Displaying items by tag: Alexander Pushkin

There’s something magical about stories. Stories have the power to transcend time, reaching across the centuries to share their thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Tales of heartbreak, anguish, squandered youth, and missed chances written in the 1800s have a way of resonating with us in the modern age, the profound emotions perfectly encapsulated in the prose. The magic happens when that story is lifted from a page to be retold in a new medium for modern audiences to hear and see. In my opinion, there is no finer example of this transformation than what is currently showing at The Lyric Opera House in Chicago, The Joffrey’s Eugene Onegin, now running through June 14^th.

The ballet tells the story of Eugene Onegin, a wealthy but disillusioned aristocrat, who is disenchanted with both city and country life. He ventures to the provinces after inheriting his uncle’s estate, restless and indifferent. There, Eugene joins his friend Vladimir Lensky on a visit to his fiancée Olga’s home, where he is introduced to the family, most notably her sister Tatiana. Tatiana is drawn to Onegin’s aloof sophistication and quickly falls in love. She writes him a heartfelt letter and, at dawn, asks her nanny to deliver it. Onegin rejects her, claiming he is unsuited to love or marriage. His refusal deeply wounds Tatiana. At Tatiana’s name-day celebration, a bored Onegin flirts with Olga. Lensky, humiliated and jealous, challenges him to a duel. What begins as wounded pride leads to tragedy. Shakespearean passions of unrequited love, conflict of youth, and the dangers of careless actions play out in this classic tale.

Eugene Onegin is heralded as the foundation of modern Russian literature. Written over the course of eight years in the early 1800s, the novel revolutionized storytelling by blending romantic tragedy with social satire. Its main character was a cautionary tale of the superfluous man, one who is educated, wealthy, cynical, bored, and aimless, whose disillusionment leads to his own moral demise.

Told in four acts, the Joffrey masterfully brings Alexander Pushkin’s “novel in verse” to life through the medium of dance. Choreographer Yuri Possokhov and composer Ilya Demutsky not only capture that complex and bastardous character of Eugene, but also the wide range of emotions conveyed in this story. The adoration, resentment, rejection, joy, anguish, and regret are told through long, elegant lines, sensual pas de deuxs set to a musical score that perfectly captures the emotions of the four seasons the play moves through. Set against a breathtakingly simplistic provincial set, dancers clad in silks as delicate as the changing winds, and a not-love story performed superbly by Joffrey’s José Pablo Castro Cuevas and Victoria Jaiani (Eugene Onegin and Tatiana Larina, respectfully), the Joffrey have truly outdone themselves. It is one of their most visually captivating ballets. Said simply, Eugene Onegin is poetry in motion, a classic tale reenvisioned in the delicate yet powerful medium of ballet.

Hundreds of years later, the story of a charismatic yet pouty man who let his emotions hold him back while driving him towards his own demise still resonates with audiences today. Pushkin’s prose found a way to reach across the centuries and navigate Lower Wacker to make it to the Lyric Opera stage, where dancers bring the story to life. If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is.

Eugene Onegin is now playing at the Lyric Opera House (20 N Wacker Dr, Chicago) through June 14^th. This is one story you don’t want to miss. Get your tickets today at Joffrey.org.

This review is proudly shared with our friends at www.TheatreInChicago.com. 

The Joffrey Ballet concludes its 2025-26 season with the highly anticipated Chicago Premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin, a richly layered and deeply human exploration of love, loss, and redemption inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s poetic novel. From the acclaimed creative team behind Anna Karenina, Eugene Onegin—a co-production with San Francisco Ballet—features an original score by the award-winning composer, performer, and conductor Ilya Demutsky and an immersive set design that plunges audiences into the fragility of the human heart. Eugene Onegin takes place for ten performances only at the historic Lyric Opera House, 20 North Upper Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, from June 4 to 14, 2026.

“Our longstanding creative partnership with Yuri Possokhov has reached a new height with Eugene Onegin, supported by an extraordinarily hands-on collaboration with San Francisco Ballet that elevated every element of the production. The precision of detail and emotional storytelling come together to create a fully immersive experience - one that speaks with striking clarity to the world we live in today, and reflects the very best of The Joffrey’s artistic ambition,” says The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE.

“As we close our 70^th anniversary season, Eugene Onegin is both a celebration and a statement of what shared ambition can achieve. At every level, our ability to move audiences depends on the strength of the relationships behind the work, and we are particularly grateful to our partners at San Francisco Ballet for taking the leap with us. Mounting a production of this scale signals the new heights The Joffrey continues to reach, and the stability of the organization as we lay the foundation for our next 70 years,” said Greg Cameron, President and CEO.

Set against the backdrop of 19^th-century Russian aristocracy, the cautionary tale centers on Eugene Onegin, an enigmatic and aloof aristocrat whose life is forever altered after his fateful encounter with the earnest Tatiana. The events that follow – a tragic duel, a devastating loss, and a chance reunion force Eugene Onegin to confront the weight of his choices. Considered a classic work of literature, Eugene Onegin and its protagonist have served as models for literary heroes across time with a worldly and personal narrative style.

A frequent guest choreographer of The Joffrey Ballet, Possokhov returns to the Lyric Opera stage following 2019’s incredibly favored full-length commission of Anna Karenina, a co-production of the Joffrey and the Australian Ballet. Eugene Onegin reunites the award-winning team behind Anna Karenina, including Possokhov and Demutsky; plus, librettist Valeriy Pecheykin, set designer Tom Pye, costume designer Tim Yip (an Oscar-winner in Art Direction for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), lighting designer Jim French, and projection designer Finn Ross.

Eugene Onegin marks the first full-length co-production between The Joffrey Ballet and San Francisco Ballet and received its World Premiere in San Francisco in January 2026.

The Joffrey Ballet is grateful to Eugene Onegin Presenting Sponsors Lorna Ferguson and Terry Clark, Anne L. Kaplan, Lynda Sue Lane, M.D., Rudolf Nureyev Fund at The Joffrey Ballet, and Mr. and Mrs. Joel V. Williamson; Major Sponsors Mary Jo and Doug Basler, Dancing Skies Foundation, Ethel Gofen, Audrey L. Weaver, and Alexandra C. Nichols; Production Sponsors Holly Palmer Foundation, Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson, and Bill and Orli Staley Foundation; Costume Sponsor Jane Ellen Murray Foundation; and Commissioned Score Sponsors The Marina and Arnold Tatar Fund for Live Music and Marion A. Cameron-Gray and J. Douglas Gray.

Eugene Onegin features live music performed by the Lyric Opera Orchestra, conducted by Scott Speck, Music Director of The Joffrey Ballet.

Tickets and Schedule

The Joffrey Ballet presents Eugene Onegin from Thursday, June 4 to Sunday, June 14, 2026.

The full performance schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 4 at 7:30PM;
Friday, June 5 at 7:30PM;
Saturday, June 6 at 2:00PM and 7:30PM;
Sunday, June 7 at 2:00PM;
Thursday, June 11 at 7:30PM;
Friday, June 12 at 7:30PM;
Saturday, June 13 at 2:00PM and 7:30PM;
and Sunday, June 14 at 2:00PM.

The Joffrey Ballet is the only official seller with the best prices. Be aware of ticket re-sellers offering overpriced or invalid tickets. Tickets are available for purchase at the Lyric Opera Box Office, located at 20 N. Upper Wacker Dr., by telephone at 312.386.8905, or online at joffrey.org.

About The Joffrey Ballet 
The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies in the world today, with a reputation for boundary-breaking performances for 70 years. The Joffrey repertoire is an extensive collection of all-time classics, modern masterpieces, and original works. Founded in 1956 by pioneers Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey remains dedicated to artistic expression, innovation, and first-rate education and engagement programming. The Joffrey Ballet continues to thrive under The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE and President and CEO Greg Cameron.

The Joffrey Ballet is grateful for the support of its 2025–2026 70^th Anniversary Season Sponsors: The Abbott Fund, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation, Gallagher, The Florian Fund, Anne L. Kaplan, and Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation. Live Music Sponsors Sandy and Roger Deromedi, Sage Foundation, and The Marina and Arnold Tatar Fund for Live Music. The Joffrey also acknowledges our Season Partners: ATHLETICO and Chicago Athletic Clubs.

For more information on The Joffrey Ballet and its programs, visit joffrey.org. Connect with the Joffrey on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.