On Tuesday 29th January 2013 seven BBCM students attended the Royal Opera House’s schools’ matinee of the ballet Onegin. The story is by Pushkin but the music is not Tchaikovsky's music for his opera Onegin. The music is by Tchaikovsky (in Kurt-Heinz Stolze's excellent arrangement) but it comes from other scores of his such as the piano cycle Seasons, the latter part of his symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini and his opera The Tsarina's Slippers. John Cranko’s choreography is exceptionally musical, highly inventive as well as fully dramatic. It stays true to Pushkin’s drama as well as to Tchaikovsky’s music throughout. The Royal Ballet gave a stunning performance; we were privileged to see it. Below see our seven reviews.

This was the first time I went to the ballet, and also the Opera House. I liked the dancing, especially the way the dancers could jeté, without holding on to anything. My favourite dancers were Olga, played by Yasmine Naghdi, and Tatiana, played by Sarah Lamb. I also liked when Onegin was holding Olga’s hand and was spinning her around when she was on her toes.
The music was lovely, and I thought the ballerinas were very pretty with their beautiful costumes, shoes, hairstyles and earrings.
I didn't think the performance was too long or too short, it was just right, and I really enjoyed it.
Julia Ferguson, age 4 years and four months

The opera house was very beautiful, and I was very excited to be there with other children from my music school and my teacher, Agnes.
I liked all the dancers’ faces because they were so expressive. More than their dancing, I thought their faces were beautiful. Not because of their make-up but because their faces could show different feelings. Of all, I liked Onegin best: he was beautiful! I also liked his clothes. His friend, Lensky’s clothes, on the other hand, I did not like so much because his vest was beige or white. Onegin was always dressed better than his friend.
I very much enjoyed the part in which the men form one circle and the women form another circle for a dance. I also liked the way the dancers pretend-played a wedding.
There were two party scenes during the piece. I was impressed that even two soldiers in uniforms came to the party.
Onegin had to cry twice, once after the duel and another time after Tatyana tears his letter into pieces and puts them into his hand. I felt sorry for him.
I was quite scared during the duel scene so I just looked away from the stage into the auditorium, the very high ceiling, and then I saw that even the last top, top rows were filled with people. How would they see the stage from up there, I wondered. The duel scene was full of suspense. At one point, only drums and cymbals were playing and that made it even worse; I was very tense! I still think that Onegin and Lensky should have talked first before going ahead with the duel.
The conductor was so good; he did not even need a stick for conducting!
I would like to go to the Royal Opera House again soon, next time with my daddy and mummy, and to see a ballet which has no scary bits, at all. But I really enjoyed Onegin, even more than the Nutcracker. And that was a surprise to me, too. I am glad I went with Agnes.
Julian Herbst, age 5 years and two months

The story is about a girl called Tatiana who falls in love, but the man, Onegin doesn't love her. Sarah Lamb is Tatiana and I think she is a beautiful ballerina. Tatiana wears white dresses and she's a bit shy. Her older sister is Olga. Onegin comes to Tatiana's house with his friend Lensky who is going to marry Olga. He dances with Tatiana at the party but then he doesn't want to any more. He and another man shoot each other and one of them is dead. Onegin goes away and Tatiana is really sad.
I liked the third part best because Tatiana wears a beautiful long red dress and she seems different. She is grown up. Now Onegin wants to dance with her and he loves her. Lots of times he picks her up really high in the air. They twirled round and round faster and faster. But Tatiana is married to someone else so he has to leave again.
I could see the orchestra from my seat. I saw violins, cellos, trumpets and drums. A man was conducting the orchestra. I liked the orchestra more than the ballet because I liked the music. But I would like to go to the ballet again.
Evelyn Teague, age 6

It was very exciting going to the ballet. When I arrived at he Royal Opera House I couldn’t believe it. The walls were made of gold.
Then the ballet started… the music was magical. The dances came to my brain and stayed there.
I have been to a ballet before but that was ages ago. I love the dances and the dramatic music.
From where I sat I could see the orchestra and the conductor’s baton.
It was amazing seeing all those ballerinas pirouetting and leaping across the stage.
Onegin is a lovely story and I love it and I will never forget it. There are four main characters: Tatiana, Olga, Lensky and Onegin. The story is quite sad. It made tears prickle my eyes.
I loved the ballet, thank you for letting me be part of it. I used some of the steps in ballet class and my teacher was very shocked.
Ruby Collison, age 7

On Tuesday 29th January 2013 I went to see a ballet called Onegin (which you should pronounce un-yay-guin). The outing was organised by Agnes Kory, my music teacher from the BBCM.
Onegin is a ballet in three acts. Each act is divided in two scenes. Between each act there is an interval. During the intervals, dancers can rest and people in the audience can take a break, eat or drink something. We had an ice-cream!
The music of this ballet is by Kurt-Heinz Stolze, after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The choreography is by John Cranko who died almost forty years ago. I found the names in the booklet that was given to us at the end of the show.
It wasn’t my first time at the Royal Opera House but it was the first time I saw a ballet.
We went inside the big room, we took our seats and we had time to chat while we watched the musicians warm up and tune their instruments. In the pit, there were a lot of violins. From where I sat I could see the people playing the drums and I could also see the conductor. I thought he looked like someone on stage.
In the story, there are four main characters: two women, Tatiana and Olga, and two men, Onegin and Lensky. I thought the costumes were all very nice. But I think Tatiana wears the most beautiful dresses.
In the first scene of Act I, there is a very big house on stage and lots of bushes and trees. We see Tatiana, her sister Olga, who wears a dress with pink colours, and their mother, Madame Larina. When Onegin arrives, he wears a black suit. Olga dances a lot in Act I.
In the second scene of Act I, we see Tatiana in her bedroom writing a love letter. There is another scene in her bedroom at the end of the ballet.
In Act II, we see women dancing in white dresses for Tatiana’s birthday. The set looks like the room of a beautiful palace. The chandeliers have really nice silvery diamonds that sparkle in the ceiling.
The second scene of Act II is the duel scene where Onegin kills Lensky. Tatiana wears a nice green velvet coat with a hood, a bit like little red riding hood. Her sister Olga wears the same outfit but in blue. It’s very foggy and grey.
In Act III, there is a ball. My favourite part in the ballet is when the prince dances with Tatiana. And my favourite costume is the wonderful red dress Tatiana wears. It has sparkly red flowers on it. Girls who dance around Tatiana wear almost the same dress as her except in white.
In the second scene of Act III, Tatiana rips the love letter Onegin gave her, which is the opposite of what happened earlier in the ballet when it was Onegin who ripped her love letter.
I go to ballet on Wednesdays but what I do with my teacher Miss Beth is very different. It looked much more complicated on stage but it was wonderful to watch the dancers move in time with the music!
Tilia Zamparo, age 7

I thought that the Royal Opera House performance of Onegin on 29th January 2013 was outstanding. I was very impressed with the dancers’ precision; the pirouettes were so perfect. The steps were very unique and the lifts were beautiful and looked airy and light. I really thought the pas de deux were marvellous; you could see the choreography was handled with care and that the dancers worked really well together. Sarah Lamb who played Tatiana was incredible; she was convincing as Tatiana and made the story really clear and come to life. She expressed her emotions very well and was delicate and graceful. Onegin who was performed by Valeri Hristov was amazing. He was a powerful character and was played by Hristov very well; you could easily identify him as his personality and performance were quite distinctive. I thought that the music by Kurt-Heinz Stolze was enchanting and was well performed under the conductor Dominick Grier. It made me want to get out of my seat and start dancing. The playing was atmospheric and the music sort of dragged you out into a different world. It worked perfectly with the lifts and turns and everything was on the dot with the dancing. The key moments in the story stood out because of the music; like when Lensky was killed. I liked the costumes by Allan Watkins, and how they were used to show that Tatiana had grown up into an elegant young lady and showed off her beauty; whereas when she was younger she wore quite simple not exactly gorgeous clothes. I loved most of all the mirror pas de duex by Sarah Lamb and then when Valeri Hristov appeared, the timing was so perfect and the whole concept of the mirror was very convincing. Overall, I thought the performance was marvellous and I really enjoyed it and I hope to see more ballets soon.
Julia Finkel, age 13

The return of Onegin to the Royal Opera House went down very well with the many schoolchildren who attended the special matinee performance on Tuesday 29th January. This ballet in three acts, created by Kurt-Heinz Stolze with music by Tchaikovsky and with John Cranko’s choreography appeared highly successful, and rightly so.
The opening scene of Madame Larina’s garden was created marvellously, capturing the country house flavour very successfully with skilfully painted leafy set designs (based on the 1969 originals) and choreography that added to the spacious feeling of the stage. Yasmine Naghdi and Dawid Trzensimiech presented Olga and Lensky’s pas de deux very prettily, while Sarah Lamb did a very good job of portraying Tatiana absorbed in her book. Then coming onto the scene for the first time, Valeri Hristov performed accurately as Onegin in his meeting and walking with Tatiana. The two performed well together from the beginning. Tatiana’s bedroom was designed masterfully, and the illusion of the full-length mirror worked a treat with the audience. Lamb and Hristov’s pas de deux was beautifully executed here, and drew the first act to a close very impressively.
Lovely acting in the second act, with the power of the drama successfully blended with virtuosic dancing. Hristov created a convincing heartbreak at Tatiana’s birthday party and Lensky’s anger at Onegin’s flirting with Olga was certainly compelling.
The period before the duel was created with great artistry with Onegin marching unwillingly to the confrontation he so unnecessarily created. The girls’ attempt to prevent the shots were also interestingly choreographed and made the scene much more powerful and impressive.
Lamb and Hristov created a stunning final scene, and they both proved themselves as actors here, in a fabulous ending.
The music was wonderful; the arrangement done by Stolze works brilliantly and conductor Dominic Grier produced a very nice sound with the ROH Orchestra, with notable performances in the viola solo and bass clarinet parts.
Of course, Hristov (Onegin) was met with booing from the younger members of the audience as the curtain came up for applause, but I must say he created a fabulous image of the tragic hero.
I thoroughly enjoyed this ballet, I found it very interesting to see how it had been created separately from the opera, and the performance of the dancers and musicians was superb.
Theo Finkel, age 16