Natalia Osipova on Onegin (The Royal Ballet)

A bittersweet ballet of first love and regret - Principal of The Royal Ballet Natalia Osipova prepares for her debut performance as Tatiana in John Cranko's Onegin set to Tchaikovsky’s soaring music. John Cranko became acquainted with Alexander Pushkin’s verse-novel Eugene Onegin when he choreographed the dances for Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky’s opera of the same name in 1952. He created his own distinctive version of Pushkin’s work in 1965 for the Stuttgart Ballet. Onegin displays all of Cranko’s genius as a narrative choreographer, featuring finely drawn characters who are transformed by the conflicts they face. Onegin and Tatiana’s relationship is depicted in intense duets, such as the letter-writing scene, when the youthful Tatiana dances a dream pas de deux with her longed-for lover. The role of Tatiana offers a ballerina many challenges – the development of a bookish country girl into a sophisticated woman at the pinnacle of St Petersburg society requires dramatic sensibility and technical finesse. Cranko’s choreography incorporates an eclectic range of dance forms, including folk, modern, ballroom and acrobatic, and is accompanied by Kurt-Heinz Stolze’s soaring arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s music, drawing principally on his works for piano.