Eugene Onegin staged in Beijing

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Opera fans were treated with a feast on Sunday night, courtesy of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. It was a performance of Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" and represents the first time a Chinese audience saw a full-length opera transported entirely from the Bolshoi.

Rural life in 19th century Russia is presented through the literary classic "Eugene Onegin." The opera is adapted from Alexander Pushkin's eponymous novel, and is a signature piece of the Bolshoi Theater composed by Tchaikovsky. It premiered in 1879 and has been performed around the world ever since, breaking all records for opera production longevity.

The opera centers on the eponymous hero, Eugene Onegin, who is bored with urban life and moves to the countryside. There he meets the pure and fantasy-minded Tatyana who falls in love with him. But Onegin refuses her love, only to find years later that she is the one he has a crush on, too. By then, Tatyana has become the wife of someone else.

The opera delivers themes of love, loyalty, friendship, and betrayal. It portrays the lives and inner world of youngsters in 1830's Russia. The piece has moved countless viewers with its realism, inherited from the novel, during the 130 years since its debut.