RB's Eugene Onegin with Cojocaru

[garybruce]

I just watched two duets lasting 10 minutes on You Tube from the Royal Balet's production of Eugene Onegin with Cojacaru and her Danish consort. Is that from a British telecast or is it already out in the UK as a DVD? I'm especially interested because Onegin does not appear to be commercially available on DVD anywhere. Finally, has anyone seen Onegin performed? I wonder whether it's as effective as the opera, which was just released on DVD with a stellar cast.

[rg]

as you've noted, there are no commercial vids of ONEGIN.

cranko's ballet uses a score arranged by Kurt-Heinz Stolze specifically for the ballet's scenario of all-tchaikovsky music but none from the opera EVEGENI ONEGIN. (i think the tchaikovsky estate would not give permission to remake the opera's music for a ballet score.)

the 3 act work is done widely, and is variously popular. it was telecast in germany with the stuttgart ballet and in canada but neither telecast, to the best of my knowledge, has been released commercially.

the footage you mention above, which i haven't seen, may or may not be 'official' and if it's not it may eventually be removed from youtube.

here is the canadian telecast's credits from the NYPL dance collection cat.:

Onegin c1986. 96 min.

Co-production of Primedia Productions Limited and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in association with RM Arts. Distributed as a videotape by Home Vision, a Films Incorporated Co., Chicago, Ill. Director: Norman Campbell. Producers: W. Paterson Ferns and Norman Campbell.

Choreography: John Cranko, restaged by Reid Anderson and adapted for television by Norman Campbell and Reid Anderson. Based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin. Music: Peter Tchaikovsky, arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. Scenery/costumes: Jurgen Rose. Lighting: Sholem Dolgoy, adapted for television by Sholem Dolgoy and Ross Viner.

Performed by the National Ballet of Canada. Cast: Sabina Allemann (Tatiana), Frank Augustyn (Eugene Onegin), Jeremy Ransom (Lensky), Cynthia Lucas (Olga), Serge Lavoie (Prince Gremin), Victoria Bertram (Mme. Larina), Lorna Geddes (Nurse), and others. National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, conducted by Ermanno Florio.

[chrisk217]

I think the clips are from the 2005 Alina & Johan South Bank Show documentary (small reservations due to sleep deprivation related memory fog - I hope someone else can confirm)

[annamicro]

I think the clips are from the 2005 Alina & Johan South Bank Show documentary

No, Onegin is not part of that documentary.

The clips are probably from the film of the performace shown live on screens in Trafalgar Square and other locations on June 17th 2004.

[Anne]

I just watched two duets lasting 10 minutes on You Tube from the Royal Balet's production of Eugene Onegin with Cojacaru and her Danish consort. Is that from a British telecast or is it already out in the UK as a DVD? I'm especially interested because Onegin does not appear to be commercially available on DVD anywhere. Finally, has anyone seen Onegin performed? I wonder whether it's as effective as the opera, which was just released on DVD with a stellar cast.

I have seen the Onegin ballet a couple of times on the stage, and it is in effect very effective, though of course musically a bit "thinner" than the opera. I think it's one of the most moving ballets I have ever seen, especially the many pas de deux’ which really portrait the persons and their relationship. It’s very poetic too. The opera is one of my favorites among operas, and the newly released dvd from the Met is just gorgeous!

I often wonder why there are so few Cranko ballets on dvd. I once saw his Romeo and Juliet in a television transmission, and the Zürich Ballet had his version on the repetory for many years which I happened to see many times. I think it’s one of the best Romeo and Juliet-ballets, only equalled by Neumeiers version. If the RB Onegin comes out with Cojocaru and Kobborg, it’s just fabulous!!

[JMcN]

The Canadian production, mentioned above by rq, was broadcast by the BBC in the late 1980s and was commercially available. I have got it on video but not DVD.

Onegin is the ballet that converted me to watching ballet on 26th May 1984 at the London Coliseum. It was London Festival Ballet (now ENB) with Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun guesting. Maurizio Belleza was Lenski and I think Lucia Truglia was Olga. Michael Pink (now AD at Milwaukee) was Gremin. I didn't realise till years later what a stellar cast I had seen.

Since then I have seen many wonderful performances of Onegin, mostly with LFB/ENB. Memorable Tatianas have been Natalia Makarova, Lynn Seymour and Eva Evdokimova. Alexander Sombart is my favourite Onegin ever!

Stuttgart Ballet performed in Glasgow when that city was European Capital of Culture and I was lucky to see Wolfgang Stollwitzer in the title role at one performance. (He went on to join BRB and was very popular with the Birmingham crowd. He's just rejoined as a member of the ballet staff.)

I have seen RB do it a couple of times - the most memorable being Cojocaru/Kobborg - he was totally fabulous. I've also seen NB Canada. The late Serge Lavoie was Onegin (I had seen him do Gremin during a season he did with LFB). Earlier this year I saw two wonderful performances by RDB. I was fortunate indeed to see Kenneth Greve in one of his final performances before retirement. He was utterly compelling in the role.

As you may have guessed, I am a bit of an Onegin obsessive! I am hoping to see POB do it next year - I'll report back if I do.

[rg]

i forgot the fact that, yes, for a while, the NBC telecast was on the market as a videocassette.