Has anyone seen the opera and what did you think of it? I really enjoyed the film and have seen that there's going to be a few performances of the opera near me in the new year. I've never been to an opera before and was wondering if its easy to follow as it's sung in Russian, although I know there will be subtitles.
I've seen a live recording of the opera on DvD if that counts. It's very lovely but quite long, if I recall. The best bits are Lensky's aria and the Letter Scene. It's not hard to follow, no harder than any other opera.
shareMy guess is that you live somewhere near me, since there are going to be three performances of Eugene Onegin within four hours of me this month.
You don't need to worry about following the Russian libretto. An English translation will scroll across a supertitles screen (sort of like a big digital message board) visible from any seat in the house.
I just saw the version of "Onegin" done by the Lyric Opera in Chicago and it was wonderful! It was sung in Russian, but had a large quantity of the lyrics translated into English and readably projected. Though I do wish that they had been more thougho and translated a larger majority then was done. All in all though, the mostly Russian cast was splended! Go and see the opera if it ever comes to your area.
I went last week to see the Welsh National Opera doing it and loved it and didn't have a problem at all with the surtitles. Thanks for the replies I'm so glad I went.
sharesaw it in Prague at the State Opera House this past April '09. Beautiful, emotional.
Linda
I'm very glad the OP enjoyed the opera EUGENE ONEGIN. I myself have seen the work in three different productions, and own it on both CD and DVD (Metropolitan Opera production). I love it, but then I've been into opera since I was 20 or 21.
share