When the curtain rose on the duel scene between onegin and his friend lensky in krzysztof warlikowski s new production of tchaikovskys. Eugene onegin meets brokeback mountain in munich by. Eugene onegin is a wellknown example of lyric opera, to which tchaikovsky added music of a dramatic nature. Log in or sign up for facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. He caused a sensation in theatres in new york, moscow, paris, munich, berlin, brussels and madrid. Rather, the scene takes place in a motel room with lenski and onegin in bed, and the two men are upset. Krzysztof warlikowski of yeehaw brokeback mountain eugene onegin tells this frosch frog, as strauss nicknamed his opera story straightforward but dressed in modern garb.
In 1992, two years after his graduation, he began his collaboration with krzysztof warlikowski. Pushkins works formed the basis of many performances for both drama and musical theaters. Yevgeny onegin at the komische oper, berlin tchaikovsky yevgeny onegin. Krzysztof warlikowski s staging for the bayerische staatsoper works from a different premise. Last fall in munich he staged a eugene onegin in which onegin. Basing the work on the famous alexander pushkin novel was an excuse.
Soloists, bavarian state opera orchestra, kent nagano conductor nationaltheater, munich 3. This was my fourth yevgeny onegin in the space of two years and the one problem with seeing the same piece relatively frequently is that comparisons inevitably form however much one does not necessarily wish to do so. Krzysztof warlikowskis staging for the bayerische staatsoper works from a. Krzysztof warlikowski with michael volle onegin, olga guryakova tatjana, christoph strehl lensky a. The answer for him and the people with whom he comes into contact is bitter. Festival attendees had the luxury of seeing the strauss and schreker pieces side by side on consecutive eveningsa fascinating musical, intellectual. He made his film debut in 1987 by directing the film zad.
Krzysztof warlikowski born 26 may 1962 is a polish theatre director. The production was inspired by tchaikovskys life story. Modest tchaikovsky after pushkins story venue and dates. In fact, krzysztof warlikowskis production at the bayerische staatsoper reimagines the opera in a. Tchaikovskys lyrical scenes subtitled eugene onegin ranks among the greatest, most beautiful and most frequently performed russian. A conversation with krzysztof warlikowski tchaikovskys opera is named after its male protagonist as was pushkins novel in verse. Since then, he has appeared in almost all of warlikowski s shows. Nicole car role debut as elisabetta in don carlo 2019. Krzysztof warlikowski director is regarded as one of the great theatre innovators of his generation. Krzysztof warlikowski figures among the reforming vanguard of theatrical. Polish theatre and opera director krzysztof warlikowski makes his royal opera debut in the 201718 season directing from the house of the dead warlikowski studied history, philosophy and romance languages at krakows jagiellonian university, philosophy and french language and literature at the sorbonne and directing at the ludwik solski academy for the dramatic arts. Warlokowskis staging of eugene onegin for the bayerische staatsoper. The manner in which elements of eugene onegin relate closely to the circumstances of tchaikovskys own life have often been remarked upon, and it undoubtedly contributes to the deep emotional and romantic sweep of the opera, so its surprising that to my knowledge at least the unspoken subtext within the work hasnt really been brought out explicitly before in any modern production.
Did his direction give intelligible and instructive cues as to the meanings of the opera in the way that aldens did. He antagonizes the women who love and desire him, just as he does his friend, whom he ultimately kills in a duel. A eugene onegin that fills in tchaikovskys blanks the. The idea that lensky and onegin might be lovers has been floated in earlier productions, not least in an absurd 2007 staging by krzysztof warlikowski for the bayerische staatsoper that borrowed from the film brokeback mountain and turned the world of russian aristocrats into that of gay cowboys. Koskys approach to onegin was instead remarkably restrained and centered squarely on the.
Its an interesting and coherent concept presumably inspired by tchaikovskys own homosexuality and there are moments when it makes the drama. Tchaikowskys eugene onegin on october 31, 2007 in the nationaltheater confessions, spoken and unspoken. During his studies, he assisted giorgio strehler, ingmar bergman en. Warlikowski is well known for his capacity to provoke. A staging of tchaikovskys eugene onegin directed by krzysztof warlikowski pictured at left has created quite a buzz in artistic circles in munich, germany. Brokeback onegin returns to munich with new cast simon keenlyside l, ain anger c and pavol breslik in eugene onegin.
In fact, krzysztof warlikowski s production at the bayerische staatsoper reimagines the opera in a brokeback mountain style, with onegin portrayed as a gay man, with lensky as his lover. Tchaikovsky and konstantin shilovsky after alexander pushkins verse novel the story of a cosmopolitan, educated, yet excessively arrogant outsider. Surprisingly, however, the more emotionally present figure is a young woman, tatyana. Even tchaikovskys detractors often admit that the combination of symphonic and operatic elements is exquisite, without the sentimentality his critics attribute to some of his other works. Krzysztof warlikowski s new paris staging of verdis epic don carlos is cold and glassy, but the vocal performances at the bastille more than compensate. Cowboy onegin hits the internets on saturday 24 march the bavarian state opera are streaming eugene onegin live. This time it was krzysztof warlikowskis turn with the ball, all in the service of his. Joyce to open the canadian opera companys 201819 season as tatyana eugene onegin the canadian opera company has announced their 201819 season, which opens with tchaikovskys wellloved opera eugene onegin. Nicole car is singing the lead in eugene onegin in sydney and melbourne. But from the duel scene, warlikowski makes his own show. Lenski finally decides to go for his friend, who is stripping off his shirt, but when lenski starts to take off his pants, onegin shoots him. Mlodsi zdolniejsi w teatrze polskim the fatherkillers.
Eugene onegin, bayerische staatsoper, munich financial times. Krzysztof warlikowski has reforged the connection with the spectator by using an original process to prompt the audience into searching for meaning or meanings, particularly through cinematographic references or with the novel use of video. This time it was krzysztof warlikowski s turn to dust off that prop, all in the service of his infamous before it even started brokeback mountain eugene onegin. Controversy is apparently endemic to the opera productions of the polish director krzysztof warlikowski. The production is directed by krzysztof warlikowski, who envisions the opera as a story of suppressed homosexuality and a desire to break free from society. Etienne dupuis and nicole car rehearse eugene onegin at place des arts thursday, sept. In addition, he directed the rakes progress at the berlin staatsoper and eugene onegin at. The infamous 2008 brokeback mountain production by krzysztof warlikowski imagines onegin and lensky as lovers. I first saw krzysztof warlikowskis staging of yevgeny onegin last year. Is it onegin s longing to see himself always reflected in others. In a 2007 production of tchaikovskys eugene onegin for munichs bayerische staatsoper, he portrayed onegin and lensky as homosexual lovers. Anna netrebko and mariusz kwiecien triumph in eugene onegin.
Please see the 2011 don giovanni and the 2007 eugene onegin, if i absolutely must narrow it down. Yes, onegin was kind of a jerk, but its hard not to. He is the creator and artistic director of nowy teatr new theatre in warsaw. Joyce to open the canadian opera companys 201819 season. Lawrence wrights new pandemic novel wasnt supposed to be prophetic. Roderick williams and natalya romaniw in eugene onegin, at the rural.
He plays title roles in traditional repertoire signature parts include giovanni in the mozart masterwork and eugene onegin, with which he opened the 20 season at the metropolitan opera with conductor valery giergiev, in a production staged by innovative director deborah warner. Basils cathedral leading soloists and orchestra of the stanislavsky and nemirovichdanchenko moscow music theatre will give a gala concert dedicated tothe 220th jubilee of alexander pushkin and the closing of the book festival red square. Tchaikovskys eugene onegin, premiered on october 31, 2007 at the bavarian state opera, munich musical direction. Bayerische staatsoper, munich 21, 24 and 28 march 2012 conductor. The staatsoper staging, conducted by kent nagano, implied that onegin is in fact homosexual and presented the fact quite graphically on stage. Salzburgs new production is by krzysztof warlikowski, a pole obviously. Therefore, my main challenge was to put aside impressions of the previous night and look into layers of symbolism created by the team for. The komisches 2016 production of eugene onegin is surprisingly lowkey, a far cry from krzysztof warlikowski s munich productionnicknamed brokeback mountain eugene onegin for its gay cowboy elements i felt certain that intendant barrie kosky would try to outdo in flamboyance and excess. Eugene onegin is a favorite opera of those in the know. The actual modern garb comes courtesy costume designer malgorzata szczesniak, as do the attractive sets. Gruszczynski is a theatre critic and author of an important book on recent developments in polish theatre.