Eugene Onegin is an opera composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto, organized by the composer and Konstantin Shilovsky, very closely follows certain passages in Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse, retaining much of his poetry. Eugene Onegin is a well-known example of lyric opera, to which Tchaikovsky added music of a dramatic nature. The story concerns a selfish hero who lives to regret his rejection of a young woman's love and his careless incitement of a fatal duel with his best friend.
The opera was first performed in Moscow in 1879. This 1988 recording stars Mirella Freni, Thomas Allen and Neil Shicoff. James Levine conducts.
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