A week after the Canadian Opera Company opened its 2025 spring season with a striking production of Wozzeck, they followed it with another winner – a scintillating revival of the beloved Tchaikovsky masterpiece, Eugene Onegin. On opening night, the singers and the creative team received big ovations from the sold-out audience. It demonstrated in no uncertain terms that the spring season is an estimable success.
First, a few comments about this work. Tchaikovsky got his inspiration for Eugene Onegin from a novel by Alexander Pushkin. Since the opera premiered in 1879, it quickly earned its rightful place in the standard repertoire. Its story, of a self-possessed aristocrat who spurns the love of a young woman only to regret it years later, is the epitome of 19th-century Romanticism. Set to a melodically inspired score, one can understand its enduring appeal. According to the statistics kept by the website Operabase, Eugene Onegin is the 18th most performed opera worldwide, totaling 7,355 performances in 1,864 productions from 1996 to present.
Eugene Onegin has certainly enjoyed its share of audience accolades in Toronto. It received its first staging at the COC in 1972, with the great Canadian baritone Victor Braun in the title role. After a hiatus of 18 years, it was brought back in 1990, with renowned Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus as Onegin. Subsequent revivals took place in 2006 and 2018, starring Canadian baritones Brett Polegato and Gordon Bintner respectively.
The Onegin production currently on view was originally created by Canadian director Robert Carsen for the Metropolitan Opera in 1997. Apparently its sparse, modernist aesthetic didn’t appeal to the more conservative and tradition-bound Met attendees. It seems that some opera fans can’t live without pageantry and opulence… chacun a son gout! The Met subsequently retired this excellent production in 2013, but the Met’s loss is Toronto’s gain.
I have seen the Carsen production many times, both in Toronto and at the Met, as well as on video. I am struck every time by the beauty in its simplicity. The unadorned walls, the fallen leaves and the autumnal lighting in Act One are forever etched in my memory bank. Kudos to lighting designer Christine Binder – the many changes in colour suit the moods of the work perfectly. Equally haunting is the duel scene, where we only see the figures in silhouette. After Lensky is shot dead, Onegin goes to him and looks down at the body. Perhaps suggesting a hint of remorse?
Not much, in my estimation! I have seen productions in Europe where Onegin’s body language is infinitely more remorseful, dropping the gun, visibly shaken, bending down, even sobbing and holding the dead Lensky in an embrace. None of that sentimentality in Carsen’s vision, here faithfully reproduced by revival director Peter McClintock. The stage direction immediately following the death of Lensky speaks volumes – a wordless, blank-faced and rigid Onegin allowing himself to be dressed for the ballroom scene. That’s a psychologically devastating directorial touch, underscoring the heartlessness of this anti-hero.
Photo Credit: Michael Cooper
Megan Marino and Evan LeRoy Johnson (Olga and Lensky) in Eugene Onegin
On the musical side of things, this revival is superb in every way. Making a welcome return to the COC is Italian Maestra Speranza Scappucci, last in town for Macbeth two years ago. She led the COC forces in a marvelous sonic journey of the divine score. If I heard her correctly in an interview, this Onegin is only her second production of this opera. Judging by the sound coming out of the pit, I would have thought that she’s been conducting this piece all her life. Brava!
The COC has assembled a very strong cast. Making his Company debut is Ukrainian Andrii Kymach in the title role. His bass-baritone, while not conventionally pretty, is a very expressive one, a weighty sound with plenty of gravitas, which he used very well. His haughty body language, head held high and rigid posture made for a perfectly arrogant Onegin. The contrast in the final scene with Tatyana makes it all the more heartbreaking. Australian soprano Lauren Fagan, last in town as the Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, is an excellent Tatyana, delivering a most affecting Letter Scene. Her mezza voce is particularly lovely, especially in the upper middle register.
Tenor fans in the audience were probably smiling… at least I was! American tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson was a fabulous Lensky, singing with a bright, beautiful sound, obeying all the dynamic markings. His “Kuda, kuda” was among the best I have heard. Making a welcome return after his Rocco in Fidelio is Russian bass Dimitry Ivashchenko as a dignified and sturdy-toned Prince Gremin.
The other supporting roles were beautifully taken as well, especially the effervescent and petite Olga of Megan Marino, who sings with quite an impressive low mezzo. Kudos to Krisztina Szabó and Michael Colvin for doing double duty in both productions. They are the comprimario artists that we tend to take for granted but shouldn’t, as they are worth their weight in (vocal) gold! Last but decidedly not least is the excellent COC chorus, which plays a huge role in this opera, both in singing and in providing the much-needed action in the ballroom scenes.
Compared to the angst-filled Wozzeck, Eugene Onegin represents a more relaxed evening at the opera, and I was humming “Kuda, kuda” on my way home.
Photo Credit: Michael Cooper
The Onegin/Lensky duel, in silhouette and striking in its simplicity
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Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent University. He is also a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His interest in music journalism focuses on voice, opera as well as symphonic and piano repertoires. He appears regularly as a panel member of the Big Canadian Opera Company Podcast. He has co-edited a book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Culture, Performance, published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).
