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The concert in the Schönbrunn Palace’s magnificent baroque gardens is free to thousands of attendees in Vienna, and serves the Orchestra’s objective of making classical music accessible to a broad spectrum of concertgoers beyond its usual, core audience.

The musical program is as follows:

Franz Liszt – Les Prėludes
Fritz Kreisler - Concerto in One Movement after Paganini’s Violin Concerto op. 6
Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition
Johann Strauss II – Vienna Spirit Waltz (encore), On the Banks of the Danube, Quick Polka

This is Gergiev’s second time leading the popular summer concert, and he’s part of a distinguished lineup that has included Bobby McFerrin, Zubin Mehta, Plácido Domingo, Georges Prêtres, Daniel Barenboim and Franz Welser-Möst.

Maestro Gergiev was born in Moscow and grew up in the Caucasus. He has been the artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg for many years, and has long enjoyed a warm relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Liszt’s Les Preludes is one of the 19th century composer and virtuoso pianist’s most famous orchestral works which he likened to the “series of preludes to that unknown hymn” (i.e. Death). Virtuoso violinist Paganini’s skill is mirrored in his Violin Concerto No. 1, the first movement of which is played by Austrian Benjamin Schmid on a 1731 Stradivarius.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition further embodies the evening’s “virtuoso pictures” theme. The 1874 work was composed in remembrance of an artist friend, and offers a musical tour through a gallery. The “pictures” are brought to life by the Vienna State Opera Ballet, choreographed by soloist dancer Gregor Hatala who also choreographs the dance accompanying audience favorite Wiener Blut.

Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night 201 is directed by Karina Fibich, with John Walker as producer. For Great Performances, John Walker and Cara Cosentino are producers; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.

Major funding for the Great Performances telecast is provided by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the Irene Diamond Fund, The Starr Foundation, Vivian Milstein, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, Joseph A. Wilson, Vera von Kuffner Eberstadt, public television viewers, and PBS. Exclusive corporate support for the concert is provided by Rolex.

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Adapted from a play by Alexander Pushkin about the extraordinary reign of the 16th-century tsar, Boris Godunov is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Russian operatic repertoire. The Met’s new production of Mussorgsky’s epic political tragedy was praised by critics following the first performance on October 11: The Associated Press declared “Bravo, Boris!…a huge success on every count — from the superb cast led by bass René Pape in the title role to the inspired conducting of Valery Gergiev to the remarkably fluid and psychologically acute direction by Stephen Wadsworth.” The Wall Street Journal called the performance “an engrossing theatrical event” and cited the production as a “deeply moving, complex and tragic portrait of Russia that melds historical sweep with intimate and detailed personal encounters.” Pape “is ideal for the role” of the guilt-ridden tsar, said The New York Times, and “riveting in Boris’s death scene.”

The title role of Boris Godunov is a touchstone role for operatic basses, a tour de force for an artist who can command the requisite powerful vocal and dramatic skills. The role of Boris has been played at the Met by such legendary basses as Fyodor Chaliapin, Ezio Pinza, and George London.

René Pape has built a reputation as a consummate singing-actor at the Met, including acclaimed roles in Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Don Giovanni, Faust, and Don Carlo, and his American debut in the role of Boris was highly anticipated.

The new production also features a number of leading singers performing Boris Godunov for the first time at the Met. The cast includes Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko as Grigory/The Pretender Dimitri; and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk as Princess Marina. Other notable Russian singers making their Met role debuts in this production are bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin as Rangoni, bass Mikhail Petrenko as Pimen, and tenor Oleg Balashov as Shuisky. Bass Vladimir Ognovenko reprises his portrayal of Varlaam, which he first performed with the Met in a 1997 run of performances conducted by Gergiev.

Many of the Met cast members have performed Boris Godunov with Gergiev at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, where he is artistic director and where the opera had its 1874 premiere.

The production’s creative team includes Academy Award-nominated costume designer Moidele Bickel, prominent European set designer Ferdinand Wögerbauer, and choreographer Apostolia Tsolaki, all in their Met debuts.

The Met’s new production is primarily based on the 1875 version of the opera but will incorporate some music from the composer’s original 1869 score, notably in Boris’s Act II monologue in the Kremlin, and the entire St. Basil scene which opens Act IV. The 1874 revision is the basis for the ending of Act III, scene 2 (the end of the “Polish” act). Mussorgsky’s original orchestrations will be used.

Great Performances at the Met: Boris Godunov is directed for television by Brian Large and hosted by soprano Patricia Racette. Jay David Saks is the music producer. The performance is sung in Russian with English subtitles.

Great Performances is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, public television viewers and PBS. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home-builder®. Major support for the Met telecast was provided by Mrs. Mona Webster.

For the Met, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

For a man conducting a performance nearly every day of the year, Valery Gergiev remains the calm center of the frenzied world of musicians, singers, administrators, politicians, and managers swirling around him. Learn more about the Maestro in this scene from the program.

Producer: Daniel Ross, Colin Fitzpatrick
Graphic Art: Gabriel Torres
Technical Director: Brian Lee
Production Assistant: Diana Cofresí-Terrero
HTML Implementation: Brian Santalone

GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages copyright
© 2008 Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Tamara E. Robinson, Vice President & Director, Programming.

Television Credits

“GREAT PERFORMANCES: PRIMO”

A Film by
ALLAN MILLER

Producers
MARGARET SMILOW
ALLAN MILLER

Co-Producer
SONOKO AOYAGI LEOPOLD

Supervising Producers
JUNKO TSUNASHIMA
KRISTIN LOVEJOY

RUSSIA CREW

Production Manager
SERGEI BECK

Cameras
NYIKA JANCSO
JEAN-MARC FROMENT

Sound
GERGELY HORNOS

Lighting Assistant
DENIS AMOSENKO

HD Video Engineer
PAVEL KISELIOV

LONDON CREW

Line Producer
OLIVER MACFARLANE

Cameras
TIM MOSES
MARTIN MANSELL

BBC Sound Supervisor
TIM DAVIES

Multi-cam Director
DAVID STEVENS

Vision Mixer
ALISON BARTROP

Production Assistant (music)
YVONNE CRAVEN

Score Reader
ANNA ANTOSZKIEWICZ

NEW YORK CREW

Cameras
DON LENZER
MEAD HUNT

Additional Camera
BRIAN HUANG

Camera Assistant
RONAN KILEEN
JOIA SPECIALE

Sound
ROGER PHENIX
PAUL COTE

Production Assistants
JOHN BENNETT
JENNIE ENGSTROM
JONATHAN FATIGATE

Business Affairs
ARLEN APPELBAUM

Project Management
JANE BUCKWALTER

POST PRODUCTION

Online Editor
DAVID NOLING

Re-recording Mixer
ED CAMPBELL

Sound Editor
DONALD KLOCEK
DAVE ELLINWOOD

Translators
VALERY DMITRIEV
OLGA DOMORADOVA
DMITRY ALEXEEV
VALERIYA KOTOK
KSENYA MALINA
YULIA MUSAYELYAN
EMILIA OSKOTSKY

ARCHIVAL
Valery Gergiev and the Scythian Suite, NPS
Valery Gergiev Catching Up With Music, NPS
The Master and His Pupil, Hasten Films Slowly
New Year’s Eve Gala 2006, St Petersburg Mariinsky Theater
Mariinsky Theater, Bel Air Media, Arte
Queen of Spades, BBC and Mariinsky Theatre
Forbidden Shostakovich, BBC
Stravinsky: Rite of Spring, BBC
Eugene Onegin, featuring Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, courtesy of
The Metropolitan Opera

Still Photographers
MATT STUART BURNS
VALENTIN MIKHAILOVICH BARANOVSKY

For The LSO
Managing Director
KATHRYN MCDOWELL

Head of LSO Live
CHAZ JENKINS

Director of Planning
SUE MALLET

Concerts & Recording Manager
MARC STEVENS

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Guest Leader
ANDREW HAVERON

With thanks to the LSO St. Lukes, Barbican Centre and the City of London

For The Metropolitan Opera
General Manager
PETER GELB

Director of Media Presentations
MIA BONGIOVANNI

Video Production Manager
VICTORIA WARIVONCHIK

For The BBC
Head of TV Classical Music and Performances
PETER MANIURA

For NPS
Head of Music & Dance Programs
HENK VAN DER MEULEN

For The Valery Gergiev Foundation
Managing Director
IGOR ZOTOV

For the State Academic Mariinsky Theatre
Artistic and General Director
VALERY GERGIEV

Marrinsky Multimedia
SERGEI BECK

For Thirteen/WNET NewYork
Executive Producer
MARGARET SMILOW

For White Nights Foundation of America
Executive Producer
R. DOUGLAS SHELDON

For Great Performances
Director of Program Development
BILL O’DONNELL

Executive Producer
DAVID HORN

Produced by Thirteen/WNET New York
in association with
White Nights Foundation of America and BBC and NPS

This program was produced by
Thirteen/WNET New York in association with
White Nights Foundation of America
Who are solely responsible for its content

©2008 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and
White Nights Foundation of America

The contents of these GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages are copyrighted under United States and other copyright laws. You may not download, reproduce, transmit, display, distribute or make derivative works from the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages other than for personal use without the advance written permission of the copyright owner. Any unauthorized use of any of the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Online Web pages may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

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Presented by Thirteen/WNET New York, the one-hour visit finds the artistic and general director of St. Petersburg’s legendary Mariinsky Theater in high spirits, particularly when discussing his favorite topic: the exhilaration of fine music making. “If musicians can enjoy it, most of the public will enjoy it too,” he says, taking a backstage break from recent conducting chores at the London Symphony, where he presides as principal conductor. “To create this atmosphere of everyone being involved and interested you really have to start with the orchestra.”

Or, in his case, orchestras. In addition to the St. Petersburg and London posts, he is principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (at least until he steps down this August) and has served as principal guest conductor at the Met. He also managed to found and lead the famous Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg and the Moscow Easter Festival.

“I’m in complete awe,” says Rachel Gough, London Symphony principal bassoonist, who provides the haunting solo that opens Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and which also opens and concludes the telecast. “With complete concentration, focus and energy, he draws us all in like a magnet.” Adds Patrick Harrild, principal tuba, “He hears everything. I love it. And it’s plainly obvious that the whole orchestra love it.”

Singers, too, respond to the special Russian intensity. Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Renée Fleming, shown in highlights from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, bring white-hot passion to the work’s closing moments under the maestro’s tutelage from the Met podium. “He embraces your souls and your spontaneities easily,” says the superstar Siberian baritone. “He is unique.”

Other musical moments in Maestro: Portrait of Valery Gergiev include excerpts from Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Easter Festival Overture. Gergiev’s most famous protég´e, Mariinsky soprano Anna Netrebko, is seen seeking advice from her mentor, then offering a thrilling “Or sai chi l’onore” as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

For a man conducting a performance nearly every day of the year, Valery Gergiev remains the calm center of the frenzied world of musicians, singers, administrators, politicians, and managers swirling around him. “He believes strongly in everything in Russian arts and culture,” says R. Douglas Sheldon, Gergiev’s manager of many years.

Concurring, Gergiev puts it more directly. “My first and most important goal is to continue the tradition.”

Special funding for this telecast was provided by Donald and Jeanne Kahn, Pierre de Labouchere, The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Gloria and RJ Brandes, VTB Bank, Donald M Kendall, Elizabeth and Henry Segerstrom, Sibir Energy plc, Troika Dialog Group, Joan and Sandy Weill, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Gwendolyn and James Meyer, Dr. M. Lee Pearce and the Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Tishman Speyer, and Bialkin Family Foundation.

GREAT PERFORMANCES is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers, and PBS. Special funding for this telecast was provided by the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust and the Benjamin and Seema Pulier Charitable Foundation.

MAESTRO: PORTRAIT OF VALERY GERGIEV premiered Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

Related Web Sites

• White Knights Foundation
• Valery Gergiev’s Wikipedia Entry
• Valery Gergiev on Decca Classics

Producer: Anu Krishnan
Designer: Lenny Drozner
Graphic Art: Ying Zhou-Hudson
Technical Director: Brian Lee
Production Assistant: Diana Cofresí-Terrero
Copy Editor: Leslie Kriesel
HTML Implementation: Brian Santalone

GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages copyright © 2007 Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Tamara E. Robinson, Vice President & Director, Programming.

About the Writer

Tim Smith is the classical music critic of THE BALTIMORE SUN. He has also written for THE NEW YORK TIMES, OPERA NEWS, and BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, among other publications. His writing has won several regional and national journalism awards, including a first place in arts criticism from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. He is the author of THE NPR CURIOUS LISTENER’S GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC (Perigee Books).

Television Credits

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Eugene Onegin”

Directed by
Brian Large

Conductor
Valery Gergiev

Production
Robert Carsen

Set & Costume Design
Michael Levine

Lighting Design
Jean Kalman

Choreographer
Serge Bennathan

Stage Director
Peter McClintock

Host
Mikhail Baryshnikov

Characters in Order of Vocal Appearance
Tatiana
Renée Fleming

Olga
Elena Zaremba

Madame Larina
Svetlana Volkova

Filippyevna, Tatiana’s Nurse
Larisa Shevchenko

Lenski
Ramón Vargas

Eugene Onegin
Dmitri Hvorostovsky

A Captain
Keith Miller

Triquet
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt

Zaretski
Richard Bernstein

Prince Gremin
Sergei Aleksashkin

Dancers
Linda Gelinas
Sam Meredith

Chorus Master
Raymond Hughes

Musical Preparation
Jane Klaviter
Linda Hall
Paul Nadler
Yelena Kurdina

Assistant Stage Directors
Gregory Keller
Paula Suozzi

Dramaturg
Paul Cremo

Prompter
Jane Klaviter

Met Titles
Cori Ellison

Russian Coach
Yelena Kurdina

A Metropolitan Opera High-Definition Production

Supervising Producers
Mia Bongiovanni
Elena Park

Producers
Louisa Briccetti
Victoria Warivonchik

Audio Producer
Jay David Saks

Associate Director
Jay Millard

Engineer-in-Charge
Mark Schubin

Technical Supervisor
Ron Washburn

Technical Director
Jon Pretnar

Audio Supervisor
Bill King

Television Lighting
Wayne Chouinard

Writer
Ellen Keel

Camera
Miguel Armstrong
Win Bernfeld
Manny Gutierrez
John Kosmaczewski
Robert Long
John Meiklejohn
David Smith
Larry Solomon
Ron Washburn

Robotic Camera Technicians
Rick Compeau
Ron Travisano

Video
Billy Steinberg
Matty Randazzo
Paul Ranieri
Anthony de Fonzo

Audio
Mel Becker
Paul Cohen
Blake Norton
Michael Shoskes
Shawn Marie Walsh

Videotape
Alan Buchner
Steven Joyce

Television Stage Managers
Terence Benson
Hank Neimark

English Subtitles Adapted by
Sonya Friedman

Broadcast Graphics
Deborah Cavanaugh

Score Reader
John Geller

Makeup for Renée Fleming
Matiki Anoff

Production Associate
Yolanda S. Williams

Host Segment Lighting
Alan Adelman

Production Assistants
Michael Griebel
Alyse Horn
Enzo E. Martinez
Harriet Snyder
Post Production
Video Editor
Gary Bradley

HD Nitris Editing
Laura Young

Audio Editor
John Bowen

Post-Production Audio Mix
Ken Hahn

Metropolitan Opera Association
General Manager
Peter Gelb

Music Director
James Levine

Assistant Managers
Artistic
Sarah Billinghurst

Technical
Joseph Clark

Editorial & Creative Content
Elena Park
Operations
Stewart Pearce

Finance
Bill Thomas

Development
Coralie Toevs

Director of Media & Presentations
Mia Bongiovanni

Marketing Director
Julie Borchard-Young

Artistic Administrator
Jonathan Friend

General Counsel
Sharon E. Grubin

Senior Artistic Advisor
Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations
Ann Marie Hackett

Director of Music Administration
Craig Rutenberg

House Manager
James Naples

Press Director
Sommer Hixson

Director, New Business Development
Laura Mitgang

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Orchestra Manager
Robert Sirinek

Concertmaster
David Chan

Librarian
Robert Sutherland

Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Metropolitan Opera Ballet

Ballet Mistress
Diana Levy
Stage Managers
Margo Maier
Scott Moon
Gary Dietrich
Theresa Ganley

Local 1 IATSE

Stage Operations
Master Carpenter
Stephen A. Diaz

Master Electrician
Paul Donahue

Properties Master
James R. Blumenfeld

Wig and Hair Stylist
Tom Watson

Makeup Artist
Victor Callegari
Wardrobe Supervisor
William Malloy

Costume Shop Head
Lesley Weston

Resident Costume Designer
Sylvia Nolan

Production Facilities
All Mobile Video Inc.
Dolby Laboratories

Remote Recording
Tandberg Television

Media Counsel
Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vasallo, P.C.

The stage production of “Eugene Onegin” is made possible by a generous gift from The Lila Acheson and Dewitt Wallace Fund.

The revival of the stage production is made possible by a generous gift from The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation and Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust.

For GREAT PERFORMANCES
Director, Program Development
Bill O’Donnell

Series Producer
David Horn

A Metropolitan Opera Production in association with PBS/Thirteen WNET New York

Executive Producer
Peter Gelb

EUGENE ONEGIN: IN REHEARSAL AT THE MET
Director
Allan Miller

Editor
Donna Marino

Producer
Margaret Smilow

Line Producer
Sonoko Aoyagi Leopold

Directors of Photography
Don Lenzer
Mead Hunt
Sound
Roger Phenix
Paul Coté

Assistant Camera
Ronan Killeen

HD Nitris Editor
Sean Stall

Re-recording Mixer
Ed Campbell

Sound Editor
Evan Benjamin

Subtitles
Cori Ellison

Production Assistants
John Bennett
Jonathan Fatigate

Yamaha is the official piano of The Metropolitan Opera

For Thirteen/WNET New York
Supervising Producer
Junko Tsunashima

Business Affairs
Arlen Appelbaum

Project Management
Jane Buckwalter

EUGENE ONEGIN: IN REHEARSAL AT THE MET was produced in association with Thirteen/WNET New York and White Nights Foundation of America

The contents of these GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages are copyrighted under United States and other copyright laws. You may not download, reproduce, transmit, display, distribute or make derivative works from the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages other than for personal use without the advance written permission of the copyright owner. Any unauthorized use of any of the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Online Web pages may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Reached in Paris, the day after performing in Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” at l’Opéra national de Paris, celebrated Siberian-born baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky talked about one of his signature roles — the title character in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” — and the Metropolitan Opera production he starred in that will be presented by GREAT PERFORMANCES

GREAT PERFORMANCES: What draws you to the title character of “Eugene Onegin”? Is he a difficult character to portray?

Dmitri Hvorostovsky: This personage is not easy to understand, even for someone who has been doing this role for decades. The character created by Pushkin in literature is very complex. In the opera, he appears slightly different, with an infusion of Tchaikovsky’s own personality and attitude that changes [Onegin] a little bit

He is definitely not the bad guy, which is how he is portrayed often in the West. He is a product of his time, very cynical, but highly educated, refusing to be active. There are a lot of question marks at the end of the opera. Who will this young man become? Potentially, he could become a revolutionist, a member of the avant-garde Decembrist movement. Will it be easier for him to commit suicide because of his unlucky love? Or will he become someone who would do something for society? Will he start writing? Or become a politician and fight against the routine of government structures?

Onegin is from the beginning of the 19th century, but he is also a common figure in our time. So each time there is a new production, we try to find out who Onegin is. The easiest thing to say is that he is a bad guy because he turned down Tatiana, and gets what he deserves when, years later, he suddenly falls in love with her — and she turns him down. But this is not true. He is a much more profound guy

GP: Do you need to be a Russian singer to get the maximum out of this opera?

DH: I’ve been outside of Russia for many years, so I’ve become a foreigner myself. I’ve seen more of an international conception of this opera. My own conception of many things has been changed a great deal because I have changed over the years. My life and professional experiences have taught me a lot more than I knew when I first did this opera

GP: It has been said by more than one observer that you were born to sing Onegin, that the role suits your voice perfectly. What were your feelings about the music when you first sang it?

DH: Tchaikovsky wrote nothing easy for a musician — singers, instrumentalists, everyone would complain about the difficulties Tchaikovsky wrote. He had no pity on singers. Only mature singers can really handle it. But when I performed Onegin for the first time, I felt like it was a piece of cake because I was a student, and I felt I would conquer the world with incredible speed and velocity

Then I started to perform the role abroad and became slightly frustrated with the conceptions of stage directors who had not treated one of my favorite personages with all the respect it deserves. I put myself into a difficult position trying to fight it, being young and quite arrogant. One of my first appearances as Onegin was in Paris in 1993. I fought with all my strength and all my knowledge against the stage director. I had a group of Russian singers supporting me. Eventually, though, we did the production and it was nicely done. But ever since, I lost the respect of that director; he has always refused to hire me. He still doesn’t like me, even now

After doing the role many times, I found I could not be satisfied with myself as an actor or a musician. I was always looking for the ideal Tatiana, the ideal conductor, and the ideal production. I couldn’t find that balance, so I gave up the role for a number of years

GP: Why have you felt confident to perform this work again, and at the Metropolitan Opera?

DH: One of the reasons I came back to “Onegin,” if not the main reason, was my good friend Renée Fleming

We first did it in 2000, in a concert at Avery Fisher Hall. It struck me then that I had actually found the ideal Tatiana. I knew she could refresh my performance of Onegin. She seems quite Slavonic to me. I guess she has some Slavonic blood in her. The first time I heard her sing Tatiana, she was vibrating the right kind of strength in her heart and soul. It touched me right away. Finally, we got together on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera and did a very, very beautiful production that has been seen at movie theaters and can now be seen on television. I am still feeling very satisfied about this. To do “Onegin” with Renée, with [tenor] Ramón [Vargas], and with [conductor] Valery [Gergiev] in one of my favorite theaters in the world — the Metropolitan is like family to me — has been wonderful. I’m now very keen to do this opera as many times as I can, but I’m probably becoming too mature, too old for Onegin. [Hvorostovsky is 44; the character of Onegin is in his early 20s.]

GP: What do you like best about working with Renée Fleming?

DH: She’s very unpredictable as an artist. Each time I sing with her it is surprising. She always tries to challenge herself, to take risks. She is an amazing artist. I am very proud to sing with her. She has a big, powerful, loving heart that she performs from. And she has one of the most perfect techniques among sopranos of our time. I’m sure she can do anything she wants to

GP: The other big star of the Met’s “Onegin” is Ramón Vargas as Lenski. What are your thoughts about his performance?

DH: Ramon is so touching, so amazing. This is another beautiful performance that matches the character. He is a very vulnerable Lenski, a typical poet — even visually. He reminds me of one of the historic persons that Pushkin knew himself. Ramon is also an absolutely beautiful musician. The way he sings Lenski really pleases me a great deal

GP: You used the word “unpredictable” when discussing Renée Fleming. It’s a word that critics often use to describe Valery Gergiev’s conducting. Does that make things difficult for you?

DH: Valery is always very easy to work with. He makes you feel so comfortable and secure. He’s a superhuman to me. I’ve known him for many years and consider him to be a dear friend. I have so much respect for him, the way he can pull the heartstrings in any music he conducts. He is not just surprising in performance; the profundity of any performance he conducts is also so incredible. Anything we do together feels like a piece of cake. He always welcomes any ideas I can create. He always follows me. Believe me, to have such a conductor, it encourages you

GP: You have enjoyed particular success in Italian repertoire as well as Russian. Will that continue to be a big part of your career?

DH: I’m still doing a lot of Verdi, still enjoying it. I’m so happy, like yesterday [April 10] here [Paris Opera], with the opening of “Simon Boccanegra,” probably the best role ever written for [a] baritone. It is such a pleasure and privilege to do this role. I will be doing it at the Met in a few yearsí time

GP: Are there other Verdi roles you plan to add to your repertoire?

DH: I haven’t done Iago or Macbeth yet, but probably will soon

GP: What about other Italian composers, from Rossini to Puccini?

DH: I used to do [Rossini's] “Barbiere [di Siviglia].” I mentioned it to [Metropolitan Opera general manager] Peter Gelb, and he just raised his eyebrows. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I just changed the subject. A lot of people have been sitting on my shoulders trying to persuade me to do Scarpia [in Puccini's "Tosca"], but I think that will have to wait

GP: Are there other operas you particularly want to tackle?

DH: I’m not dying to do anything, but I’m trying to enlarge my repertoire. I also want to expand my activity

GP: Do you mean outside of opera?

DH: I’m curious to do something else, probably a movie — maybe an action movie, with no singing [laughter]. And I’m curious to perform different types of music, like classic pop. But anything like this needs to be thought through

GP: Meanwhile, how are you enjoying your career?

DH: My life is very beautiful, very exciting, and quite lucky. It is the biggest pleasure in the world to perform for a crowd that listens to your every breath. What can be better than this?

Interview by Tim Smith for GREAT PERFORMANCES Online conducted in April 2007.

Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Librettists: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Konstantin Shilovsky, after Alexander Pushkin’s poem

Production: Robert Carsen

Conductor: Valery Gergiev

Performers: Renée Fleming (Tatiana), Elena Zaremba (Olga), Ramón Vargas (Lenski), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Onegin), Svetlana Volkova (Mme. Larina), Larisa Shevchenko (Filippyevna), Sergei Aleksashkin (Prince Gremin), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Monsieur Triquet), Richard Bernstein (Zaretsky), Keith Miller (Captain), and Linda Gelinas and Sam Meredith (Dancers)

Synopsis:
Act I
Scene 1: The widowed Madame Larina and her servant Filippyevna listen as the Larin daughters, Olga and Tatiana, sing. The peasants come from the fields, celebrating the completion of the harvest with songs and dances. Olga teases Tatiana for avoiding the festivities; pensive Tatiana prefers her romance novels. When the peasants leave, Olga’s suitor, the poet Lenski, arrives with his worldly friend Eugene Onegin. Lenski pours out his love for Olga (”Ya lyublyu vas”). Onegin strolls with Tatiana and asks how she doesn’t get bored with country life. Unnerved by the handsome stranger, Tatiana answers with difficulty. The two couples go inside for dinner as night falls.

Scene 2: In her bedroom, Tatiana persuades the reluctant Filippyevna to tell her of her first love and marriage. Tatiana admits she is in love and asks to be left alone. She sits up the entire night writing a passionate letter to Onegin. When day breaks, she gives the letter to Filippyevna for her grandson to deliver.

Scene 3: A group of women sing as they work in the Larins’ garden. They leave, and Tatiana appears, nervous, followed by Onegin. He asks that she hear him out patiently. He admits that the letter was touching, but adds that he would quickly grow bored with marriage and can only offer her friendship. He coldly advises more emotional control in the future, lest another man take advantage of her innocence.

Act II
Scene 1: Some months later, a party is under way in the Larins’ house for Tatiana’s name day. Young couples dance while older guests comment and gossip. Onegin dances with Tatiana, but he is bored by these country people and their provincial ways. Annoyed with Lenski for having dragged him there, Onegin dances with Olga, who is momentarily distracted by the charming man. Monsieur Triquet, the elderly French tutor, serenades Tatiana with a song he has written in her honor (”A cette fête conviée”). When the dancing resumes, Lenski jealously confronts Onegin. Madame Larina begs the men not to quarrel in her house, but Lenski cannot be placated and Onegin accepts his challenge to a duel.

Scene 2: Lenski waits for Onegin at the appointed spot at dawn. Lenski reflects on the folly of his brief life and imagines Olga visiting his grave (”Kuda, kuda”). Onegin finally arrives. He and Lenski admit to themselves that the duel is pointless and they would prefer to laugh together than to fight, but honor must be satisfied. The duel is marked off and Onegin shoots Lenski dead.

Act III
Several years later, a magnificent ball is being given in the Gremin Palace in St. Petersburg. Onegin appears, reflecting bitterly on the fact that he has traveled the world seeking excitement and some meaning in life, and all his efforts have led him to yet another dull social event. Suddenly, he recognizes Tatiana across the ballroom. She is no longer a naïve country girl, but is sumptuously gowned and bearing herself with great dignity. Questioning his cousin, Prince Gremin, he learns that Tatiana is now Gremin’s wife. The older man explains that he married Tatiana two years previously and describes her as his life’s salvation. When Gremin introduces Onegin, Tatiana maintains her composure, but excuses herself after a few words of polite conversation. Onegin is surprised to realize he himself is in love with Tatiana.

Tatiana is distressed the next day after she receives an impassioned letter from Onegin. He rushes in and falls at her feet, but she maintains her control. Does he desire her only for her wealth and position? She recalls the days when they might have been happy, but that time has passed. Onegin repeats his love for her. Faltering for a moment, she admits that she still loves him, but she will not allow him to ruin her. She leaves him regretting his bitter destiny.

Opera synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “Eugene Onegin” has been provided by Toll Brothers, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass, and The Annenberg Foundation, and PBS.

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