The north Wales-based initiative Opra Cymru was formed in 2009 to stage opera in the Welsh language – much as many small companies offer it in English. But in this performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, that some of the singing made little more sense to the audience than the original Russian would have done seemed to defeat the object of the exercise. It was not simply a matter of mother tongue or not, but clarity of articulation. However, the US soprano Stacey Wheeler acquitted herself remarkably well, with some sensitive highlighting of the young Tatyana’s tumult of emotions, and Prince Gremin’s aria as sung by Trebor Lloyd Evans had enormous sincerity and immediacy.

There was much young vocal talent on display. Angharad Lyddon’s Olga showed an impressively velvet mezzo and Rhodri Jones’s Monsieur Triquet was clean and unforced. Alex Vearey-Roberts was an eager Lensky, rather too eager in terms of volume, and Matthew Durkan was an able if stiff Onegin. Neither of these two could quite convey the tenderness or lyricism of Tchaikovsky, though the instinctive feel of Jâms Coleman conducting a chamber ensemble from the piano was evident enough.

More problematic was director Patrick Young’s staging, which was minimal but overloaded with odd histrionic gestures. Confusingly, no one seemed dressed for the same temperature. At their first encounter, Tatyana wore cotton and a straw hat while Onegin – chill of heart at this point – had a Diaghilev-style fur-collared coat, to which he added a brown hat that was more cowboy than fedora for his arrival at the St Petersburg ball. And just at the point of what should have been the greatest intimacy, Tatyana’s realisation that she must honour her nuptial vow to Gremin was made a vulgar light-bulb moment with added spotlight glare. The simplicity and directness of Pushkin and Tchaikovsky were lost.

• At the Gate, Cardiff, on 13 September. Box office: 02920 483344. Then touring until 20 September.