# Eugene Onegin Help



## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

I recently bought and watched Eugene Onegin, and adored it. This is the version, which I am very pleased with:










However, I would now like to buy a cd (or mp3) version of the opera so that I can listen to the music on its own without the drama if I want to. I did my usual searching for bargains and found a very cheap version:










However I don't want to buy a cheap version if it isn't very good because I like it so much, so I wonder if anyone knows a good version they can recommend me please? Is this one any good? I am not an audiophile so I don't mind if it is bad sound, I am more interested in the performance.

Thanks in advance.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I don't know the opera well enough to make a judgement, but that download is very cheap so if it's no good at least you haven't spent too much. I have these which I love.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2013)

I have the DG recording by James Levine and the Staatskapelle Dresden. I enjoy it, but have no other recordings with which to compare, so I don't know how it stacks up.


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## Hesoos (Jun 9, 2012)

I have and I like a lot the english version with Hampson, te Kanawa and Gedda. If you need it to be in original language that version won't do... but the singers are great and is easier to understand and to sing if you like.

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Hampson-Rosenshein-Charles-Mackerras/dp/B00005A8EE


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

The Bolshoi's 1984 version is available on Alto for £8.75 complete. Worth getting at that price what can you lose ?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I have the Solti version with Weikl, Kubiak, Burrows, and Hamari. I like it, but as you can see, the four principal roles are sung by non-native Russian speakers. Some listeners may prefer a more "authentic" performance.


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks everyone! That's a lot of different suggestions, and I'm having a hard time deciding, but at least everyone seems to like their versions so I can't go far wrong!


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

Ok, finally I have bought the 1984 Bolshoi version that moody suggested.










Thank you everyone for your suggestions!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

sospiro said:


>


I just finished this DVD. It was my first experience of this opera and I loved it! Fleming and Hvorostovsky are so good that I am not sure I can watch a different performance of this opera and not sadly wish for more Fleming and Hvorostovsky.

It is a tragedy but on deeper analysis I see it as a tragedy only for Onegin. Onegin is self centered through and through. It is by the grace of God that Tatyana did not get married to him. Can you imagine he would be any better husband now than he figured he'd have been before? I could just see him going off on affairs in due time, once he tired of the novelty of Tatyana.

But the opera could have a sequel too where Onegin comes back and goads Prince Gremin to the point of a duel, kills the Prince, and now Tatyana is free to marry him. Maybe better they didn't go there.

What makes this opera so great to me is that Tatyana remains true to her vow over and above her passions. Great, solid moral ending.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Neil Shicoff's Lensky is the one to beat.
But the Hvorostovsky/Fleming is also a winner.


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## The Wolf (Apr 28, 2017)

One of the best options on dvd/bluray...on CD Khaikin's recording its a great option too


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Neil Shicoff's Lensky is the one to beat.
> But the Hvorostovsky/Fleming is also a winner.


In our last poll The Fleming/ Hvorostovsky came on top.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Ramako said:


> found a very cheap version:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That looks to be the classic Soviet era recording from 1937 with Nortsov as Onegin, Kozlovsky as Lensky and Kruglikova as Tatiana. The conducting was tag-teamed by Melik-Pashaev and Orlov. No idea how that particular transfer sounds (I have the Naxos version) but it's a classic, with one of the great Lensky performances. Mono sound, fairly vivid for the era particularly the voices, but the band is a little dim.

I don't know if I have a favorite, but I tend to spin this one, the Khaikin from 1955 and the 2007 Barenboim most often.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I just finished this DVD. It was my first experience of this opera and I loved it! Fleming and Hvorostovsky are so good that I am not sure I can watch a different performance of this opera and not sadly wish for more Fleming and Hvorostovsky.
> 
> It is a tragedy but on deeper analysis I see it as a tragedy only for Onegin. Onegin is self centered through and through. It is by the grace of God that Tatyana did not get married to him. Can you imagine he would be any better husband now than he figured he'd have been before? I could just see him going off on affairs in due time, once he tired of the novelty of Tatyana.
> 
> ...


I'm right there with you. A wonderful recording and though the ending is a difficult one for the characters I love that Tatyana stays try to her marriage vows


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

............................................mispost


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Wrong thread. Apologies


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Here is an ending where Eugene just won't give up even after his last disparing words:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Ok, I currently have the following sets on CD:

Some good singing, others sound odd, partly due to it being sung in English. Great for learning the story though and associating it with the music:









My favorite so far and I suspect the best one not sung by native Russians:









I don't care for this as much as the Levine set above. Yes, has my favorite baritone, Hvorostovski, but the rest of the singers don't seem as good as on the Levine set.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have this one on order and it is very promising from the sound clips anyway:

















Also have this one on order and it also is very promising:









I am told that I need this set, but am reluctant because of the sound quality is fair but not super. Also pretty expensive used, except if D'Oro release which maybe is not as good of sound as this one?:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Then i see a couple others that look interesting:










A different recording with Dmirti Hvorostovski. Might be one to pursue.









What else? Any thoughts on these two? Any recommendations?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I am told that I need this set, but am reluctant because of the sound quality is fair but not super. Also pretty expensive used, except if D'Oro release which maybe is not as good of sound as this one?:


If you love this opera, you really have to have this set. A conductor friend of mine who was just getting to know the work, asked me for my recommendation after listening to one or two more modern recordings, which hadn't really sold it to him. I told him to try the Khaikin and the Bychkov with Hvorostovsky. Once he heard the Khaikin he was in raptures. "This is exactly how I thought it should go," he said, "But nobody else seems to get it."


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

GregMitchell said:


> If you love this opera, you really have to have this set. A conductor friend of mine who was just getting to know the work, asked me for my recommendation after listening to one or two more modern recordings, which hadn't really sold it to him. I told him to try the Khaikin and the Bychkov with Hvorostovsky. Once he heard the Khaikin he was in raptures. "This is exactly how I thought it should go," he said, "But nobody else seems to get it."


It may be that I don't have the ability to detect the finer points that make a recording such as this so significant. For example, I have no reference point for how it should be done. When I buy opera recordings it usually is that the voices please me in their tonal quality and singing ability more than that they accurately follow a score that I know next to nothing about nor can read if I wanted to. But perhaps I will get a copy someday yet.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Now here is something very interesting and blessed by Galina Vishnevskaya (my bold):



> "I made my first operatic recording, EUGEN ONÉGIN, with Boris Khaikin, a conductor from the Bolshoi, and the singers Evgeny Belov and *Sergei Lemeshev*....by then fifty-four and for decades the most famous Russian tenor [who] rejoiced like a child that he had finally had the opportunity to record his favorite role. How fortunate for future generations of singers and the listening public that this outstanding singer has left his unsurpassed interpretation of Lensky to posterity….For dozens of years *Sergei Lemeshev* was the public's idol....and in Soviet Russia there has not been - and will not be for years to come - an artist to equal the enchantment of his voice, his irresistible charm, and his mastery. Everything about him was artistic....On the stage, until the end of his career, he was a youth, beloved and vulnerable. Even at seventy he still drove his admirers into ecstasies every time he sang Lensky at the Bolshoi....."
> 
> - Galina Vishnevskaya, GALINA, pp.174, 176 & 324











OP2892. EUGEN ONÉGIN, Live Performance, 28 Oct., 1954, w.Doniyakh Cond. Leningrad Maly Opera Ensemble; Sergei Shaposhnikov, *Sergei Lemeshev*, Vera Kudriavtseva, Olga Golovina, Alexandra Mescheryakova, etc. (Russia) 2-Aquarius AQVR 380. [The audience's excited response is quite palpable, especially with Lemeshev's initial appearance! This performance is clearly an 'event'!] - 4607123631454


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

If you're a fan of Wunderlich or Prey, there's a good live German version conducted by Keilberth on Gala. Wonderful Lensky's aria, as you would expect with Wunderlich. I have it on CD but from a little googling, I see it's also available at Operadepot, and on video from a couple of different sources, and now that I look on youtube, I see it's there as well.






The sound quality is significantly better on my CD than on this youtube video. I'd not heard of the Tatiana, one Ingeborg Bremert, but she has an attractive, likeable lyric voice. The rest of the principals (Wunderlich, Prey, Fassbaender) are of course known quantities.

There's also the Barenboim video with Peter Mattei that I'm a big fan of--not so much the staging, but the audio is excellent. I ripped the audio from the DVD so I could listen to it audio only, which I do fairly often. Otherwise, you've already identified the other easily recommendable versions--the Khaikin, the Levine with Allen and Freni, the Bychkov, and the Orlov/Melik-Pashaev with Nortsov and Kruglikova.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I really like the Solti recording:









It's interesting that there haven't been more recordings of this opera and not many conductors have managed to express the subtle passion of the music. The Levine is well sung, but it doesn't quite convince me, the Bychkov doesn't hit the spot for me either. I like the conducting on the Khaikin set, however I really can't get on with Vishnevskaya (Tatiana should never _shriek_) and I prefer Kozlovsky over Lemeshev. Of the early Russian recordings I think this one beats the Khaikin:









Kruglikova is very much a typical soprano voice of that time, but Orlov's conducting carries this performance of the opera. The most important role is Onegin himself and I find it is often underplayed. Ivanov deserves to be better known, he has a warm, solid voice and sings with expressive commitment to Onegin's ever changing emotions and his tragic fate. Kozlovsky is pure soul and you get the great Mark Reizen as Gremin so I don't think there is a better sung Onegin out there. However, it's Orlov's way with the score that makes this my favourite Onegin.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I really like the Solti recording:
> 
> View attachment 114323
> 
> ...


I've heard the Khaikin recording so many times, and I don't recall the young Vishneskaya shrieking once. What I do remember is the outpouring of unfettered, youthful passion in the Letter Scene. To me she is just about ideal. Kubiak, by contrast, on the Solti set you like sounds far too mature and knowing, more like a traditional Tosca, which indeed was a role she was singing at Covent Garden at the time of this recording. Aside from that, I don't think there is a Russian in the cast, and it sounds totally unidiomatic to me.

There are other virtues to the Khaikin as well of course, not least the Lensky of Lemeshev. I think it one of _the_ great opera recordings.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> I've heard the Khaikin recording so many times, and I don't recall the young Vishneskaya shrieking once. What I do remember is the outpouring of unfettered, youthful passion in the Letter Scene. To me she is just about ideal. Kubiak, by contrast, on the Solti set you like sounds far too mature and knowing, more like a traditional Tosca, which indeed was a role she was singing at Covent Garden at the time of this recording. Aside from that, I don't think there is a Russian in the cast, and it sounds totally unidiomatic to me.
> 
> There are other virtues to the Khaikin as well of course, not least the Lensky of Lemeshev. I think it one of _the_ great opera recordings.


I don't think there is a great recording of Onegin and it partly depends on your priorities. I think the conductor is key in this work and needs to express not only the Russian soul, but also the passion in the score, that's a difficult call. I would then say that the role of Onegin needs someone who can make it something than the rather plain enigma we often get. The other roles are less important for me.

I think there is a definite divide between the stereo recordings of Onegin and the mono ones. None of the stereo ones are really satisfactory, but I think Solti's the best of the bunch. He at least injects some passion into the music and Kubiak does at least have a slavic voice. The interesting thing is that the older mono recordings are all better than the stereo ones! Whilst I can understand the reputation that the Khaikin recording has, being the one in the best sound, Lemeshev is preferred over Kozlovsky (although they were rivals in their day) and Vishnevskaya has a more modern sound than Kruglikova, I find Khaikin prosaic in places compared with Orlov and Ivanov brings Onegin to life, whereas Belov is a cipher. I also have a personal preference for Kozlovsky and Reizen. Orlov has a feel for the score that is both melancholy and passionate resulting in a more Russian approach to the opera.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

GregMitchell said:


> If you love this opera, you really have to have this set [Khaikin Eugene Onegin]. A conductor friend of mine who was just getting to know the work, asked me for my recommendation after listening to one or two more modern recordings, which hadn't really sold it to him. I told him to try the Khaikin and the Bychkov with Hvorostovsky. Once he heard the Khaikin he was in raptures. "This is exactly how I thought it should go," he said, "But nobody else seems to get it."


There is more support in the comments from this webpage:



> Eight months pregnant at the time, Vishnevskaya brings out all the believable passion and richness of character that made her Tatyana such a celebrated portrayal. `To me she embodied everything that was most beautiful and valuable in Russian women: a deeply passionate nature, tenderness, boldness, and a willingness to sacrifice herself,' writes Vishnevskaya in her memoirs. She is joined by reigning fellow artists from the Bolshoi. Eugene Belov communicates the aloofness of Onegin, laced with a tinge even of self-hatred."


And from Ralph Moore (whose reviews I do look forward to in my CD shopping endeavors)(my bold text):



> "It amuses me to read reviews kvetching about the recording quality of this Opera d'Oro issue, when you consider that if you buy it in its basic version rather than in the de luxe set with libretto, it costs less than a deli sandwich - for one of the seminal great recordings of this glorious opera by performers wholly immersed in a tradition which ensures that all kinds of details and subtleties emerge. ... *Anyone who is not swept along by this performance isn't listening to the music but to the technology*. ... [much more in the link above]


How telling that bold type statement. I am afraid I am guilt of such because my ability to detect a quality performance is far less than my ability to detect a performance that has crisp sound. Ah well, as Ralph says, "it costs less than a deli sandwich," what am I holding back for? I need this recording! But I see most of the sets I had in shopping carts and watch lists have sold off and the price is again higher. Perhaps this thread has inspired some at TC to make purchases.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Fritz Kobus said:


> And from Ralph Moore (whose reviews I do look forward to in my CD shopping endeavors)(my bold text):


I too value Ralph Moore's reviews over others on Amazon and I am biased towards him since his agreeing with me on the sound quality of the Warner releases of live Callas recordings (that some of them are better than the releases by niche labels such as Divina or AV).

In this case, however, I don't agree with his dialectic between sound quality and quality of the performance. It's quite possible not to be spellbound by the classic Khaikin recording and not to have any problem with the less than ideal sound quality of it. In fact the recording I prefer was made eight years earlier and is in even worse sound! I know I am in a minority on this one, but it's good to challenge the status quo and in any case the early recordings of the opera are all on You Tube so anybody can sample them there and then decide for themselves.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

The Conte said:


> I too value Ralph Moore's reviews over others on Amazon and I am biased towards him since his agreeing with me on the sound quality of the Warner releases of live Callas recordings (that some of them are better than the releases by niche labels such as Divina or AV).
> 
> In this case, however, I don't agree with his dialectic between sound quality and quality of the performance. It's quite possible not to be spellbound by the classic Khaikin recording and not to have any problem with the less than ideal sound quality of it. In fact the recording I prefer was made eight years earlier and is in even worse sound! I know I am in a minority on this one, but it's good to challenge the status quo and in any case the early recordings of the opera are all on You Tube so anybody can sample them there and then decide for themselves.
> 
> N.


Excellent points. It is the case with me, being fairly ignorant of musical theory etc, I would not know a wrong note unless it was absolutely jarring. I am probably not a great judge of voice either. So in my handicap status as a music enthusiast, I tend to listen to what I like regardless of whether it is highly touted, and that has a strong bias to better sound quality. But I will give the Khailin set a shot, ordered it last night. We'll see.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have Eugene Onegin on DVD with the following Tatiana's:

Fleming, 
Gavrilova, 
Monogarova, 
Nerebko, and 
Kubiak

There must be another half dozen or so DVDs of Eugene Onegin. Are any of them worth getting?


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Eugene Onegin Part One
There's this on You Tube .


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Essential Onegin on DVD:

1) Gergiev (Kwiecen/Netrebko) - Netrebko in possibly her finest role. The production is good without being dull or too outside the box.

2) Termikanov (Leiferkus/Novikova) - This is an old fashioned production from the Maryinsky in the 80s (when it was the Kirov). However, the conducting is a superb reading of an opera I think is difficult to get right and the cast is excellent (with Leiferkus and Diadkova before they were famous).

3) Solti (Weikl/Kubiak) This is a film of the opera and quite well done, although I know some people don't like film opera. The soundtrack is the Solti recording and has flaws, but I like his approach to this score.

It looks like you don't have number 2, I think it is well worth getting.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Rogerx said:


> Eugene Onegin Part One
> There's this on You Tube .


That I have on DVD. It is Kubiak.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

SixFootScowl said:


> That I have on DVD. It is Kubiak.


You are sharp mate, you know what you have in stock:tiphat:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

The Conte said:


> Essential Onegin on DVD:
> 
> 1) Gergiev (Kwiecen/Netrebko) - Netrebko in possibly her finest role. The production is good without being dull or too outside the box.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I just ordered a used VG copy of the Termikanov DVD for $9.99 off of ebay.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Rogerx said:


> You are sharp mate, you know what you have in stock:tiphat:


Not always, but I recognized the pathway at the beginning, so looked it up based on the notes below the You Tube video. I have several times purchased CDs I already owned, and there is one book that I ended up purchasing twice after already owning it, so have three copies! Even if I wanted to read it in stereo, I would only need two copies!


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Anyone ever heard this one? Is it good?


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Didn't the OP ask for a cd recommendation?
Without a single solitary doubt, IMO, the top is Hvorostovsky/Shicoff/Focile.

For DVD's the top contender is the Met Hvorostovsky/Fleming/Vargas


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

adriesba said:


> Anyone ever heard this one? Is it good?


It's not great. My parents had it on LP. mostly because there weren't any other recordings easily available at the time. (It was on Decca Ace of Clubs). You couldn't get any of the Russian recordings in the West at that time. It's been completely superseded since.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Didn't the OP ask for a cd recommendation?
> Without a single solitary doubt, IMO, the top is Hvorostovsky/Shicoff/Focile.
> 
> For DVD's the top contender is the Met Hvorostovsky/Fleming/Vargas


Not for me, though it's very good. My recommendation remains the Bolshoi recording under Boris Khaikin, with the young Vishnevskaya as Tatyana.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have six Onegin sets on CD and this one is my favorite:


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