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Onegin

Onegin ballet was created based on the classic Russian novel Eugene Onegin, written by Alexander Pushkin. John Cranko, a South African ballet dancer and choreographer, created the ballet for Stuttgart Ballet, where he worked as a principal choreographer.

Onegin was first premiered in 1965 with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and arrangements by Kurt-Heinz Stolze.

It took Cranko a few years to work on his idea for Onegin. He first got to know of the novel in 1952 and wanted to adapt it as ballet.

However, his idea wasn't accepted by the Royal Opera House, where he was working as a principal choreographer. Cranko later moved to Stuttgart Ballet, which approved his idea for creating Onegin ballet. The dance is a combination of several styles, such as ballet, ballroom, folk, modern, and acrobatic.

Even after the premiere in 165, Cranko continued to revise and make changes to Onegin for the next two years. The final version was performed in 1967. The Australian Ballet added Onegin to its list in 1976, followed by the American Ballet Theatre in 2001. The Royal Ballet also presented Onegin for the first time in 2001.

Story and Synopsis of Onegin

The first act starts in Madame Larina's garden, where her daughter Olga, Tatiana and the nurse discuss Tatiana's upcoming birthday celebrations. Olga’s fiancé, Lensky, arrives with his friend Eugene Onegin, who visits the country for a distraction.

Tatiana falls in love with him as he is different from others, but Eugene Onegin finds her. Tatiana dreams of him that night and sends a passionate letter, asking the nurse to deliver it to him.

The second act is set on Tatiana's birthday, which Onegin finds boring. Her mother, Madame Larina, hopes Tatiana will marry Prince Gremin, a distant relative, but she is not interested in him. He is also annoyed by the letter. He tears up the letter and tells Tatiana he cannot love her.

A bored Onegin flirts with Olga to provoke Lensky for fun. However, Lensky takes it sternly and challenges Onegin to a duel. Both sisters try to convince him, but he remains adamant.

The third act is set in St Petersburg, where Onegin sees Tatiana married to Prince Gremin. He realizes his mistake and sends her a letter declaring his love.

But she declines his advances and sends him away, thinking she can never be with the person who killed Lensky.