Nguyễn Thu Thủy

HÀ NỘI — Getting the chance to watch Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin's celebrated verse novel brought to life on stage by the famous Eifman Ballet from St Petersburg, Russia, is a mind-blowing experience.

The contemporary ballet is adapted from Pushkin's 19th-century verse novel, one of his most beloved works.

Famous choreographer Boris Eifman created a new setting for the ballet, putting the classic love story against the background of the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, more than 150 years after the novel's setting, to explore the resilience of

The original storyline revolves around the love between Eugene Onegin and Tatyana Larina against the backdrop of the period leading up to the Decembrist Uprising in 1825. The real-life uprising was a failed military revolt in the then-Russian Empire led by liberal army officers and nobles, who tried to challenge Tsar Nicholas I and end autocracy. Nicholas ordered his loyalist artillery to fire on the rebels, crushing the revolt.

Later he stripped them of their ranks and sentenced them to hard labour or permanent exile in Siberia. Largely considered the first modern revolutionary movement in Russian history, Pushkin lived through it himself and used the events and the drama behind them in many of his works. 

The ballet unfolds in three locations: St Petersburg, where Onegin was born and grew up; the country estate where Onegin first meets Tatyana and rejects her declaration of love ; and Moscow, where they meet again two years later, after Tatyana has married a respected member of high society.

In Moscow, Onegin finally falls for her, but Tatyana turns him down, telling him she will stay faithful to her husband in a firm declaration of marital loyalty.

Russian literary tradition casts Onegin as a type of character known as a 'superfluous man', typical of stories about aristocratic youths in the early 19th century. According to the trope, these Russian young people grow up with European values but eventually become discouraged, lonely and bored, depicting the mental crisis among the young aristocrats in Russia at the time.

Boris Eifman transposes this classic love story to the setting of post-1991 Russia, after the collapse of the Soviet system, depicting a society completely upended and young people in crisis amid the booming nightclubs of the early '90s.

For this modern twist, the stage sets have been minimised, making scene changes much less arduous and allowing the ballet company to tour more than 40 countries before coming to Việt Nam. Eifman uses body language to maximise expressive movements, which blend with the music and lighting to portray the turmoil of society and the youths who feel lost and disoriented in it. 

Under Eifman's interpretation, Onegin becomes a dark soul, torn by conflicting desires and psychological complexes. Whether dancing solo or with characters like Lensky or Tatyana, his movements reveal the gradual unravelling of his fractured psyche.

Highlights from the dancers include incredible physical performances and risky lifts that defy limitations, moving spectators from jaw-dropping astonishment to torment in one elegant flow.

The choreography and visual effects show each character's psychological development in a straightforward manner, differing significantly from the original novel.

Along side Tchaikovsky's music, the group dance reflecting the original 19th century setting also includes pieces from other orchestral works, a cello solo or rock pieces by Alexandre Sitkovetsky, giving the ballet both a classical touch and a contemporary feel. On its own, the music carries the dancers' movements to convey the depth of the story's tension.

The lighting throughout also helps illuminate the characters' psyches. Whether evoking moonlight or lamplight, the contrast throws into sharp relief the memories and dark desires of the characters on stage.

In the contemporary ballet, Tatyana's husband is transformed from a respected member of high society into a mysterious, cold man in dark glasses, leaving Tatyana less certain about her marriage and her future.

Meanwhile, in this new post-1991 Russia, Onegin is forced to pay the price for his past actions. Although he survives the duel with his best friend Lensky after flirting with Lensky's fiancée, Olga, Onegin cannot escape his conscience or the full weight of his guilt.

In Eifman's contemporary piece, Onegin is doomed to die at the hand of Tatyana's husband.

Pushkin's original unresolved ending is turned into an existential tragedy by Eifman, with the main character suffering the consequences of his actions and his own psychological disintegration.

The collapse of desire and regret over a shattered love are the ultimate tragedy of the modern Onegin, as he is imprisoned by his own past, his guilt and his unfulfilled desires.. 

Eifman has created a masterpiece. — VNS