Inside Boston Ballet’s Onegin
With less than two weeks left before the opening night of John Cranko's Onegin, Boston Ballet is perfecting the final details of their newest creation. It is the first time Principal Dancer Misa Kuranaga has undertaken the lead role. Yet after only one week, Kuranaga mastered the choreography, and is now focusing on the details with her partner, Principal Dancer Eris Nezha. It is Nezha's third time performing the ballet, but each performance is a unique experience.
The romantic ballet opens in Boston on February 25, for the first time in 15 years. Cranko's 1965 ballet is based on Alexander Pushkin's 19th-century narrative poem, Eugene Onegin. The tale's heroine is the shy, bookish, young Tatiana, who is entranced by the mature and worldly Onegin when he comes to visit the countryside. Tatiana declares her love to him in a letter, but Onegin rejects her and breaks her heart. When he returns years later, Onegin finds Tatiana transformed into a beautiful and confident married woman. He pleads with her to take him back, but Tatiana holds fast to her morals and, with great difficulty, turns him down.
