On Feb. 25, Boston Ballet returned to the stage with the dramatic and emotional performance of John Cranko’s “Onegin.” The story, which is based on the 19th century narrative poem by Russian writer Alexander Pushkin, tells of unrequited love and regret. However, it is mostly the music of Russian composer Tchaikovsky which contributes to audience’s understanding and empathy for the characters. In this, Tchaikovsky’s melody has succeeded for over a century and will certainly continue to do so—not only with “Onegin,” but also with other productions such as “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker.” For this ballet, Cranko asked German composer Kurt-Heinz Stolze in the developing stages to rearrange Tchaikovsky’s opera “Onegin” in order to fit his expressive dance performance of this story.
The emotional performance of “Onegin” was originally choreographed by John Cranko in 1965, but did not premiere in Boston until 1995 at an American ballet company. After this first show, Onegin returned to Boston Ballet twice more in subsequent years. Now, the popular “Onegin” has returned once again to the Boston Opera House. Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen reveals:
“The performance is set at the royal Russian court of the 19th century and tells the story of the two main characters Onegin and Tatiana. She, a shy and innocent country girl, falls in love with the cynical and self-centered aristocrat Onegin, who does not feels the same and rejects her in a cruel manner. However, years after dramatic events that were caused by his own selfish behavior, the two meet again and find themselves in very different positions. Cranko’s choreography accurately portrays the shift of feeling throughout the story from enthusiastic love to devastating sadness to crushing despair.”
The two main character are portrayed by Italian dancer Petra Conti and Georgian dancer Lasha Khozashvili, who joined Boston Ballet in 2013 and 2010, respectively. Both dancers excel in their roles and bring all of their real human emotion into their performance.
 Onegin will be shown until March 6 by the Boston Ballet. However, for Onegin and other ballet performances hosted by the Boston Ballet, Student Rush seats are available to college students with a valid school ID. These tickets are $25 each (cash only) and become available two hours before each performance at the Boston Opera House Box Office. One ticket is given per ID.
To ensure that the performance you would like to see has available Student Rush tickets, please call the Box Office earlier on the day you would like to attend at 617.695.6955, M-F 9:30am – 5:00pm, Sat & Sun 11:00am – 4:00 pm, performance days only.