Opera Spanga brings pearl to the countryside: ‘Evgeni Onegin’ dazzling production | review ★★★★★

And with success, although today, outside the Russian language area, this work cannot be counted among the iron repertoire. Apparently reason enough for the Italian Verona not to program this opera today.

Slightly erotic

But then there is always the other Verona in Weststellingwerf with Opera Spanga, where director Corina van Eijk has held sway for decades. She did program this musical love drama and, as usual, placed it in a tent, this time with a deep stage, with a view of the Frisian landscape. She captured the mostly very good singers in a lively direction and added dancers from Ivgi & Greben who reinforced both folkloric and emotional aspects of the score. Below that, the light erotically exposed by the dancers Letter aria from Tatyana. And a swirling dance scene in the last act.

The story is simple. The love of Tatyana, a young girl of high society, is not reciprocated by a self-satisfied dandy, Onegin. Years later, when he remembers her and still feels something for her, she is now married and it is she who rejects him.

Orchestra sounds generous under the tent cloth

The orchestra set up in a ditch under Tjalling Wijnstra sounded more generous under the tent cloth than it actually was. The musical director was able to add charm to the score and, where the dance parts were concerned, to exploit the contagiousness.

In places where the opera prescribes intimate moments, Spanga repeatedly and successfully pulled out all the stops to hold the audience’s attention. The direction remained agile, the dance did its job, as did the convincing choir and Monsieur Triquet, beautifully played by a woman. Repeatedly, the backstage was sought to make way for, for example, the powerfully performed aria by Onegin’s friend Lensky and the subsequent, fateful duel for him.

All in all, with this dazzling production, Opera Spanga has brought a pearl to the Frisian countryside, both visually and musically, where the love for and insight into the opera genre is splashing and in which the hand of an experienced language coach is also noticeable.