Opera Australia | Eugene Onegin

March 17, 2026, Sydney Opera House

Conductor Anna Skryleva

If you love opera and have not seen/heard Eugene Onegin then this production is surely a great introduction.

One of the great things about Tchaikovsky’s operatic writing is his mastery of orchestration and his grand romantic gestures that create orchestral music in the opera that greatly adds to his invention of colourful vocal lines. The solo singers have a great time, as does the chorus and so too the orchestra.

At times it seems almost as if the music in Eugene Onegin is a symphony with voices creating magnificent lines of drama or lyricism. In the current production in Sydney by Opera Australia there are many standout contributions and before discussing the principal singers special mention must be made of the chorus. Full voiced and brilliantly prepared they drew the audience in to Tchaikovsky’s superb choral writing. And as you would expect from a composer of some of the most famous and enduring ballet scores there is dance music aplenty. The director Kasper Holten and choreographer Signe Fabricius have made captivating dance scenes that explore the turbulent emotional world of this Pushkin drama. The dancers and in particular Keeley Tennyson and Brayden Harry were riveting and captured the essence of dreamlike spirits.

In the opening night performance Lauren Fagan in the role of Tatyana was the star turn. Beautifully weighted lines and a delightful approach to varying vocal colours and nuance made for a performance that entranced, that thrilled and made the audience experience all the emotions that her character was undergoing. Her letter scene is one of the main and most famous parts of the Opera and this emotional tour de force brought sustained and wild applause from the audience.

As Lensky, Nicholas Jones conjured up all the pain we expect of a lover who feels betrayed and his light tenor voice was perfectly matched by the orchestra. In the titular role Andrei Bondarenko gathered power and vocal finesse as the opera progressed and his seeming disinterest in all around him early on in the work was conveyed most convincingly. A strong dramatic performance.

Also contributing polished character and vocal interpretations were Sian Sharp, Helen Sherman, David Parkin and Angela Hogan.

Conductor Anna Skryleva manages her forces with clarity and I am sure it will settle as the season unfolds.

Often reviews of operas gloss over the contribution of the orchestra but in this case special mention must be made of the entire woodwind and brass sections, disciplined and lustrous. This is an opera where the principal horn has opportunities galore to shine and superb Sydney Braunfeld had a night to remember. Other delightful wind contributions came from oboist Conall McClure, James Julian clarinet and Katie Zargorski flute. The famous Polonaise and the Waltz were a delight.