Inside the rehearsals for Eugene Onegin:
Dmitry Korchak (Lensky)

Dmitry Korchak is rehearsing for the part of Lensky:

“For me, Lensky is one of the essential parts a Russian tenor can sing. I played this role for the first time in Moscow under Evgeny Kolobov’s direction, and later in Italy, Spain, and Austria. More than anything else, it was a delight to share the stage with Anna Netrebko and Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the Vienna State Opera, and to receive such an incredibly warm reception from the audience, who had the chance to hear a Russian rendition of one of the great works in Russian music. I have yet to perform on St. Petersburg’s operatic stage, so it’s with great anticipation that I await the premiere of Eugene Onegin at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. An incredibly strong group of soloists has been brought together for this production.”

“You can’t simply sing the part of Lensky; rather you have to become a poet, you have to learn to see the world through his eyes. Lensky is a typical poet, seeing life in a completely different and colourful light. All kinds of details, which might seem uninteresting or trivial to an ordinary person, take on an intense poetic quality for him. In the poet’s eyes, a day can last an eternity, and a word tossed away carelessly can maim or kill. It’s also worth remembering that Lensky is in love, and so all his feelings are intensified even further. He steals every possible glance from his beloved Olga, watching her every gesture. When I’m working on the role I always find myself coming back to my own first love. Nonetheless, every Lensky I’ve played has stood out from the others. As I’ve grown older, my understanding of the character has probably grown deeper and become more complete. My own life and experiences have of course had an influence here, as well as my performances of other operas. Playing the part of Werther, for example, greatly enriched my interpretation of Lensky, while conversely, Lensky helped me in my study of Werther. The two characters are actually very similar in their outlook.”