I went to see the RSAMD production of Eugene Onegin last night at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. I have heard many performances of this Tchaikovsky masterpiece over the years including one in the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and another at The Coliseum in London and I think last night’s show was the equal of any of them. The staging was imaginative although I thought that having the duel offstage was a mistake and the suspended corpse representing the dead Lensky was distracting. However the harvest scene with the peasants was great and it gave the young chorus a chance to really belt it out. Monsieur Tricot’s scene was funny and he was perfectly cast as the dapper French Dandy.
The international student cast from RSAMD sang wonderfully in Russian which, for them, must have added hugely to the challenge of this demanding piece.
The stars of the show were Lensky and Tatiana who both sang brilliantly, closely followed by Onegin and the lovely Mrs Larin. Gremin's aria would have brought a tear to a glass eye - beautifully sung.
They are performing again at The Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 31st January and 2nd February. Do go and cheer them on if you can. It’s a truly great night out at a bargain basement price for opera too.