TCHAIKOVSKY: EUGENE ONEGIN

Cast:
Tatyana.................................................... Anna Shapovalova
Onegin..................................................... Alexey Markov
Olga......................................................... Gabriella Busa
Lensky..................................................... Szabolcs Brickner
Prince Gremin......................................... Konstantin Fedotov  
Lady Larina............................................. Judit Varga-Szathmáry
Monsieur Triquet..................................... Flórián Körmendy
Captain Buryanov/Zaretsky..................... Árpád Bence Labant
Filipyevna................................................ Andrea Lehőcz

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Conductor: János Kovács

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin was based on Pushkin’s novel in verse and has been a successful staple on the operatic repertoire since its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1881. Its performance will be the crowning glory of the Hungarian National Philharmonic’s 2025/2026 opera season ticket. The work defined to as “lyrical scenes” by the composer will be performed as a concert-format production in the Russian language and conducted by Hungary’s finest opera conductor, János Kovács. Alongside the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian National Choir will also have a part to play. As part of an international cast, Szabolcs Brickner will be among the Hungarian singers in the role of Lensky, while three of the key roles, Tatyana, Onegin and Prince Gremin will be portrayed by world-famous Russian artists: Anna Shapovalova, Alexey Markov and Konstantin Fedotov respectively.

The most remarkable highlights in the history of opera are those works where a literary masterpiece has been turned into a piece of musical theatre. From Verdi’s Otello, based on the Shakespeare play, to Gounoud’s Goethe-inspired Faust, there are plenty of examples to illustrate this phenomenon. The results were similarly magnificent when Piotr Tchaikovsky took Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, which was completed in 1832 but took several years to take shape (and was referred to as “an encyclopedia of Russian life” by the great critic Belinsky), and composed his opera of the same name in 1877-78, the genre of which he expressed in the subtitle: lyrical scenes. This is how one of the most significant works of Russian literature became the basis for one of the most popular pieces of romantic music.

Eugene Onegin will be heard as a concert-format performance in the Russian language at the closing night of the Hungarian National Philharmonic’s 2025/2026 Opera season ticket. On the podium will be the Hungarian opera conductor with the greatest ability and experience, János Kovács, who always demands the very best from the orchestra. Alongside the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) will also have a role to play in the opera. The international cast also features several brilliant Hungarian singers – among them Szabolcs Brickner in the part of Lensky – while three of the leading roles will be performed by global stars from Russia: Tatyana will be sung by Anna Shapovalova, Onegin by Alexey Markov, and Prince Gremin by Konstantin Fedotov.