Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's lyrical opera "Eugene Onegin" is based on Alexander Pushkin's verse novel, a masterpiece of Russian literature. The story depicts Onegin's remorse after rejecting the young Tatyana and the fatal duel he instigates in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is structured in 'lyrical scenes', as Tchaikovsky called them, with music that expresses the characters' feelings with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist stage design, director Laurent Pelly's production emphasizes the lightness and sadness of the theme while at the same time fully expressing the characters' fantasies and inner torments. Alain Altinoglu conducts the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and the choir with a cast of outstanding singers: Sally Matthews, soprano; Bernadetta Grabias, Cristina Melis, Lilly Jorstad, mezzo-soprano; Bogdan Volkov, tenor; Stephane Degout, baritone and Nicolas Courjal, bass.