In their five-night Birmingham residency, the Mariinsky Theatre Opera and Valery Gergiev are covering a broad spectrum of Russian repertoire, with Verdi's La Forza del Destino opera for good measure. Tchaikovsky's masterwork, Eugene Onegin, promised to be a definitive interpretation and, to a large degree, it proved to be.
At their finest, concert performances of opera can be infinitely rewarding. With neither props nor costume to distract, they take one to the heart of the drama, while the prism through which the instrumental colours are perceived is subtly altered by the orchestra's presence on stage. When that orchestra is the Mariinsky with Gergiev masterminding every moment, they serve both as protagonists and as Greek chorus, establishing emotional context, commenting, echoing, and at once adding immediacy and depth.
Of all the Mariinsky soloists, Irina Mataeva as Tatiana was outstanding. With great finesse and expressive nuances, she succeeded in portraying Tatiana's transition from the highly susceptible young woman in thrall to the notion of love and thus to Onegin, to the dignified figure of later years, a woman chastened by his rejection but wiser for it. Mataeva was well supported by Ekaterina Semenchuk in the pivotal role of Olga: her considerable presence and particularly her ability to communicate with the eyes and a tilt of the head, creating bonds with each singer in turn. In general, the women outshone the men. Evgeny Akimov's Lensky was clear and forthright, though more bouncer than poet; Gennady Bezzubenkov's Gremin was authoritative if monochromatic. Alexander Gergalov's performance was disappointing: he had none of the charisma that Onegin - for all his callow treatment of Tatiana - must exude; nor did his light baritone reflect the care which Tchaikovsky expends on this character in the final act. There was a final flourish in the last bars, but rather late. Instead, the frissons came from Gergiev: the élan of the dances, the fluidity and scintillating shimmer of the music, but all the pain too.
