Tchaikovsky’s lyric opera Eugene Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse – a masterpiece of Russian literature. The narrative tells the story of Onegin’s remorse in rejecting the young Tatyana and his instigation of a fatal duel in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is constructed in what Tchaikovsky termed ‘lyrical scenes’, with music that articulates the feelings of the characters with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist set design, director Laurent Pelly’s staging underlines the lightness and sadness of the subject while fully expressing the characters’ fantasies and inner torments. After his forays into the Russian repertoire, Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a cast of outstanding singers.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (NBD0185V)

Classical ballet’s most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage.

Out hunting, Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans. One among them transforms into the beautiful human Odette and he is immediately enamoured. But Odette is bound by a spell which keeps her captive as a swan during the day. Can Siegfried free her?

Tchaikovsky’s sensational score combines with the evocative imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Mcfarlane to heighten the dramatic pathos of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s quintessential ballet classic. Swan Lake remains to this day one of the best-loved works in the classical ballet canon.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7326D)