Leeds Grand Theatre – 9 October 2026
Reviewed by Dawn Smallwood
4****
Opera North’s production, Eugene Onegin, marks the start of their new autumn/winter season at the Leeds Grand Theatre. This is a new production which is co-produced with Irish National Opera and Opera Queensland. This three-act opera, is set to Tchaikovsky’s music with his and Konstantin Shilovsky’s libretto and is based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel (1833).
The opera, sung in Russian with English surtitles, is re-imagined in 1980’s Russia and focuses on the character, Eugene Onegin (John Brancy). Onegin meets and befriends Vladimir Lensky (Kamil Brerí) and Tatyana Larina (Verity Wingate) who falls in love with Onegin but with no success.
Onegin’s life is unsettled and his boredom leads to a fatal and tragic encounter. He eventually has a change of feelings about Tatyana which turns out to be a past missed opportunity and he feels very regretful.
Tchaikovsky’s music reflects and retells emotively and explicitly those feelings and to related themes. It is projected effectively on the stage with live orchestration, under the direction of Garry Walker, and is sung individually and collectively by the talented cast and Opera North’s chorus. There are wonderful portrayals from everyone including Brancy as Onegin and Wingate as Tatyana.
This production is re-imagined in all forms from the music to the singing. Under the direction of Patrick Nolan with Maxine Braham’s choreography, this production intricately and tenderly captures the wide range of emotions and obvious themes, linking to Onegin and Tatyana’s fates. The story is staged to Leslie Travers’ set and Elizabeth Gadsby costumes, complimented with Malcolm Rippeth’s lighting.
Eugene Onegin is a wonderful production which captivates from beginning to end with Pushkin’s soulful storytelling and Tchaikovsky’s emotional provoking music.