Product Details

• Actors: Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Antonina Shuranova, Kirill Lavrov, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Evgeni Leonov
• Directors: Igor Talankin
• Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: Russian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: November 20, 2001
• Run Time: 149 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005RIXX
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,284 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Rozhdestvensky, Boylan, Glushchak, European Union Opera" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The important balance to be struck in any production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin is between, on the one hand, the long lyrical monologues (Tatiana's letter scene, Lensky's aria, Gremin's praise of his wife) and the crucial confrontations between Tatiana and Onegin with the more public scenes in which these private emotions evolve into tragedy and disillusion. In this European Union Opera production, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky finds this balance effortlessly. The chorus that dances its way through the small-town ball that ends in Lensky's challenge is as much a character in the tragedy as the principals. The principals are excellent, too. Orla Boylan is good both as the mature Tatiana and as the callow girl who first falls for Onegin, while Vladimir Glushchak's Onegin is a convincing object of her devotion as well as a self-pitying egoist who wrecks his own life and those of Olga and Lensky. The orchestral sound is convincing but unexciting. --Roz Kaveney

From the Back Cover

Conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, this production of Eugene Onegin was the centerpiece of the European Union Opera's inaugural program. Director Nikolaus Lehnhoff's production moves from a sunny first scene, carefree in the Russian country summer, all in whites and pale gold, to the black intensity of the St. Petersburg reception, a society tightly corseted, the polonaise seething with repressed emotion. Along the way, Tatyana's imaginative day-dreaming transforms into grim reality. In the letter scene, romantic novels are clearly a part of her bedroom; afterwards, the bookcase, though present awhile on stage, gradually sinks out of sight beneath the floor. Come the duel, a great white sheet draped across the stage blanks out everything that has been seen so far, before the black despair of the final scene. In the pit, conductor Gennadi Rozhdestvensky electrifies Onegin with a Russian's passion. 149 minutes. Cast:

Ineke Vlogtman: Madame Larina
Orla Boylan: Tatyana
Anna Burford: Olga
Katja Boos: Filipyevna
Michael König: Lensky
Vladimir Glushchak: Eugene Onegin
Thomas Morris: Monsieur Triquet
Michail Schelomianski: Prince Gremin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Onegin on film, December 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Solti, Weikl, Hamari (DVD)

This is a beautifully filmed version of Onegin. While the music is impressively lyrical, you would even forget it's an opera because it's so well filmed. Since it's a film version, there are quite a few scenes edited out from the original Tchaikovsky's score.
The film starts with peasants' chorus. The opening music and quartet are deleted, which is actually a shame because I think the quartet contains the most important key word of the story; "Heaven granted me the habit in place of happiness." Maybe the director didn't want to give it away right from the beginning. Anyway, this music is restored in the special features and you can enjoy the music without motion picture.
The production is really great. Lady Larina's estate, Prince Gremin's palace, duel scene in the snow, scenes of the country side and of St-Petersburg, etc...everything is beautifully filmed. Even Onegin and Lensky arrive on hourses in the beginning. It's not filmed in studio so nothing seems phoney. Musically, it's one of the best recordings ever made.
The image isn't much remastered, nor is the sound. You can select DTS or 2-channel stereo and subtitles in 6 languages.
This is the best version of Onegin on DVD for now.... at least till someone put the Kirov's production with Leiferkus on DVD.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful film version, December 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Solti, Weikl, Hamari (DVD)

The film lasts only 117 minutes, which means almost 40 minutes of the original score is missing. Notoriously the opening theme and duet&quartet is cut out and the film start from the peasants' scene. Although, this DVD version includes the music only track of the opening. So, if you go to the bonus menu and select "prologue", it plays the opening music, duet & quartet and continues flawlessly to the film.
Some poeple complained about the scene selection. My copy of DVD works fine. It brings me to the very beginning of the act II or the act III. No problem.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very good tatyana and onegin, October 17, 2002

By 

D. Smith "verdiFan" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Solti, Weikl, Hamari (DVD)

I love this. It's true that the tracks don't go where they're supposed to but I watch opera all at once. This is a film, not a stage version, and the natural settings are wonderful. The acting is very good --- the actors are NOT the singers, which I found a bit strange initially --- and the singing is excellent. THe characterisations seem very good to me. There are some cuts, which I miss: in particular at the start when Tatyana's mother and nurse sing about their acceptance of their lot, and again when her nurse speaks of her young (arranged) marriage to Tatyana. I think these are odd omissions, since this is part of the important theme for Tatyana. I would recommend this dvd.