You know it’s summer when the country house opera season starts – though when Garsington opened last week with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the weather was so bleakly Russian you could see your own breath. How the glamour of a black-tie picnic fades when everybody’s wrapped in blankets, tablecloths and bin liners to stave off hypothermia.
This Onegin is directed by Sir Michael Boyd, who used to run the RSC but is comparatively new to opera. And it shows someone steeped in the naturalistic tradition of British theatre, carefully exploring the expressionist possibilities that opera brings – with a transparent staging, simply done and firmly placed in the Imperial Russia that Tchaikovsky asks for (nothing tricksy) on an open, bare and frankly rather dull set. The delivery is clean, the story well told – with additional details that Tchaikovsky leaves you to imagine for yourself, but Boyd supplies, explaining how Onegin’s life after the duel is haunted not so much by memories of Tatyana (whose love he rejected) but of Lensky (whose life he destroyed).
But the most striking thing about the show is that Onegin – usually aloof and arrogant – is shown so sympathetically: as he has to be when sung by Roderick Williams, one of British music’s legendarily nice people and not easy to dislike. His charm, warmth and intelligence make the rejection of Tatyana’s love seem sensible rather than cruel. It’s not a massive voice but handsomely expressive, and enhanced by acting that turns understatement into eloquence.
Natalya Romaniw is vocally impressive as Tatyana but with too much self-possession when she’s meant to be a tender soul in turmoil. The excitement of the Letter Scene is too contained, with underpowered support from the conductor Douglas Boyd. But the orchestral playing overall has strength. The youthful chorus is magnificent. Oleksi Palchykov’s Lensky holds his top notes with exhilarating ardour. And as often in Onegin, Gremin’s single aria – sung here by Brindley Sherratt – all but steals the show.
Staying with Russians, the violinist Maxim Vengerov was at the Barbican last week to play Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in the early version that the composer later revised – a mistake, because the early version doesn’t work. Sibelius knew what he was doing when he ditched it.
But another curious thing about this concert was that Vengerov, who could appear with any orchestra he pleases, chose to do it with the Oxford Philharmonic: not a major name in the world rankings. A peculiar relationship has grown between this player and this band, though lacking any semblance of equality: it’s like a star turn with a modest backing group. Perhaps things will develop. But they haven’t yet.
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