DANCE REVIEW: ONEGIN
18 MAR/11

JOHN COULBOURN,
QMI Agency
Rating: 5 out of 5

Some insist that only candlelight can bring out the true beauty of precious gems. And while that may be true, a diamond lit only by a single naked bulb is still a thing of breathtaking beauty — and certainly no less precious. So it is with the National Ballet of Canada’s exquisitely refurbished production of John Cranko’s ONEGIN, a balletic jewel that debuted last June in what was certainly the theatrical equivalent of candlelight — a lush spring Toronto evening that set off the tragedy of the tale in the same magical way champagne sets off the sweetness of strawberries.

Now it’s March, of course, and while the artists of the National Ballet don’t have the perfection of June to help them showcase Cranko’s dazzling masterpiece, they still manage to find the enduring beauty of the work, bringing it to life once again on the stage of the Four Seasons Centre, where it opened a limited run Thursday.

It is based on a poetic tale, written by Russia’s Alexander Pushkin, that tells of the innocent young woman Tatiana (danced by Sonia Rodriguez) and the ill-fated love she bears for Eugene Onegin (Aleksandar Antonijevic), an arrogant nobleman she meets almost by chance. Onegin is, in fact, in the country simply to visit his friend Lensky (Piotr Stanczyk), a good-hearted young man smitten with Tatiana’s sister, Olga (Jillian Vanstone). When Lensky comes to call on Olga, Onegin tags along.

For Tatiana, it is love at first sight. She writes the stranger a long letter, declaring her love — but both letter and sentiment are spurned by the bored dandy, who instead picks a fight with Lensky that ends in tragedy. The two meet again in the St. Petersburg home she now shares with the prince — and Onegin quickly regrets his earlier dismissal and begs to be forgiven.

As story ballets go, this one is certainly hard to top. It’s set to an enduring and moving score composed by Russian master Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, a score beautifully rendered by the NBOC Orchestra under principal conductor and music director David Briskin. It is also lushly designed by Santo Loquasto, who proved conclusively with THE NUTCRACKER that he’s a master at evoking the opulence of Czarist Russia.

It is, however, on the backs of the dancers that a ballet quite literally rises and falls, and this is a company tailor-made to showcase the glory of Cranko’s choreography. Rodriguez, for her part, renders Tatiana’s transformation from innocent maiden in Act 1 to mature and compassionate woman in Act 3 as something not only utterly believable but a chrysalis of great beauty too.

Sadly we live in a world where June represents only one 12th of any year — and while ONEGIN seemed to sparkle brightest in the glow of a June evening, this staging proves it’s a precious jewel that can add lustre to a March evening as well.