Inside the rehearsals for Eugene Onegin:
The Extras

Extra Viktor Krylov is preparing to play the role of the ‘unlikely bridegroom’.

“I’m lucky — I’m playing a part in this production that doesn’t exist either in Pushkin’s original text or in Tchaikovsky’s score. My character was invented by the director, Vasily Barkhatov. The people in the village in which the Larins arrive love fooling around. In one scene, the peasants go to a drunk man’s house, dress him up as a groom, and try to persuade him to marry Tatiana. For them it’s all fun and games, but my character takes everything that is happening at face value. The entire wedding ceremony takes place in the courtyard of the Larins’ residence, although the man thinks he is entering a church and that he and Tatiana are approaching the altar... He starts to hallucinate and sees a luxurious wedding ball, then embraces Tatiana and starts dancing with her. Tatiana — scared out of her wits — breaks away and runs through the dance circle, and he’s left on his own... He looks puzzled for a moment, then immediately tries to marry Olga instead.

This role requires a lot of acting on my part and I’m excited to be working on this character. I’m re-reading books about the Russian countryside and studying the mentality of rural men in those days.”