Eshana, on 21 February 2012 - 01:09 AM, said:
As a big fan of Ms. Tan, can anyone who attended her 'Onegin' performances share some details about how she was? All the online reviews seem to be on the Kochetkova/Luiz and Zahorian/Karapetyan pairings, so I'd appreciate any feedback on Tan/Martin. I know Tatiana has long been a dream role for Ms. Tan, and after seeing her wonderful dramatic turn in the black pas de deux from John Neumeier's 'Lady of the Camellias' (
http://yue.cntv.cn/n...26/100061.shtml - about 16:30 in), I'm really curious as to how well she tackled the equally dramatic role of Tatiana. I'd especially like to know how Tan and Martin related to one another as they've been paired together a number of times before, and I've always found their shared dynamic quite intriguing. Just how well did the audiences receive the 'Onegin' runs which featured Ms. Tan?
Much thanks in advance!
Hi Eshana:
I was lucky enough to see Yuan Yuan as Tatiana, and, as you might expect, she was very beautiful and very good. The audience loved her, as they always do – she’s VERY popular here. Here are some thoughts about the performance as a whole.
To be very honest, although I’ve always liked Martin Cintas, many of us felt he was miscast as Onegin (many heated intermission discussions about this, because we all like him but were disappointed in his performance). He danced beautifully, as always, but he simply didn’t suffer from Onegin’s boredom and ennui; he seemed more like a dreamy young man who should have his nose in a book of poetry – really, a perfect match for the dreamy Tatiana. As a result, his rejection made no sense, and his flirting with Olga and the duel all seemed hopelessly out of character.
On the other hand, Tan’s sweet and unworldly Tatiana was a delight. Tan is so beautiful and aristocratic that, I think sometimes it’s a little hard for audiences to believe her as a peasant (her first act Giselle is a good example; she should be living in that castle, not the two-timing Albrecht). But, as one of the dancers said in an interview in the program book, everything is there in the choreography, and Tan made the most of it.
It was really in the third act, though, where she truly came into her own. Her pas de deux with Gremin (sorry, I’m at work and don’t have the dancer’s name at hand) was incredibly lovely and tender. Tan’s gorgeous lines and liquid, sweeping style were a perfect match for the choreography. But what really stood out what the last scene: she has seen Onegin at the ball and now she’s in her boudoir reading his letter. She’s at her desk with her back to the door when Gremin comes in to say goodbye; he touches her shoulder gently, which startles Tatiana and I swear Tan jumped a foot. All the other Tatianas were startled, but nobody shot out of her chair like Tan. It was a marvelous little bit of acting that in that one movement showed how everything had changed for her after the tenderness and affection of the pas de deux with her husband: how frayed her nerves were and how tormented she was by Onegin’s return.
So, it was a fine performance, marred somewhat by a less than ideal Onegin.
Sorry, I’ve got to get to work! Hope to hear from you again.
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