Plot

ACT I

Somewhere in the country, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life the widow Larina leads a quiet existence with her two daughters: the sensible Olga, pragmatically disposed to the joys of life and the sensitive and whimsical Tatyana who with her love for romantic fiction lives in a world of her own. Together with O*** we share one such day of their lives which though unremarkable at the outset, will turn out to be extraordinary and unforgettable.

As Olga and Tatyana sing an old sentimental ballad, its "tale of love" awakens in the widow Larinaís heart bygone memories of youthful passions and dashed hopes. She recalls her first love and forced marriage to another... Filippevna, the nanny who attends her, remembers it well, but after all... habit is second nature and time heals oneís wounds.

As the daughters join in the conversation, the nanny and Larina notice that something is happening to Tatyana who turns pale and appears unwell. Tatyana attributes her condition to being absorbed in fiction, but perhaps itís a sudden premonition of change, a forecast of events in which an as yet undefined yet thrilling dream is about to come true... Can Tatyana sense the disturbing presence of O***?

Lensky, Olga's betrothed, has announced his intention to pay a visit. However, he does not arrive alone but with his friend Eugene Onegin, who immediately notices Tatyana though does not show it in front of the girl. He meanwhile, makes an enormous impression on her, appearing to be the man of her dreams, a hero derived from a work of fiction. Yet Tatyana fails to notice his superficial dandyish manner, his narcissistic self-centredness, his demonstrative air of superiority or his self-serving attitude towards the world and mankind - from the moment she sets eyes on him she remains under the inexplicable spell of his personality, while Onegin's coolness towards her merely serves to fan the flames of her compulsive love. Their conversation in which Onegin feigns indifference is sharply contrasted by the loving sentiments expressed by Lensky towards Olga (arioso "Olga, I love you").

Once the guests have departed Tatyana cannot compose herself. She questions the nanny about her love life and listens attentively as Filippevna gives an account of how she was married off at the age of thirteen without being asked. During the course of their conversation Tatyana's strange behaviour and state of feverish excitement do not escape nanny Filippevna's notice. Clearly the girl has only Onegin on her mind and is falling ever deeper under his spell...

When Tatyana is alone, O*** enters upstage. It is he who hands her pen and paper. Dazed and contaminated with a "venom of desire" by the "Tempter of Paradise" she spends the night composing a letter to her beloved; writing an impetuous and desperate declaration of love, in which - having overcome fear and uncertainty - she entrusts her fate to one she believes - "was sent by God himself". After this impassioned act of inner disclosure and devotion she notices the crimson light of the breaking dawn...

In the morning nanny Filippevna agrees to deliver the letter to its addressee. With bated breath, Tatyana waits for Onegin to arrive...

Summoned, Onegin appears. Having read her "naive outpourings" he coldly advises her to control herself and her emotions. Moreover he makes it perfectly clear that he does not believe in the endurance of emotions or any form of marital ties.

Tatyana remains alone, humiliated and hurt. Onegin has killed all she had hitherto lived for and destroyed her whole world.

ACT II

To Tatyana the masked ball held in honour of her name day seems like a nightmare. Everything appears unreal and degenerate as well as menacing and demonic - she is threatened by a "wolf", surrounded by a group of "foxes"... Who is that O*** in charge of entertainment who blindfolds her and then Lensky...? Even Monsieur Triquet, a French employee who always amuses everybody with his couplets today seems sinister as he sings his jocular rhymes in Tatyana's honour and offers a grotesque cake as a present...

Onegin is also present, persuaded to attend by Lensky. Irritated by gossip surrounding him and Tatyana he flirts provocatively with Olga giving rise to Lensky's growing jealousy and deepening Tatyana's untold grief. Tension between the two friends grows, momentarily abated during Triquet's performance. During the next dance matters come to a head with renewed force when to the amazement of the entire company Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel.

In the grey light of dawn, Lensky accompanied by his second Zaretsky, awaits for the late arrival of Onegin with whom he is about to fight a duel to the death. Lensky reflects on his youth and happy times of being in love (aria "Where, oh where are the golden days of my youth"). When Onegin eventually arrives he brings his servant as a second, the very idea - in the words of Zaretsky - seen as a mark of disrespect towards his opponent. Nevertheless the two friends stand facing each other. Nothing can stop them now, though both regret the present situation knowing that the duel makes no sense. They could still extend a hand to each other, but neither is prepared to make the first move, thus both succumbing to some ill-fated destiny.

Shots are fired. Lensky, another of Onegin's victims, falls to the ground.

ACT III

Petersburg. A flamboyant social gathering is wallowing in acts of perversion and decadence, yet beneath this apparent show of ostentation one can feel tedium and a sense of mechanically driven ceremonial. In such circumstances the polonaise that is drawing to a close seems a contradiction in terms. The main attraction of the evening is an outrageous fashion show instigated by the indefatigable, demonic O***. It is he who calls the main protagonists to stage.

Enter Onegin. Absent from Petersburg for some time he has spent many years roaming the world hoping to numb the pain felt after the death of Lensky. Driven from place to place by boredom and idle curiosity he has become all too familiar with deceptive worldly pleasures. The same empty pretentious sham from which he had tried to escape by returning home he now sees in his own part of the world, here also there is no pleasure to be found...

Though much time has passed, the guests recognize Onegin and begin to wonder who he has become over the years, what guise he has assumed...

Onegin's attention is suddenly drawn to a beautiful woman of aristocratic bearing. She turns out to be the wife of his old friend, Prince Gremin who praises her virtues to the skies. To his amazement Onegin realizes that the princess is none other than his Tatyana, the sight of whom arouses unknown or possibly, stifled emotions in Onegin's withered soul... This encounter with the past now seems his only chance of redeeming an empty and wasted life...

Subsequently Tatyana also finds it difficult to come to terms with this unexpected encounter. She knows in all honesty that she loves and has loved only him, but experience has changed her. She is already another person, and tells Onegin so when he comes to see her.

Onegin begs her forgiveness and urges Tatyana to run away with him. But all is in vain and they part company forever. Onegin is left alone to grieve for lost love, tragically aware that his life is also a lost cause.

Meanwhile O*** will continue to torment him with recurring visions of acts that cannot be undone, choices that cannot be changed and people whom he has victimized. And now Onegin understands only too well that he himself has become a victim of his own making...

Translation
Anna Kaspszyk