Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 01:54:00 +0000 From: "H.E.Elsom" Subject: Eugene Onegin, ENO 28Nov97 Tatyana Vivian Tierney Olga Christine Rice Mme Larina Anne Wilkens Filippyevna Nuala Willis Lensky Neill Archer Onegin Andrew Schroeder M Triquet John Graham-Hall Zaretsky Mark Richardson Prince Gremin John Connell Conductor Alexander Polianichko Director Julia Hollander Choreographer Nicola Bowie (Christopher Gillett is scheduled to sing M Triquet in two performances next year. He was the same year as me at college -- I feel old!) This production was regarded as rather dull when it first appeared, in 1994. The minimal sets aim to create atmostphere with not much more than light and colour, and a few structures in Caligari-perspective, including Natasha's room. I haven't seen it before, but this time round I found this remarkably effective, because the chorus and principals (with the slightly painful exception of Onegin) had such a substantial dramatic presence. Vivian Tierney as Olga seemed nearly perfect to me. She's not pretty, having rather a square jaw, but she acts superbly, and with deep emotion. My brain normally bombs out in scenes like the letter scene (sopranos doing soprano stuff) but Tierney kept me wanting to know what Olga was going through. Tierney was a very sympathetic, almost earth-mother, Miss Jessell in the RO Turn of the screw. It was good to see during the curtain calls that she has a nice smile, and isn't actually in permanent torment of some kind. Neill Archer as Lensky also stood out. He looked pleasant and amiable, exactly the sort of chap that might turn out to be either a revolutionary hero or a gentleman farmer, but he sang like a romantic hero. His pre-duel aria had a few hankies out, but it was elegaic rather than stereotype-Russian sentimental. He's a totally sympathetic performer. All the minor roles were very well done, especially John Connell's performance of Gremin's aria, which was also deeply moving. You could see that Gremin was someone Olga might find a life with, even if it wasn't the one she once hoped for. After his Phantom-of-the-opera Monostatos, John Graham-Hall did another well-chosen movie character as M Triquet, the effete French conductor of souls from A matter of life and death. There was a food-like smell in the Coliseum, funnily enough, though it wasn't fried onions. The chorus, also excellent, became a massive single character in the drama. The mise en scene at the start of act 2 consisted of a detailed and vivid, not quite frozen tableau of the party that gradually came to life. I think this is the first time in London that I've heard anyone clap the scenery, or rather, the scene. They could have been visiting Americans, but it was a visual tour de force. The beauty of this scene also served to suggest the richness of Olga's emotional background, and that Onegin really doesn't match up to it. Similarly, the polonaise at the start of act three was horribly oppressive and sinister, and threated to crush Onegin physically. The only singer who didn't really deliver was Andrew Schroeder as Onegin. He looked like a potential Mr Darcy, but seemed to have a charisma by-pass both personally and vocally, and came over as nerdy rather than sexy. Lensky's ghost made a brief appearance at the start of act III, which implied that Onegin was meant to be some kind of tragic or expressionist figure, but Schroeder didn't convey it. When the production got such excellent results from young British singers, it's a shame they didn't think of (say) Christopher Maltman. Though of course between schedules and accidents you never know how these things will work out until they do or don't. Alexander Polianichko's conducting has been criticised in some of the reviews I've seen. One said that he was totally detatched from the singers. I didn't notice this -- there were some passages where the singers seemed exactly like a solo instrument in the orchestra -- but I have to admit to not having a clue what the music is supposed to sound like. My main problem with the conducting was that everything was so slow. There were plenty of bits worth lingering on, but the performance ran 25 minutes longer than the estimated time in the programme -- which would have justified cutting some of the dances in acts I and II. But overall, another winner for the ENO this season. Chris Smith's suggestion seems increasingly badly timed, as the company's rethink under Paul Daniels is delivering the goods. They're not going back to the powerhouse days, but they're doing something comparable to what Glyndebourne do: imaginative, dramatically effective mainstream productions with serious singers who can act and an excellent chorus. And all the year round, in English.