For the first time, the State Opera and Ballet Theatre Astana Opera of the Republic of Kazakhstan  will perform on the stage of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre within the First Dmitri Hvorostovsky Festival. On October 23 and 25, Kazakhstani artists will present the Eugene Onegin opera by Tchaikovsky to the Krasnoyarsk audience.

The premiere of the performance in Kazakhstan took place in February this year. This new version of the masterpiece of world music and literary classics was introduced by production director Davide Livermore.

The director has a vast experience in working on the best stages of the world: he has staged shows in Italy, Spain, Russia, Japan, Korea, Australia. Eugene Onegin is his second experience of cooperation with Astana Opera: last year the premiere of the Turandot opera by Giacomo Puccini was successfully held.

Davide Livermore says about his show: “I would like the audience to say after watching the show that this story is relevant today, that it resonates with them and awakes an echo in their hearts. In this production, we will see Tatiana’s inner world. We learn about a young girl who discovers her womanhood, perfectly aware of what she has lost, what she has gained and discovered in her life. And I would like the spectator’s attention to be focused precisely on the description of Tatiana’s inner world.”

The opera begins with a new opening scene, which is not in the score: Summing up her life, Tatiana again sees herself at moments when she just discovered love and suffering, recollects a love story dear to her heart, hidden in the far corners of her soul, causing great shocks and the most powerful emotions in her life, in order to free herself from the drama of unrequited feeling.

“A story that has not been fully experienced may become an obstacle for the soul on its path to the light, the path one must walk with light baggage, leaving everything earthly on earth,” says Davide Livermore. “The opera Eugene Onegin is a fundamental part of the emotional education for many generations.”

In any musical production, the basic thing is music. Production conductor Alan Buribaev incredibly subtly and authentically conveyed all the nuances of the Tchaikovsky’s complex music: the maestro “warmed up” the orchestra in the scenes when Lensky displayed his peppery temper, and “cooled” it down to glacial substance when cynical and callous Onegin appeared. One can hear sadness, vivid memories, and meditation and reflection of the characters in this game of musicians.

They have prepared nearly 250 costumes for this production, retaining dress-making know-how of the year of 1820, and many of the ladies' dresses were manually embroidered. The stage solution of the performance uses modern technology, lighting effects and video art. 

Astana Opera is the youngest and largest theatre in Central Asia. It was created upon the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2013. The most gifted and creative artists of the country were invited to the theatre’s company, and the theatre’s building was built in the classical traditions of world architecture, Kazakh identity and world standards of technical equipment facilities. The following stars of the world music scene participated in the theatre’s productions: Franco Zeffirelli, Yuri Grigorovich, Boris Eifman, Andris Liepa, Placido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Elena Obraztsova, Valery Gergiev, Jose Carreras, and many others.