Eugene Onegin

Since making her debut in 2015 as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Ailyn Pérez’s Met repertory has been rich with the works of Italian and French composers like Puccini, Gounod, and Massenet. During the 2021–22 season, the Mexican American soprano made her first foray into the Russian repertoire, making her role debut as Tatiana, the bookish heroine of Eugene Onegin. In this radio broadcast, James Gaffigan conducts Tchaikovsky’s poetic masterpiece, leading a cast that also features baritone Igor Golovatenko as the titular cad, who initially rejects Tatiana’s affections, only to realize his true feelings when it’s too late. Tenor Piotr Beczała and mezzo-soprano Varduhi Abrahamyan are the ill-fated young lovers Lenski and Olga, with bass Ain Anger rounding out the cast as Prince Gremin.