The opera season at the Mikhailovsky Theatre will close with a première staged by Vasily Barkhatov: the Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Opera is preparing his own version of Eugene Onegin. It is still too early to say who will be appearing in the title role of the opera, but Nicolas Lombaerts, the Zenit defender, has done his best to reproduce the image of Onegin for the theatre’s posters.

The production’s stage director, Vasily Barkhatov, who leads the Mikhailovsky Theatre opera company, talked to us about how Nicolas coped with the task.

“What gave you the unusual idea of using a footballer in the role of Onegin?”

“I was looking for a man of a particular type. I had a clear idea of the profile and expression I needed, but did not know where to find them. I discarded any number of possible candidates: actors, models, ballet dancers. Then our PR department approached Zenit, and the club came up with the suggestion to use Lombaerts — he had just the look I was after.”

“How did Nicolas handle the session? Was he difficult to work with at all?”

“It’s not the most pleasant thing to sit in a woollen suit under lights and maintain the same look and inner state for an hour. For a sportsman it must seem like complete idleness. But he approached the task with understanding and made a genuine effort to do what was needed. It never appeared to me that there was anything in this work that was alien or uncomfortable for him.”

“How much more difficult is it to photograph someone for an advertisement like this who is not a professional actor or model?”

“I think it depends on the individual, rather than on their profession. If someone has charisma and a unique inner substance, it will always work. From the very beginning I saw a quite specific picture and attempted to reproduce it; Nicolas quickly grasped this and was able to convey my idea. This also led to some new details emerging that I hadn’t thought of and hadn’t planned.”

“What might be the impact of having a footballer on a theatre poster?”

“Obviously the audience in the stalls will watch the last scene stripped to the waist!”

“Have you ever been to a football match? Do you follow a particular team?”

“I don’t have just one team that I support. But I have been to two Zenit matches at Petrovsky Stadium.”