first opera in their lives. "I didn't expect it to be so emotional," "I was in tears," "Now I'm definitely going back to the opera," the audience left the theater building with such remarks.
— I am 25 years old, I often go to youth shows. It is very convenient: the ticket costs only €10. And then there's Tchaikovsky — I couldn't miss it. He is a composer whom I love very much," one of the local students told Izvestia.
Some viewers came prepared — they read Pushkin in advance, studied previous productions, and watched film adaptations. Others, on the contrary, did not know either Pushkin's plot or Tchaikovsky's music. They were attracted by the name of the director, whom many people know well from his work in films.
— I've loved opera since childhood, and I grew up listening to classical music. My mother took me to concerts in Vienna when I was about nine years old. I'm not familiar with the plot of "Eugene Onegin," but I'm very interested in seeing the debut of Ralph Fiennes — he's a great actor," said Fleur, a 25-year-old student.
For British actor Ralph Fiennes, this premiere marked his debut as an opera director, although the choice of material cannot be called accidental. In 1999, Fiennes played Onegin in his sister Martha's film. Russians Russian a little and he does not hide his reader's fascination with the Russian classics.
— Pushkin created an extremely complex character, while Onegin is strikingly modern. He's killing a man, his best friend. I think this is becoming a major shock for him, knocks him off balance. It's impossible to evaluate it from a rational point of view, but emotionally I understand it," Fiennes says in an interview with Grand Opéra.
Rafe frames the play as a story of a lost chance and emphasizes that it was Tatiana, who was rejected by Onegin at the time, who could heal him after the murder of Lensky.
— Pushkin's Onegin is a gloomy, almost mute figure. He doesn't seem to find the right words to express his feelings. Tchaikovsky writes these words for him with his music," the director believes.
British actor, director Ralph Fiennes
The set design by Michael Levine, who staged Onegin with Robert Carsen at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1997, uses the same intonation. Minimalistic decorations — trees, furniture, a ballroom — are continuously transformed before the eyes of the viewer.
— This amount of work for the sake of minimalism is really impressive. The space is not overloaded with details, but it emphasizes the inner states of the characters. The light by Alessandro Carletti subtly accentuates the most dramatic scenes of the play," one of the students notes in a conversation with Izvestia.
Semyon Bychkov, with whom Fiennes has a long-standing friendship, became the conductor of the premiere block of performances. The maestro conducted this opera for the first time at the age of twenty, in Leningrad. The new production marked his debut as the future musical director of the Paris Opera. According to the audience, the orchestra sounded restrained and soulful, without excessive sentimentality, allowing the music to speak for the characters.
The part of Onegin was performed by Boris Pinkhasovich, a baritone soloist of the Mikhailovsky Theater. For him, as for Bogdan Volkov, Ruzan Mantashyan and Elena Zaremba, "Eugene Onegin" is not a new territory. They already have this opera staged by Dmitry Chernyakov in their repertoire, which is playing on the stage of the Vienna Opera today. Marwick Monreal as Olga, Alexander Tsymbalyuk as Prince Gremin, Susan Graham as Larina, Peter Bronder as Trike, Amin Akhangaran as Zaretsky, and Mikhail Silantyev as company.
The students admitted that it was the vocals that became the main discovery of the evening for them.: "Every aria, every singer had a great voice."
"It makes no sense to boycott Russian art"
Fiennes deliberately avoids actualization and political hints. According to him, the figure of a melancholic man, disappointed in the world, is often found in Russian literature, and it is precisely this state of the human soul that is timeless. Russian Russian composer's opera was enthusiastically received by the majority of the audience in the repertoire of the theater, although three years ago in France they preferred to ignore Russian culture.
— Art, in my opinion, can be connected with politics, but at the same time it is free from it. It makes no sense to boycott Russian art. Tchaikovsky is primarily a composer, not a representative of the state," said Nicholas, a student at the Architectural Institute.
After deafening applause, the audience admitted that what they saw brought tears to their eyes.
— I especially liked that the opera was in Russian. This only reinforced the impression. I was especially touched by how "I love you" sounds in Russian - it's very majestic," one of the viewers shared with Izvestia.
On the eve of the premiere, Fiennes admitted that silence would be his best reaction to the play. According to him, the deeper he immersed himself in Onegin's story, the more he was struck by the beauty and power that it contained.
— When we go to the theater, we want the brain to stop analyzing, and the soul to be overwhelmed with emotions, so that the viewer has no words left. This is exactly the effect I would like to achieve: so that at the end of the performance the audience could not speak," said the director.
Judging by the faces of the first audience in the foyer of the theater, this effect has been achieved.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
