AGAIN, THE SUBS SAVE THE OPERA
If the Santa Fe Opera’s “Eugene Onegin” lacks the direct punch of the Pushkin poem originating it, perhaps it’s that Tchaikovsky never wrote an opera at all, but rather these “lyric scenes,” as he called them.
The SFO brought it off rather miraculously, once again dealing with major cast changes attributable to Covid and related border lockdowns—by now, General Director Robert Meya has likely had enough casting headaches to deal with to run his own headache commercials.
Here, Lucas Meachem subbed in the title role, and lyric soprano Sara Jakubiak subbed as Tatyana, the heart-broken girl weathering Onegin’s erraticism; both dealt with the lack of a prompter, so crucial for so many stellar figures. Meachem played the cad to the hilt like a veteran, reflecting precisely the tall, handsome, self-confident leading man that a teenaged Tatyana would go mad over. His baritone was authoritative, his manner properly arrogant.
The giddy, distraught young Tatyana ran all over the stage in her stunning Letter Scene, her confession to Onegin. This was one of the best such ever, in part with the sensitive conducting of the Australian Nicholas Carter, one of the youngest conductors to master such a demanding, highly emotional scene. Carter and his pit orchestra reflected the vulnerability and sensitivity of the girl to the utmost.
The dissonant note in this production came via Stage Director Alessandro Talevi to end act one. Instead of simply and bluntly rejecting her, Onegin runs off into garden with her. This implies that he had his way with her and thereafter lost interest. If so, this added maneuver raises yet more questions aa enough in the synopsis, particularly with Onegin dueling with, and killing, his best friend Lensky the relationship and her subsequent life choices. Too bad it was not in the libretto. There’s irony and drama, reminding us of the untimely death of poet Alexander Pushkin himself in the last of his real-life duels.
Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” in Russian, by Santa Fe Opera. Crosby Theatre, Santa Fe, NM. Season ends Aug. 27. For info, call (505) 986-5908 or go online: www.santafeopera.org.
