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The Pushkin verse-novel (4/5), the Tchaikovsky opera (4/5), the Met production of the opera (5/5), the Baden-Baden (1998) production of the opera (4/5)
My first introduction to Onegin was in college. One of my home teachers at the time (LDS term for "assigned male go-to/friend" — all active adult LDS are assigned as a "home teacher" (men) or "visiting teacher" (women) to others in the ward, and it is an AWESOME program which means you are guaranteed at least one or two instant friends, but this is not the post for it) was a dancer in a very highly-regarded ballet company, and he happened to mention that they were doing an absolutely amazing production of Onegin and that I should go see it. K was out of the country at the time, and I think I hadn't yet gotten to be friends with J, so I dragged my roommate.
She enjoyed it, but I was overwhelmed. It was the first professional ballet performance I'd ever been to, and it was wonderful. I don't remember anything specific about it now, but I remember that overwhelming thought of oh, oh, THIS is what dance is about, this is why people love it! I then went straight to K's bookshelf (which I was keeping at the time) and read her copy of Pushkin straight through. …I was underwhelmed, but it was nice enough, I guess.
Then I forgot all about it.
So, more than fifteen years later, I was browsing Simon Keenlyside clips on YouTube, as I do, and happened to notice he was in a production of Tchaikovsky's Onegin.
(It has not escaped me that I am sort of following the romantic line of the story. I tried a little to see if I could fit a duel in, but none of my friends are the dueling sort… And of course what with YouTube and Amazon and such, having an obsession is much friendlier now than it was back in the 90's.)
( Cut for length. )
(I think this is the last of my August-ish queued posts. (Way behind on life; have I mentioned that?) This one I was saving because I was going to buy and watch the Keenlyside version first, but it's become clear that this is not happening for a very long time.)
My first introduction to Onegin was in college. One of my home teachers at the time (LDS term for "assigned male go-to/friend" — all active adult LDS are assigned as a "home teacher" (men) or "visiting teacher" (women) to others in the ward, and it is an AWESOME program which means you are guaranteed at least one or two instant friends, but this is not the post for it) was a dancer in a very highly-regarded ballet company, and he happened to mention that they were doing an absolutely amazing production of Onegin and that I should go see it. K was out of the country at the time, and I think I hadn't yet gotten to be friends with J, so I dragged my roommate.
She enjoyed it, but I was overwhelmed. It was the first professional ballet performance I'd ever been to, and it was wonderful. I don't remember anything specific about it now, but I remember that overwhelming thought of oh, oh, THIS is what dance is about, this is why people love it! I then went straight to K's bookshelf (which I was keeping at the time) and read her copy of Pushkin straight through. …I was underwhelmed, but it was nice enough, I guess.
Then I forgot all about it.
So, more than fifteen years later, I was browsing Simon Keenlyside clips on YouTube, as I do, and happened to notice he was in a production of Tchaikovsky's Onegin.
(It has not escaped me that I am sort of following the romantic line of the story. I tried a little to see if I could fit a duel in, but none of my friends are the dueling sort… And of course what with YouTube and Amazon and such, having an obsession is much friendlier now than it was back in the 90's.)
( Cut for length. )
(I think this is the last of my August-ish queued posts. (Way behind on life; have I mentioned that?) This one I was saving because I was going to buy and watch the Keenlyside version first, but it's become clear that this is not happening for a very long time.)
