Eugene Onegin February 18, 2009

"Life is not like a novel," states a phrase in 'Eugene Onegin,' but this opera actually mirrors a tragic event in Tchaikovsky's own life. Lensky woos Olga while her sister, Tatyana, falls for the aloof Onegin. Tatyana writes an effusive letter expressing her devotion but Onegin coolly rebuffs her. Many years later Onegin reencounters Tatyana, now the wife of a prince, but their opportunity for love has irretrievably passed.