Inside the rehearsals for Eugene Onegin:
Rafailas Karpis (Triquet)

Rafailas Karpis, a soloist from the Lithuanian National Opera Theatre, is rehearsing the role of Triquet:

“In Vasily Barkhatov’s production, Monsieur Triquet is a character who is always willing to make people laugh and lighten the mood, either for money or for a few drinks. The peasants in this village love teasing Tatiana. In the first act they bring a would-be suitor in to see her. On Tatiana’s name-day Monsieur Triquet is called; he comes in wearing a dress — for comic effect — and acts like a would-be designer, measuring Tatiana up for some hideous dress. It’s an uproarious scene, and the rest of the townsfolk are having a whale of a time — but Tatiana is not amused.”

“The wild merriment continues late into the night, and in the morning Monsieur Triquet appears in the guise of Monsieur Gillot for the duel between Lensky and Onegin. Nobody believes that the duel is actually going to take place. Everyone is simply having a good time.”