[On Stage] The Worse Man Onegin Has Returned

Universal Ballet Dancers Couple Lee Hyun-jun & Son Yu-hee Star in 'Onegin'... Based on Pushkin's Novel
Lee Hyun-jun's Fifth Time as Onegin Since 2009 Premiere... Son Yu-hee's First Tatiana Role in Korea
"Conveying Realistic Emotions Is Key... More Heartfelt as a Couple Together"

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] 'Onegin' is considered the essence of drama ballet. It depicts the mismatched love between Tatiana, a simple country girl, and Onegin, an arrogant nobleman from the city.

The Stuttgart Ballet from Germany became a world-renowned ballet company on the foundation of 'Onegin.' 'Onegin' is the representative work of John Cranko (1927?1973), a South African-born ballet choreographer who served as the artistic director of the Stuttgart Ballet from 1961 to 1973. The premiere took place in 1965. 'Onegin' was also the retirement piece chosen by National Ballet of Korea director Soo-jin Kang in 2016, when she retired from the Stuttgart Ballet.

Universal Ballet's star principal dancer couple Jae-yong Eom and Hye-min Hwang also decorated their retirement stage with 'Onegin' in 2017. Another principal dancer couple from Universal Ballet will appear in the 'Onegin' performance opening on the 18th at the Chungmu Art Center Grand Theater. The couple Hyun-joon Lee (35) and Yu-hee Son (36) will perform the lead roles of 'Tatiana' and 'Onegin' together on stage three times. Universal Ballet premiered 'Onegin' in Korea in 2009. This is the fifth performance.

Hyun-joon Lee explained, "Because it is a drama ballet, conveying the story is important," adding, "Dancers need to convey emotions to the audience better than in other works." Being a married couple might be an advantage in delivering heartfelt emotions.

"It seems that more poignant emotions come out. Dancing together as a married couple is not an easy task. When we actually did it, we ended up expecting more from each other and clashing more. So we talk more. 'Onegin' is a work where we most want the audience to feel our emotions as much as possible. We always talk, study, and practice about how to express even the smallest details emotionally."

Hyunjoon Lee · Yuhee Son 2020 'Onegin' rehearsal scene ⓒUniversal Ballet - Photo by Kyoungjin Kim

Hyunjoon Lee · Yuhee Son 2020 'Onegin' rehearsal scene ⓒUniversal Ballet - Photo by Kyoungjin Kim

Hyun-joon Lee has always played Onegin from the premiere in 2009 to this fifth performance. Yu-hee Son played Tatiana's sister Olga in the 2009 and 2011 performances. The couple worked together at the Tulsa Ballet in the United States from 2013 to 2017. In the 2016 'Onegin' performance, Yu-hee Son played Tatiana for the first time. This is her first time playing Tatiana in Korea.

"I think Tatiana is a role that can be taken on not only when a dancer has technical skill and physical beauty but also when she can express maturity and has the ability to captivate the audience. So I remember feeling excited and overwhelmed when I first took on Tatiana in 2016. At first, I wondered if I could really do it, but after the performance, I received good reviews and gained a lot of confidence."

'Onegin' is based on the verse novel 'Eugene Onegin' written over nine years by Russian novelist Alexander Pushkin (1799?1837). Tatiana falls in love at first sight with Onegin, who comes from the city, and courts him. However, Onegin coldly rejects her. Later, Tatiana marries Prince Gremin. Years later, the noblewoman Tatiana reunites with Onegin in Saint Petersburg. Onegin realizes his love too late and courts Tatiana. Tatiana is tormented but ultimately rejects Onegin's advances.

The setting of a country girl becoming a noblewoman recalls the French opera 'Manon.' The scene where Tatiana and Onegin reunite in Saint Petersburg and fall into passionate love evokes the Russian literary master Leo Tolstoy's (1829?1910) novel 'Anna Karenina.' Both 'Manon' and 'Anna Karenina,' like 'Onegin,' are works that sing of the mismatched, passionate love between two men and women.

Hyun-joon Lee said, "'Onegin' is not a fairy tale like 'Swan Lake' but deals with realistic stories, so the content is well conveyed, and even audiences unfamiliar with ballet can enjoy it," adding, "To exaggerate a bit, you can immerse yourself as if watching a drama like 'The World of the Married.'"

Hyunjoon Lee · Yuhee Son 2016 Tulsa Ballet 'Onegin' Performance in the USA Candidly Created Francisco Estevez Photography

Hyun-joon Lee hinted that the work is more interesting when comparing the contrasting aspects of the characters. Besides Onegin, an important male role is Lensky, Onegin's friend.

"Director Jane Burn compares Lensky and Onegin to the sun and the moon. Lensky is always bright, energetic, and passionate about love, while Onegin is always dark and gloomy like the moon. Tatiana and Olga also contrast. Tatiana is a modest girl always absorbed in books, while Olga is innocent and happily enjoys Lensky's affection."

Hyun-joon Lee said, "To maximize the dramatic elements, ballet portrays Onegin's character as a worse man than in the novel," adding, "He must be expressed as more cruel, heartless, and cold, which is a challenge for the dancer."

Tatiana, who must express a woman's mature transformation, is also a difficult role. Yu-hee Son said, "It is very difficult to express Tatiana's change from the girl image in Acts 1 and 2 to the mature woman in Act 3," calling it "a special work because of its difficulty."

"Tatiana is the same character, but because time passes and the surrounding environment changes, I have to play a completely different character. When I played Olga before, I could just express myself, but Tatiana requires expressing a more mature woman. Now that I have children and have matured, I sometimes think Tatiana suits me better, but expressing the character is another matter."

Deep contemplation likely means the desire to express a difficult but attractive work well. Hyun-joon Lee considers himself lucky to have performed 'Onegin' since childhood.

"Dance without emotion is inevitably bland. After experiencing drama ballet, I realized that. So I have been able to try to dance with emotion even in other ballets."