Act I
Scene 2: Tatiana’s Bedroom
Tatiana, her imagination aflame with impetuous first-love, dreams of Onegin and writes him a passionate love-letter which she gives to her nurse to deliver.
Act II
Scene 1: Tatiana’s Birthday
The provincial gentry have come to celebrate Tatiana’s birthday. They gossip about Lensky’s infatuation with Olga and whisper prophecies of a dawning romance between Tatiana and the newcomer. Onegin finds the company boring. Stifling his yawns, he finds it difficult to be civil to them: furthermore, he is irritated by Tatiana’s letter that he regards merely as an outburst of adolescent love. He seeks out Tatiana, and telling her that he cannot love her, tears up the letter.
Photo by Gene Schiavone. © Copyright 2013 Ballet Theatre Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.