Neither, however, quite had the vocal oomph to deliver Tchaikovsky’s emotional tug. Akhmetshina, as her sister Olga, lit up the stage like a 1,000-watt bulb, with animated, adorable reactions to everything going on around her. Muraveva bubbled with nervous enthusiasm as her Tatyana experienced falling in love for the first time and developed into a woman with grace and elegance in the final scene. Soprano Evgenia Muraveva, a new name on the opera scene internationally, and mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, who will be singing the role of Maddalena in the Metropolitan Opera’s Rigoletto in November, both charmed with distinctively different stage personas.

The two Russians in lead roles seemed to be stepping carefully through the music. He steered a straight course through Tchaikovsky’s music, even when the emotional waves needed to get bigger. debut, conductor Vassilis Christopoulos, a regular at Greek National Opera in Athens, set a careful tone that had energy and precision.

On that occasion, Nicola Luisotti conducted for the final time as the company’s music director, and he delivered authentic Verdi with his usual flair. The last time SFO deployed a cast with all the major roles played by singers new to the company was La traviata in 2017, when soprano Aurelia Floriam, tenor Italia Ayan and baritone Artur Ruciński wowed in the leads. But with few exceptions, their voices lacked the distinctiveness of their stage presences. This cast sang all the music accurately, acted their roles with individuality and looked great in designer Michael Levine’s period costumes. The sleek, colorful Robert Carsen production has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera since 1997 (and on television worldwide). While the new faces didn’t exactly hit the jackpot, they got the job done in the opening performance of Tchaikovsky’s tuneful opera on Sunday. San Francisco Opera rolled the dice on its Eugene Onegin, assigning four major roles to (mostly) young singers who have not quite made the star level internationally. (HS) The letter scene with Evgenia Muraveva (Tatyana) © Corey Weaver

United States Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin: Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera / Vassilis Christopoulos (conductor).

San francisco opera theater