SEARCH
I passed by Iggy Pop playing Luminato. I passed the clothing stores and sex shops. I kept on until I reached the relative quiet near the Rosedale subway station. I looked up and saw the stars and it was only at that moment that I was finally able to get on the train and ride home.
This is the kind of drivel you write and the kind of tortured wandering you may do after spending a week reading Romantic Russian poetry in anticipation of seeing a narrative ballet.
Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse, is a critique of Romantic era sensibilities. Onegin is a disillusioned and self-centered dandy from the big city. When he inherits his uncle’s estate in the country he is forced to mingle with the local gentry. He makes friends with Lensky, and through him meets the introverted, bookish and juvenile Tatiana.
Long story short: Tatiana loves Onegin, he’s not interested, and she’s left heartbroken. Onegin kills Lensky in a duel, which in the poem is not entirely Onegin’s fault. Here Pushkin comments on how stupid duels are. But do people ever learn? Pushkin himself was fatally wounded in a duel he instigated. And did you know Pushkin’s great-grandfather was black? But I digress.
Onegin is racked with guilt after killing Lensky and leaves town. After wandering around he returns to St. Petersburg to a party at Prince Gremin’s place. The prince has a fabulous new wife. Big shock—it’s Tatiana all grown up. Onegin writes her love letters (even though she’s married) and receives no response. In a final killer scene in Tatiana’s bedroom, she admits her undying love for Onegin but kicks him to the curb anyway because she is a woman of quality.
And this is how Tatiana has become an iconic figure in Russian literature. The ballet could have just as easily been called Tatiana. She may be our true protagonist, which is what makes this plot such a suitable one for ballet.
The NAC’s Onegin, choreographed by John Cranko, uses the plot of the Pushkin novel and music by Tchaikovsky. Don’t be confused by the fact that Tchaikovsky wrote an opera called Eugene Onegin and then show up expecting to hear the same music. Arranger Kurt-Heinz Stolze did a brilliant job of pulling together music from several different Tchaikovsky pieces and weaving them into the musical content—a huge part of what makes this ballet so wonderful.
Don’t forget, when you go to the ballet you are getting a sixty-piece orchestra free with the ticket. Thank you David Briskin for the best sounds I’ve heard coming out of that pit so far this year, with the exception of a clam from the horn section and some first act sleepiness, it was Tchaikovsky!
The Four Seasons Centre is a great venue for ballet. Every seat is a good seat. Don’t laugh, but the last time I went to the ballet was at the Hummingbird Centre. What a world of difference.
The first act sets were a bit like a Celine Dion video, but the bedroom mirror scene gave me hope. By the duel scene in the second act the sets and costumes were dark, rich and downright beautiful, and by act three we were all blown away.
There are not enough good things to say about Cranko’s choreography. How does he distil all our complex feelings into glorious movement? Still, we wouldn’t have noticed, had anything nice to say, or have stood on our feet for multiple encores if the dancing wasn’t so spectacular.
One of the most touching moments with some of the most memorable and original choreography occurs during the duet between Olga (Heather Ogden) and Lensky (Guillaume Côté). It was flawlessly executed. Little bits of it are still etched in my mind.
Xiao Nan Yu is an absolute treasure. She possesses a marvelous gaze. Her eyes alone tell half the story. She has internalized the music and emotion in a way that is so nuanced that even tiny movements are noticeable and take on meaning. She couldn’t be a more convincing Tatiana.
Jirí Jelinek was a cold and distant Onegin until the final scene, which was overwhelming and so intense it was shocking. Jelinek is tall and when he lifts, you go up. There is this one big lift in the final scene.… Well I won’t spoil it for you. Brilliantly choreographed, brilliantly danced, and we in the audience were breathless. Yu and Jelinek hit it out of the park.
A production of this quality is the result of all the most important elements being in place. When everything is as it should be, magic can happen. This production was magical. I gasped and went “Wow” audibly three times, which for a critic is a big deal.
When this paper hits the stands you will have only two days to see it, June 24 and 25. Don’t hesitate, but take the subway because of the G20. Osgoode station is at the doors of the venue.
