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Anna Leese shines in Eugene Onegin

22/09/2009

The Genesis Energy Season of Eugene Onegin, Sept/Oct 2009

PUBLICATION: National Business Review
REVIEWED BY: John Daly-Peoples
DATE: 22 September 2009
WHERE: Aotea Centre, opening night

In his recent history of Russia Jonathan Dimbleby recalls the country of a few years ago, writing that it was a "social environment corroded by bad faith and self-delusion." His words are as apt now as they were over 100 years ago when Tchaikovsky wrote his opera and 50 years before that when Pushkin wrote his verse novel, Eugene Onegin.

The Eugene Onegin character stands as a metaphor for the lost soul of Russia, given to self aggrandisement, self-defeating, inward looking and condemned to repeat the mistakes of history.

It is the sort of tale Russians seem to be condemned to write about themselves.

The opera begins on a country estate where Tatyana is introduced to Onegin by her sister and Olga's betrothed, Lensky. Tatyana is entranced with Onegin and writes a letter to him expressing her love but he rejects her.

Later at a ball the haughty Onegin riles Lensky by courting Olga. Lensky picks a fight and challenges him to a duel but Onegin kills him.

Twenty-six years later Onegin encounters the now married Tatyana (to Prince Gremin) at a St Petersburg ball.

Onegin declares his love for Tatyana but she in turn rejects him even though she loves him. Broken-hearted, Onegin leaves.

Singing the role of Tatyana was Anna Leese who brought a freshness and elegance to the role and a voice that was captivating and poignant.

The letter aria she sings in the first act is a beautiful and eloquent piece but not highly dramatic. It requires the singer to impart subtly in inflection and tone to provide the expressions of love tinged with foreboding. Anna Leese provided all that was necessary and she received a thundering ovation for it.

The scene was given additional drama by the singer sitting at a desk, writing the letter, hemmed in by the darkness and the boxed in architectural setting.

Her voice showed its strength in the party scene where it rose above the other singers with a touching delicacy.

As Onegin, William Dazeley was a fine match to Tatyana. In the scene in which he rebukes her for having sent him the love letter, he conveyed a supercilious arrogance that was tragic and slightly comic.

Lensky sung by Roman Shulackoff provided some achingly fine singing in the duel scene where he reflected on lost youth, regret, agony and fear.

Martin Snell gave an exceptionally moving performance as the courteous older Prince Gremlin, who tells of his great joy in having married Tatyana, providing a brilliant foil to the self-absorbed Onegin.

Patricia Wright as the anxious mother, Kristen Darragh as Tatyana's sister and Rosemary Gunn as the nurse had a sensitivity to their singing that gave the first act a well judged naturalism.

The production was nicely bookended by scenes involving the two main protagonists.

During the opening overture Onegin stands alone on a darkened stage with Tatyana a softly lit figure in the background as though a figment of his imagination. In the final scene he again stands by himself but this time Tatyana looks down on him with a mixture of contempt and sadness from a window surrounded by a blaze of light.

The opening set designed by Genevieve Blanchett recalls a Chekhovian landscpae with tall trees and back projected image of sky and scudding clouds. This is used to dramatic effect at the closing of the Letter scene where the sky blazes with colours of a new dawn.

The sets of the other scenes feature dark oppressive architectural interiors. These dark environments, however, are balanced by a clever use of lighting by designer Bernie Tan. Light is particularly well used in the final ballroom scene with a grand chandelier and wall light.

Lighting is also dramatically used at the end of the letter scene where the intensity of light on the white clad Tatyana is so intense she appears to become ethereal.