John Cranko's masterpiece based on Alexander Pushkin's classic tale of romantic tragedy tells the story of the love between the shy Tatjana and the dandy Onegin.
Ballet in three acts by John Cranko, based on Alexander Pushkin
First performance of the first version on 13 April 1965. First performance of the second version on 27 October 1967 at the Stuttgart Ballet.
Music by Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky, arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze
Premiere
27. June 2026
Dates & Cast
- Conductor Simon Hewett (27., 30. June, 03., 10., 12. July, 18., 25., 27. September, 02., 05. October 2026), Robert Houssart (05., 06., 27., 30. March, 01., 25., 26. April 2027)
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Simon Hewett
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Robert Houssart
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Robert Houssart
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
- Conductor Robert Houssart
- Choreography & Staging John Cranko
- Music arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky
- Set & Costumes Jürgen Rose
- Lighting Design Steen Bjarke
- Copyright Choreography Reid Anderson-Graefe
- Staged by Jane Bourne
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Generously supported by the Stiftung Semperoper – Förderstiftung
And more
In brief
John Cranko’s Onegin is regarded as the most successful full-length narrative ballet of the second half of the 20th century and the only one that can hold a candle to key works of the classic repertoire such as Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty. Based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin (1833), the work was premiered by the Stuttgart Ballet in 1965 and played a key role in the so-called “Stuttgart Ballet miracle”. Over the past 60 years, Onegin has conquered ballet stages around the world. Now Cranko’s masterpiece, which uses the music of Tchaikovsky, is coming to the Semperoper stage for the first time. At the heart of the work are two complex protagonists: the shy young woman Tatiana, who falls head over heels in love with the arrogant dandy Onegin, who, in turn, brusquely rejects her love and abruptly destroys any hope of a loving relationship. It is only after some years that Onegin appreciates what he has rejected: the love of his life. Sadly, the realisation comes too late – Tatiana is lost to him. Cranko’s choreography is a wonderful partner piece to Tchaikovsky’s most popular Russian opera, Eugene Onegin (1879), with which it shares only the story by Pushkin, whose novel is a veritable classic of world literature. The music for Onegin was arranged and orchestrated by Cranko’s music director Kurt-Heinz Stolze, who knew exactly how to guide and accompany the drama and emotional shifts in this truly gripping ballet. Countless dancers have followed in the footsteps of the original principals Marcia Haydée and Ray Barra. Now a new generation of performers is waiting in Dresden to fill these iconic roles with life and tell the poignant love story through the language of dance.
Storyline
Act I
Scene One
Madame Larina’s garden
Madame Larina, her daughter Olga and the nurse are sewing dresses for the birthday of Olga’s sister Tatiana, who is only interested in her books. Girls from the neighbourhood arrive and play an old folk game: the girls look in the mirror, hoping to see their beloved. Lensky, a young poet engaged to Olga, introduces his friend Onegin. Tatiana, full of youthful and romantic fantasies, falls in love with the elegant stranger, so different from the country people she knows. Onegin, on the other hand, sees only a naïve girl who reads too many novels.
Scene Two
Tatiana’s bedroom
Tatiana, her imagination aflame with impetuous first love, dreams of Onegin and writes him a passionate love letter. In her dream, an ideal image of Onegin appears in the mirror. She urges her nurse to deliver her letter to him.
Act II
Scene One
Madame Larina’s House
The provincial gentry have gathered to celebrate Tatiana’s birthday. Lensky and Onegin are also invited. Onegin is bored by the company and finds it difficult to be civil. Tatiana anxiously awaits his reply. Onegin tears up her letter before her eyes. Tatiana’s despair, instead of awaking pity, merely increases his displeasure. Prince Gremin, a distant relative of Madame Larina, appears and takes care of the distraught Tatiana, who barely pays him any attention. Bored and annoyed, Onegin begins to flirt with Olga, taking his game so far that Lensky challenges him to a duel.
Scene Two
A lonely park
Tatiana and Olga desperately try to calm Lensky and to resolve the dispute. Onegin is willing to reconcile, but Lensky insists that the duel take place. Before Tatiana and Olga’s eyes, Onegin kills his friend.
Act III
Scene One
Prince Gremin’s ballroom in St Petersburg
Years later, Onegin attends a ball at Prince Gremin’s palace. Gremin has married, and to Onegin’s great surprise, he recognises in the refined and elegant Princess Tatiana, the insignificant country girl he had once rejected. He believes he has found in her the great love that would have given his life meaning. Suddenly, memories of his past flood back to him: he remembers his numerous love affairs, the duel with Lensky, and the young Tatiana, whom he had spurned.
Scene Two
Tatiana’s boudoir
Tatiana has received a love letter from Onegin, but she does not wish to meet him. In vain she pleads with her unsuspecting husband not to leave her alone this evening. Onegin appears and tries to win her back. Tatiana struggles with her feelings, but eventually, she tears up his letter before his eyes. Onegin rushes away in despair; Tatjana remains in her room, equally desperate.
