Final Two Performances Of Florida Grand Opera's EUGENE ONEGIN at Broward Center For The Performing Arts

This week audiences have one last chance to experience Florida Grand Opera's (FGO) critically praised production of Tchaikovsky's romantic classic Eugene Onegin - with a pair of performances at Broward Center for the Performing Arts' Au-Rene Theater in Fort Lauderdale, Thursday February 9 and Saturday, February 11, both at 7:30pm.

Eugene Onegin, last presented by Florida Grand Opera seventeen years ago, has earned some of the most stunning reviews of any FGO presentation in recent season:

"I have wanted to present Eugene Onegin for years," says Susan T. Danis, Florida Grand Opera's General Director and CEO. "To have it so rapturously received by the critics and our Miami audience is very satisfying, and we look forward to bringing our production to the Broward and the Fort Lauderdale community."

Audiences at the Broward have the opportunity to choose between two extraordinary casts, headed by two superb Russian sopranos, Dina Kuznetsova (February 9) and Lyubov Petrova (February 11) in the role of the dreamy, withdrawn Tatyana, who confesses her love to the self-absorbed Eugene Onegin, setting off a tragic chain of events. At the Broward Center, Onegin is portrayed by Franco Pomponi (February 9) and John Brancy (February 11).

PLOT SUMMARY - Eugene Onegin

The landowner Madame Larina has two daughters: the quiet, introspective Tatyana and the capricious Olga. When Tatyana meets Eugene Onegin, she falls in love and confesses her feelings in a letter to him. When Onegin rejects her, Tatyana is devastated. At a ball, Onegin flirts with Olga, provoking the jealous rage of his best friend, the poet Lensky, who challenges Onegin to a duel. Onegin fatally wounds Lensky, and spends the rest of his life in torment, trying to overcome his reckless past.

Florida Grand Opera has assembled an impeccable cast, shared by two world-class Russian sopranos. Dina Kuznetsova (February 9) has triumphed at leading international theaters, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House in London, Berlin Staatsoper, Vienna Staatsoper and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Of equal distinction, Lyubov Petrova (February 11) is well known in the United States for her successful appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Washington National Opera.

The role of Onegin is shared by Franco Pomponi (February 9), whose résumé includes leading roles at Paris's Théâtre du Châtelet, the Teatro Real de Madrid, and the Metropolitan Opera; and John Brancy (February 11), praised by Opera News as "an ideal Papageno," who recently made his debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos. The tragic, impulsive Lensky is portrayed by both Chad Johnson (February 9), whose repertoire ranges from Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night (Michigan Opera Theatre, Fort Worth Opera) to Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Boston Lyric Opera) and by Uruguayan tenor Martín Nusspaumer (February 11), a former member of Florida Grand Opera's Young Artist Program who has sung the role previously at the National Opera of Uruguay.

Adding a welcome dose of authenticity to FGO's production is conductor Alexander Polianichko, invited by Valery Gergiev in 1989 to join the conducting roster of the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater. Polianichko made his London debut conducting Eugene Onegin in 1994 at English National Opera, and has also led productions of other noted Tchaikovsky works, including Queen of Spades and The Tsarina's Slippers, both at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Eugene Onegin's stage director is Jeffrey Marc Buchman, hailed by Opera News as "a formidable talent" and known to Florida Grand Opera audiences for previously directing productions of The Magic Flute and Andy Vores' No Exit.

ABOUT FLORIDA GRAND OPERA

Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season in 2016-17. The mainstage operas of the season include: Georges Bizet's Carmen, November 12-December 3, 2016; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, January 28-February 11, 2017; Jorge Martín's Before Night Falls, March 18-25, 2017; and Giuseppe Verdi's A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), April 29-May 13, 2017.

FGO is currently accepting duet subscriptions and single ticket purchases online or at FGO's offices. FGO's Box Office is located at the Doral Center on 8390 NW 25 Street, Miami, FL 33122, and is open from 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday during the season. Season tickets may also be purchased by phone at (800) 741-1010. For more information on supporting our work through donation, or to make a pledge, please contact Individual Advancement Officer Carlton Ford at (305) 403-3320 or cford@fgo.org.

Founded in 1941 as Greater Miami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions - all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, and the Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.

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