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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
David Jays

Onegin at the Royal Ballet review: a passionate tribute to longing and regret

Woulda coulda shoulda. The low hum of regret runs through Onegin, as a summer idyll turns to sorrow.

John Cranko’s 1965 ballet is based on Eugene Onegin. Less spiky than Pushkin’s original poem, less plush than Tchaikovsky’s opera, it’s a romance gone wrong. Two sisters enjoy country life – Tatiana has her story books, Olga her poet fiancé, Lensky. Then Lensky’s jaded pal Onegin arrives. Soon, he has spurned Tatiana’s crush on him, messed with his friend’s happiness, fought a pointless duel and ruined his own chance of joy.

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