SYNOPSIS

The action takes place in Russia during the 1820s.

Act One

CD 1 [1] Scene 1: Late summer‚ on the estate of Mme Larina‚ a gentlewoman and widow in somewhat reduced circumstances. [2] In the garden outside the house Larina and the old nurse Filipyevna are making jam in the open air. From inside the house Larina’s two daughters‚ Tatyana and Olga‚ can be heard singing a duet (the text is taken from an early lyric of Pushkin’s); this sets Larina thinking of her own youth. Together with the nurse she recalls her own girlish infatuation and the arranged marriage she was forced to accept. [3] A peasant chorus heralds the appearance of reapers who have come to celebrate the completion of the harvest and to present their mistress with a decorated sheaf. Tatyana and Olga come from the house to watch the singing and dancing; their respective reactions reveal the enormous difference in their characters. [4] Tatyana is lost in far-away dreams‚ while the matter-of-fact Olga is simply ready to sing and dance‚ and confesses that romantic sighs and dreams are not for her.

After the peasants have left Tatyana admits that she has been much affected by the sentimental novel she has been reading. Her mother gently warns her that romantic fiction is far from fact. [6] Gentlemen visitors are announced‚ provoking a flutter of excitement. Olga’s betrothed‚ Lensky‚ a nineteen-year-old poet‚ has brought his new friend Onegin‚ a blasé young St Petersburg dandy‚ who has recently inherited his rich uncle’s country estate. Onegin confides to Lensky his surprise at the latter’s preference for Olga‚ to him the less interesting of the two sisters. Lensky observes that‚ although they are close friends‚ Onegin and he are diametrically opposed in outlook. Meanwhile‚ Tatyana has realised that Onegin is the long-awaited hero of her dreams. However‚ she receives small encouragement from him. While Lensky sings ecstatically to Olga of his love for her‚ Onegin‚ aloof and coldly civil‚ condescends to share with Tatyana his boredom with country life. The nurse senses that their new neighbour has made a powerful impression on the shy and withdrawn Tatyana.

Scene 2: Tatyana’s bedroom‚ where the nurse is preparing her for the night. Tatyana is restless and asks the old woman to entertain her with stories of her youth. Noticing that the girl’s attention is wandering‚ Filipyevna asks if she is ill. Tatyana reveals that she is in love‚ and then dismisses the nurse. [10] Alone‚ she spends the entire night pouring out her soul in a long‚ passionate love letter to Onegin. At sunrise the nurse returns to wake Tatyana and is astonished to find her already up. With some diffidence Tatyana persuades the bewildered Filipyevna to have her grandson take the letter to Onegin.

Scene 3: As they pick berries in a garden on the Larin estate‚ servant girls are singing a chorus. Tatyana appears in great agitation: Onegin has just arrived. She is full of foreboding and regrets her foolhardiness. Her fears are justified when Onegin appears and addresses her with the utmost correctness and complete moral rectitude. He is grateful for her frankness but‚ alas‚ marriage is not for him‚ and his regard for her must remain a brotherly one. He would‚ however‚ urge her to exercise a little more caution and self-control in the future.

Act Two

CD 2 [1] Scene 1:

It is the following winter‚ and on 12 January Tatyana’s name-day is being celebrated. The unexpected appearance of a regimental band transforms the occasion into a ball‚ much to the surprise and delight of the guests. The sight of Onegin waltzing with Tatyana causes tongues to wag. Onegin happens to overhear some particularly uncomplimentary remarks from a group of elderly ladies and bitterly regrets his presence at the party. It was Lensky who insisted that he came‚ and Onegin decides to revenge himself on his friend by flirting with Olga. Lensky is aghast when he sees Onegin waltzing with his beloved and bestowing his attentions on her. An elderly Frenchman‚ Monsieur Triquet‚ sings some couplets in Tatyana’s honour‚ after which the Company Commander‚ the officer responsible for the surprise appearance of the band‚ announces the cotillion. Again Onegin dances with Olga. When he has finished he addresses Lensky sarcastically‚ and a heated argument follows‚ attracting the general attention. Working himself up into a fury‚ Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel and publicly insults Olga. Onegin secretly regrets his actions‚ but is obliged to accept the challenge. Lensky‚ however‚ continues to revile him and the antagonists have to be separated. In the uproar Lensky bids Olga an everlasting farewell.

Scene 2: [5] By a water mill at sunrise the following morning Lensky and his second‚ Zaretski‚ await the arrival of Onegin. In a soliloquy Lensky muses on the passing of time and on the inevitability of Fate. He is resigned to‚ and seems to sense‚ his coming end. His thoughts fly to his beloved Olga‚ whom he pictures weeping at his grave. Onegin arrives with his French valet Guillot‚ whom he presents as his second‚ much to Zaretski’s disgust. While the seconds discuss the terms of the duel‚ the thoughts of the two antagonists are identical: a simple reconciliation should put an end to this stupid quarrel. But injured pride and the force of convention prevail. 6 Inexorably the duel proceeds and it is Lensky who‚ to Onegin’s horror‚ falls dead.

Act Three

Scene 1: [7] Four years have elapsed during which‚ haunted by Lensky’s death‚ Onegin has travelled far and wide seeking distraction. In the meantime Tatyana‚ on a family visit to Moscow‚ has been persuaded to accept the suit of an elderly and renowned general‚ Prince Gremin. Onegin has just returned to St Petersburg and is attending a ball. [8] Standing apart from the rest of the company‚ he finds his existence more than ever pointless and empty. His attention is arrested by the entry of an aloof and majestic lady; he cannot bring himself to believe that it is Tatyana‚ although the resemblance is striking. Prince Gremin confirms that it is indeed she and that they have been married for some two years‚ during which she has brought affection‚ radiance and vitality to him in his old age. Tatyana has also caught sight of Onegin‚ but manages to betray nothing of the agitation that seizes her. On the Gremins’ departure‚ Onegin realises that he is desperately in love with Tatyana.

Scene 2: A room in Gremin’s house‚ some days later. Onegin has been bombarding Tatyana with passionate letters. Alone‚ Tatyana admits to herself that his pleas have moved and distressed her. When Onegin enters‚ she reminds him of the past‚ of his callous rejection of her love. She wonders if his present interest in her might not be inspired by her now exalted social position. However‚ his fervent protestations convince her of his sincerity and finally she admits that she loves him still. Both muse plaintively on the happiness that might have been. Impetuously Onegin presses her to elope with him‚ but Tatyana declares that she will remain steadfast and true to her husband. After a struggle she leaves the room‚ bidding Onegin farewell forever. Onegin is left distraught‚ overcome by despair.