TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin
Concert-format opera performance in three acts, with one intermission, in Russian

Tatyana Anna Shapovalova
Onegin Alexey Markov
Olga Gabriella Busa
Lensky Szabolcs Brickner
Prince Gremin Konstantin Fedotov 
Lady Larina Judit Varga-Szathmáry
Monsieur Triquet Flórián Körmendy
Captain Buryanov/Zaretsky Árpád Bence Labant
Filipyevna Andrea Lehőcz

Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)

Conductor: János Kovács

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin was based on Pushkin’s novel in verse and has been a successful staple on the operatic repertoire since its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1881. Its performance will be the crowning glory of the Hungarian National Philharmonic’s 2025/2026 opera season ticket. The work defined to as “lyrical scenes” by the composer will be performed as a concert-format production in the Russian language and conducted by Hungary’s finest opera conductor, János Kovács. Alongside the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian National Choir will also have a part to play. As part of an international cast, Szabolcs Brickner will be among the Hungarian singers in the role of Lensky, while three of the key roles, Tatyana, Onegin and Prince Gremin will be portrayed by world-famous Russian artists: Anna Shapovalova, Alexey Markov and Konstantin Fedotov respectively.

The most remarkable highlights in the history of opera are those works where a literary masterpiece has been turned into a piece of musical theatre. From Verdi’s Otello, based on the Shakespeare play, to Gounoud’s Goethe-inspired Faust, there are plenty of examples to illustrate this phenomenon. The results were similarly magnificent when Piotr Tchaikovsky took Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, which was completed in 1832 but took several years to take shape (and was referred to as “an encyclopedia of Russian life” by the great critic Belinsky), and composed his opera of the same name in 1877-78, the genre of which he expressed in the subtitle: lyrical scenes. This is how one of the most significant works of Russian literature became the basis for one of the most popular pieces of romantic music.

Eugene Onegin will be heard as a concert-format performance in the Russian language at the closing night of the Hungarian National Philharmonic’s 2025/2026 Opera season ticket. On the podium will be the Hungarian opera conductor with the greatest ability and experience, János Kovács, who always demands the very best from the orchestra. Alongside the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos) will also have a role to play in the opera. The international cast also features several brilliant Hungarian singers – among them Szabolcs Brickner in the part of Lensky – while three of the leading roles will be performed by global stars from Russia: Tatyana will be sung by Anna Shapovalova, Onegin by Alexey Markov, and Prince Gremin by Konstantin Fedotov.

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The Hungarian National Philharmonic’s audience is long accustomed to having an Opera subscription on offer each new season. It was during Zoltán Kocsis’s tenure as chief music director that the orchestra and choir began presenting works for the musical stage, an endeavor also essential to György Vashegyi’s programming concept. All three opera productions slated for the 2025/26 season will be performed in concert format. The works – one Italian, the others French and Russian – all date from the 19th century. Verdi’s Nabucco and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin are both immortal opera favourites, while the three-act Jean de Nivelle, by Léo Delibes, serves to continue the tradition of recent years of introducing new discoveries from music history.

Nabucco was composed in the 1840s, with Onegin and Jean de Nivelle premiering a few years apart some decades later, in 1878 and 1880, respectively. Successful in its time but hardly known today, the latter tells the story of a French historical figure from the 15th century. Adding to the appeal of these programmes on the Opera season ticket are the renowned star singers arriving from abroad to tackle the principal roles – such as the Mongolian Amartüvshin Enkhbat, France’s Cyrille Dubois and the Russian Alexey Markov, just to name those taking on the three title characters – with the production of Jean de Nivelle furthermore keeping up the tradition of performing these special French works by employing a cast of soloists comprised exclusively of noted international artists.

Conducting the Delibes will be György Vashegyi, with the excellent Italian musician Andrea Battistoni selected to take the helm for Nabucco and Onegin entrusted to one of Hungary’s most experienced opera conductors, János Kovács.