Eugene Onegin, Op. 71 (1936)

Eugene Onegin, Op. 71, is one of Sergei Prokofiev’s most ambitious yet "forgotten" masterpieces, composed in 1936 during a period of immense creative output following his permanent return to the Soviet Union. The work was commissioned by the Kamerny Theatre in Moscow to celebrate the centenary of Alexander Pushkin’s death. Unlike Tchaikovsky’s famous opera, Prokofiev’s Eugene Onegin was designed as incidental music for a theatrical dramatization of Pushkin’s verse novel, intended to stay truer to the original text's satirical and ironic tone.

The scale of the project was massive, with Prokofiev composing 44 musical numbers for an orchestra of nearly 50 players. However, the production never reached the stage. Amidst the tightening grip of Stalinist cultural censorship and the "formalism" debates of 1936, the director Alexander Tairov fell out of favor, and the production was abruptly cancelled during rehearsals. The music remained unperformed in its entirety for decades, with Prokofiev eventually salvaging several themes for his later works, most notably his opera War and Peace and his Cinderella ballet.

Musically, the score is a vivid realization of Pushkin's characters. It features sweeping, romantic melodies for Tatiana, sharp and motoric rhythms for the dueling scenes, and a series of sophisticated dances—including a harpsichord-infused Minuet and a grand Polonaise—that evoke the 19th-century Russian aristocracy. The score is notable for its use of a narrator or actors speaking over the music (melodeclamation), a technique Prokofiev used to maintain the rhythm of Pushkin’s poetry. It wasn't until 1980 that the work was finally reconstructed and premiered, revealing a missing link in Prokofiev's "Pushkiniana" that bridges the gap between his modernist past and his lyrical Soviet style.

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Lensky at Dmitri Larin’s Grave
1. Lento – L’istesso tempo
2. Lento – L’istesso tempo – Poco più mosso – Tempo I
Lensky and Onegin
3. Andante dolce
4. Andante dolce [Onegin sings]
And So She Was Called Tatyana
5. Adagio
They Fly Home by the Shortest Road with Full speed
6. Adagio
Tatyana in the Garden
7. Adagio
Tatyana and the Nurse
8. Meno adagio
9. Passionato
Tatyana’s Letter
10. L ento
11. A dagio
12. Passionato
Onegin Receives Tatyana’s Letter
13. Andante [Onegin sings]
14. Andante
15. Adagio
16. Andante
Onegin’s Refusal
17. A ndante (q = 84) – L’istesso tempo
Lensky and Onegin
18. Andante dolce
19. Adagio
Tatyana’s Dream
20. Andante
21. Allegro moderato – Poco meno
22. Andante
23. Moderato
24. Moderato
The Ball at the Larin’s
25. Polka for two Harpsichords (Allegro – Assai meno mosso)
26. Waltz (Lento – Poco più mosso)
27. Polka (Allegro – Assai meno mosso)
28. Minuet (Andante)
29. Mazurka (Allegro sostenuto– Pocchissimo più tranquillo – Tempo I – Andante espressivo)
30. Waltz (Lento – Poco meno mosso)
31. Amoroso [with mixed choir] (Allegro)
Duel
32. Lento – L’istesso tempo
33. Moderato – Andante dolce
Tatyana Visits Onegin’s Home
34. Lento
Tatyana in Front of Napoleon’s Bust
35. Andante
36. Andante
G oodbye Peaceful Valleys
37. Lento
38. Allegro con brio
39. Waltz (Grazioso)
40. Minuet (Andante)
Meeting of Onegin and Tatyana at a Petersburg Ball
41. Molto andante – Meno mosso – Passionato
Onegin’s Letter to Tayana
42. Andante con tristezza
43. Andante – Lento
Last Meeting of Onegin with Tatyana
44. Molto teneroso – Lento
app endix
I . Tatyana’s Leitmotivs
II . The Students’ Song [with male choir] (Allegro moderato)