Recently, Judson and I attended the Canadian Opera Company (COC) 2008 production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Giselle Allen as Tatyana and Brett Polegato as Onegin - Eugene Onegin, Canadian Opera Company - 2008

The production was superb, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Certainly, one of my favorite things in the world is to attend a truly great opera production with my guy. My sentiment is like that of Ronny Camereri (played by Nicholas Cage) in the 1987 Norman Jewison film Moonstruck. He says to Loretta (played by Cher):

“I love two things. I love you, and I love the Opera. If I can have the two things that I love together for one night, I will be satisfied to give up ... oh God, the rest of my life..!”

Ha ha – so melodramatic. It’s one of Judson’s favorite lines too, although I am more of an opera fan than he is. (He quite likes the opera, but is actually even more of a film fan. He's especially a fan of the film Moonstruck. His great joy would be like Ronny’s, only replace the word “Opera” with the phrase “the film Moonstruck”). See Judson’s blog: http://jud.sinton.ca/blog.php/2008/02/04/p71 .

Now, coincidentally, Eugene Onegin was one of the first operas Judson and I ever attended together back when the COC performed it last (circa 1994). I’d had my first detailed exposure to the story a few years earlier as well when I attended the ballet version composed by John Cranko – performed by the National Ballet of Canada (circa 1991).

(Gosh, it’s time I just pull out Pushkin’s original novel and have a read. Then I’ll be a real Eugene Onegin-ite).

Anyway, the Canadian Opera Company did an amazing job. Giselle Allen and Brett Polegato were particularly wonderful in the roles of Tatyana and Onegin respectively.

The story itself does leave one shaking one’s head with respect to some of the characters and their sad devotion to their romantic illusions. Well, this is particularly the case with respect to the character of Tatyana, in my view.

The way she just pines over Onegin is certainly a lesson to us all in the importance of giving one’s head a shake sometimes. I remember thinking this the last two times I attended productions of the story. On one of those occasions I had recently been reading Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I remember thinking that these women just needed to forget about the men and confidently embrace their own independence ... go out and get great jobs etc. ... - if only the 19th century world in which Tolstoy and Pushkin wrote would have allowed it.

Oh well, at least Tatyana sort of carries on with life somewhat, rather than suffering the fate of Tolstoy’s even more pathetic heroin. (Tolstoy's Karenina finally ends up throwing herself in front of an oncoming train!)

It’s good for me to review the Eugene Onegin storyline once in a while since I myself am somewhat of a hopeless romantic. I have Judson on such a pedestal … is it even fair to him? (Well … actually, I think he likes it). It is important to pull oneself out of the sappiness sometimes though.

Well, I’m going to sign off on this blog for now. Later I’ll put up another blog on the COCs set and lighting for this opera which I think was cool enough that it deserves its own separate blog entry.

Off I go now … Judson has been cooking a wonderful Italian dinner and it seems that it's ready. He has been trying to get my attention actually – with that flirtatious “come hither” tone of voice. So now … yes ... off I go … as much a slave to her feelings and passion ...as poor Tatyana.