Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky’s adaptation of the Pushkin novel of the same name, is your 1 pm Met Radio Broadcast. It deals with a familiar and uncomfortable theme to most of us: a strong desire between two people, complicated by less-than-ideal timing. A listen also prompts questions about ego, the feeling of being wanted, and the motives one has for romantic pursuit.
Tchaikovsky wrote the music in 1879, and it was actually premiered by the students of the Moscow Conservatory. Its professional premiere at the Bolshoi came two years later, and it proved to be a surprising (by the composer’s standards) success.
Cast:
Conductor: Robin Ticciati
Tatiana: Anna Netrebko
Olga: Elena Maximova
Lenski: Alexey Dolgov
Onegin: Peter Mattei
Gremin: Štefan Kocán