Eugene Onegin Is the April 22, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The April 22, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Eugene Onegin, a three-act opera by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Anna Netrebko appears as Tatiana in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera via Twitter Feb. 19, 2017

Eugene Onegin, a three-act opera concerning a dandy’s youthful foolishness by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893), is the April 22, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

The composer collaborated with Russian librettist Konstantin Shilovsky (1849-May 22, 1893) in organizing the Russian libretto. The literary source is Eugene Onegin, a novel in verse by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (June 6, 1799-Feb. 10, 1837).

Eugene Onegin premiered March 29, 1879. The venue was Moscow’s Maly Theatre (“Small Theatre”). Designed by Italian-Russian neoclassical architect Joseph Bové (Nov. 4, 1784-June 28, 1834), Maly Theatre opened Oct. 14, 1824, on Theatre Square in central Moscow. Maly Theatre appeared on the list of nationally significant properties approved Feb. 20, 1995, by Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Feb. 1, 1931-April 23, 2007), as First President of the Russian Federation (July 10, 1991-Dec. 31, 1999).

The composer and librettist honored Pushkin's setting of his novel around 1820 in St. Petersburg and the surrounding countryside. The Metropolitan Opera's 2016-2017 production fast forwards the opera's time setting to the late 19th century, around the time of the opera's premiere in 1879.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Eugene Onegin begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (5 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 3 hours 38 minutes.

The opera, sung in the original Russian, comprises three acts and two intermissions. Act I is timed for 78 minutes. A 33-minute intermission succeeds Act I.

Act II is timed for 44 minutes. A 25-minute intermission follows Act II.

Act III is timed for 38 minutes. The opera ends with Act III’s final notes.

Robin Ticciati is scheduled to conduct all performances, including the Saturday matinee broadcast, of Eugene Onegin. His birthplace is London, United Kingdom. The British conductor of Italian ancestry debuted with the Met’s 2011 production of Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921).

Illness prevents Robin Ticciati from conducting two of the Russian opera's seven performances. American conductor Joel Revzen makes his Metropolitan Opera debut by leading performances on April 15 and 18.

Peter Mattei appears in the title role for performances from April 12 through the Saturday matinee broadcast. He was born in Piteå, Norrbotten County, northeastern Sweden. The Swedish operatic baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). This season Peter Mattei also appears as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868).

Peter Mattei shares the title role this season with Mariusz Kwiecien. Born in Kraków, southern Poland, Mariusz Kwiecien debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1999 as Kuligin in Kátá Kabanová by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928). The Polish operatic baritone also appears this season in the title role of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Anna Netrebko appears as Tatiana Larin, a young girl whose affections the youthful Eugene Onegin rejects. Her birthplace is Krasnodar, southwestern Russia. The Russian operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2002 as Natasha Rostova in War and Peace by Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). This season Anna Netrebko also appears in the title role of Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Elena Maximova appears as Tatyana’s younger sister, Olga, whose fiancé is killed in a foolishly-motivated duel with his friend, Eugene Onegin. Elena Maximova was born in Perm, west central Russia. The Russian mezzo-soprano reprises her 2013 Metropolitan Opera debut role.

Alexey Dolgov appears as Lenski, Olga Larin’s fiancé. His birthplace is Moscow, northwestern Russia. The Siberian tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2013 as Cassio in Otello by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Štefan Kocán appears as Prince Gremin, whom Tatyana Larin grows up to auspiciously marry. He was born in Trnava, western Slovakia. The Slovak operatic bass debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2009 as the King of Egypt in Verdi’s Aida. This season Štefan Kocán also appears as the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and as Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Operabase, an online database, places Pyot at number 9 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Eugene Onegin places at 16 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Eugene Onegin holds place 49, with 148 performances, for the period from first Met performance, March 24, 1920, to last performance, Dec. 12, 2013. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Eugene Onegin as the April 22, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast are Eugene’s missteps as a foolish youth that cost him the life of his friend Lenski and true love with Tatiana, who traces a fulfilling character arc from sentimental adolescent to mature, successful young woman.

Tatiana (Anna Netrebko) wisens to Eugene Onegin's character flaws in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook March 30, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Anna Netrebko appears as Tatiana in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin: Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera via Twitter Feb. 19, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/833225331700006912

Tatiana (Anna Netrebko) wisens to Eugene Onegin's character flaws in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook March 30, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158568574120533.1073741932.20807115532/10158568574550533

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“The List of Properties of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Federal (All-Russian) Significance Approved.” Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library > History. Feb. 20, 1995.
Available @ http://www.prlib.ru/en-us/History/Pages/Item.aspx?itemid=424

Meet Me At The Opera @MMATOpera. "Anna Netrebko Leading Soprano at the Leading Opera Houses Across the Globe: Season 2016/17." Twitter. Feb. 19, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/833225331700006912

Metropolitan Opera. "Anna Netrebko on Eugene Onegin." YouTube. March 29, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J_NSvOcQhA

Metropolitan Opera. “Eugene Onegin at the Metropolitan Opera.” YouTube. Feb. 28, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eSeHgiJwEE&spfreload=5

Metropolitan Opera. "Eugene Onegin: Lenski's Aria." YouTube. March 29, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpUw1isGEM

Metropolitan Opera. "Eugene Onegin: Letter Scene -- Anna Netrebko." YouTube. Sept. 20, 2013.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56MMagyMXs

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "The Metropolitan Opera added 11 new photos to the album: Eugene Onegin Starring Anna Netrebko. March 30, 2017 · Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin starring Anna Netrebko as Tatiana and Peter Mattei in the tile role is on stage tonight, Apr 18! Live in HD worldwide, April 22. . . .Photos by Marty Sohl/Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. March 30, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.10158568574120533.1073741932.20807115532/10158568574550533

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

"Picturing Onegin." The Metropolitan Opera > Discover > Articles > Interviews. April 1, 2017.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/Discover/Articles/Interviews/picturing-onegin-peter-mattei/

Yannick Nézet-Séguin @nezetseguin. "Tomorrow 1st orchestra rehearsal of Flying Dutchman . . . . Excited beyond belief! (Nice help studying)." Twitter. March 29, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/nezetseguin/status/847244514968215553