Tchaikovski : Eugène Oneguine. Skovhus, Stoyanova, Dunaev, Petrenko, Jansons.

   in Opera Now (May, 2012)
When Stefan Herheim’s production of Onegin opened at the Netherlands Opera last summer it generally had rave reviews. This release shows why. Herheim peels back the layers of the story, starting with the Gremins’ party and playing it in flashback, with Onegin constantly onstage and interacting with both past and present. The staging becomes multi-layered and complex, but the direction is precise and has powerful narrative sweep. Mariss Jansons’ conducting is similarly chamber-like in its clarity, yet laden with passion. And the cast rises to the occasion magnificently. Bo Skovhus plays Onegin with incredible physicality and detail, Krassimira Stoyanova is a stunning Tatyana with a sumptuous voice, Andrej Dunaev a plangent …