Opéra Bastille in Paris is staging “Eugène Onéguine”, an opera written by Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovski, that will be performed between May 16 and June 14, 2017.In November 1836, irritated by the French lieutenant Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d’Anthès’ importunate attentions towards his wife, the beautiful Natalia Nicolaïevna Gontcharova, Alexander Pushkin challenged his rival to a duel. Beneath a snow-laden sky on the evening of February 8th 1837, the Russian poet, at the height of his glory, was hit by a bullet, costing him his life. Curiously, the same scene had been related in his verse novel, Eugene Onegin, published six years earlier. Inspired by this masterpiece of Russian literature, Tchaikovsky’s opera provides a sublime portrait – both ironic and sympathetic – of a character embittered by society life, rejecting love out of vanity, killing his friend the poet Lenski out of pride and spending the rest of his days in abject despair.The opera is at Opéra Bastille, Place de la Bastille, 75012 Paris. For details, visit: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-16-17/opera/eugene-oneguine#head Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the show.
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