Onegin at Royal Opera House

"To be inspired is great, but to inspire is an honour" 

Stacey T. Hunt

On Friday night I was lucky enough to be invited to watch the Royal Ballet perform Onegin at the beautiful Royal Opera House.  I have to admit I am a bit of a ballet buff yet I hadn't seen Onegin before and didn't know much of the storyline but I was still one truly very excited person! I love the buzz of the audience in their seats, followed by the hush that ascends once the curtian rises and you are whisked into the graceful, passionate world of ballet... 

Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin's verse novel (subsequently it was made into a film starring Liv Tyler and an Opera by Tchaikovsky!) and is a story of love, passion and tragedy in Russian High Society. Full of emotionally charged moments and intense music you are captivated right from the first scene. 
The curtain rises and the audience are met with a scene of two sisters - Olga out-going and happy (danced byYasmine Naghdi), and her sister Tatiana (danced by Sarah Lamb) with her nose in a book.  When Tatiana is introduced by Olga's fiance to the dashing, unconventional Onegin (danced by Jason Reilly), she believes that he is the hero of her dreams, the prince from all of her storybooks. After declaring her feelings for him in a letter he carelessly rejects her – with tragic consequences.  

The Royal Ballet's Onegin Photo: Bill Cooper/ROH

Role of Tatiana danced by Alina Cojocaru

The ballet is peppered with passionate pas de deuxs and my most favourite had to be the dream scene between Tatiana and Onegin! It was passionate and emotional and I was hooked.  The two intervals came far too quickly and the performance was over before I knew it.  Sarah Lamb effortlessly portrayed her character maturing from a young geekish bookworm into a beautiful and graceful young women and she was mesmerising and emotional throughout the whole performance.  Jason Reilly mirrored Sarah's talent in the fact that he got his obnoxious character across in his energetic dance moves yet, for me, it really was Sarah that stole the show.

The music was just stunning, echoing the passion of the dancers and Cranko's choreography perfectly.  The two together clearly get the dramatic storyline across, however, I must admit I did find the choreography to be quite repetitive at times, nonetheless I was hooked and felt that I danced along with them throughout.


The final dance between Tatiana and Onegin left me speechless.  It was passsionate and moving and I swear there were tears in Sarah's eyes.  Just wow.  When the final curtain fell I felt as exhausted as the dancers yet still yearning for more, my hands ached from the clapping. I have to say I think that Onegin is one of the most passionate and moving ballets that I have seen for a long time.  

Nobody quite does it like the Royal Ballet do.


The Royal Ballet are performing Onegin from 19th January 2012 - 8th February 2013
www.roh.org.uk