Onegin at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

Strong emotions and dramatic destinies are interwoven in Alexander Pushkin’s love story about the cynically aloof popinjay Onegin and the innocent, ardently romantic Tatyana – she hopelessly in love, he at first dismissive and later desperate to win her back. Pushkin’s portrayal of love and conventions in St. Petersburg’s decadent, superficial high society has inspired artists in every genre, including Peter Tchaikovsky in his opera Eugene Onegin.

The legendary choreographer John Cranko has immortalised the drama in the ballet Onegin, considered one of the most gripping of ballets that tell a story, and Pushkin’s world is magnificently recreated in Elisabeth Dalton’s costumes and scenography. But most of all it is the characters that captivate, their longing and vulnerability, intransigence and remorse. When Tatyana and Onegin dance their final pas de deux before she leaves him, not only is it a musical and narrative climax. It is dance at its best.