60 years after its creation, Onegin’s exploration of unrequited affection, impulsive choices and bitter regret still breaks hearts today. 

First opera, then ballet

John Cranko became acquainted with Alexander Pushkin’s verse-novel Eugene Onegin when he choreographed the dances for Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky’s opera of the same name in 1952. He created his own distinctive version of Pushkin’s work in 1965 for the Stuttgart Ballet. Onegin displays all of Cranko’s genius as a narrative choreographer, featuring finely drawn characters who are transformed by the conflicts they face. 

A wide-ranging role 

Onegin and Tatiana’s relationship is depicted through intense duets, such as the letter-writing scene, when the youthful Tatiana dances a dream pas de deux with her longed-for lover. The role of Tatiana offers a ballerina many challenges – the development of a bookish country girl into a sophisticated woman at the pinnacle of St Petersburg society requires dramatic sensibility and technical finesse. Cranko’s choreography incorporates an eclectic range of dance forms, including folk, modern, ballroom and acrobatic.  

An unexpected Tchaikovsky ballet?  

While Tchaikovsky is most famous for his music in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, his lesser-known works for piano form the basis of Kurt-Heinz Stolze’s soaring arrangements for Onegin. This includes selections from The Seasons, his opera Cherevichki and the symphonic fantasy Francesca da Rimini.