Some 50 years after the publication of Alexander Pushkin’s verse novel Eugene Onegin, P. I. Tchaikovsky premiered his lyrical opera Onegin at the Maly Theater in Moscow in 1879. The novel is considered a Russian national epic: the complex cultural situation in Russia around 1820, vividly illustrated by the lives of young noblemen in the urban metropolises and at the same time on their traditional country estates, provided ample material for one of the most famous masterpieces by the musical genius Tchaikovsky.
Sisters Olga and Tatyana fall in love with friends Lensky and Onegin. While Lensky reciprocates Olga’s feelings sincerely, Onegin shows himself cold and dismissive towards Tatyana’s deep feelings. His honor offended by a misbehavior deliberately provoked by Onegin, Lensky challenges his friend to a duel - and dies. Onegin, who realizes his true love for Tatyana too late, meets her again after years at a ball. Tatyana, meanwhile married to Prince Gremin, rejects Onegin’s advances as a faithful wife. Tormented by delusion and pain, Onegin condemns heaven.