ReviewHong Kong performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin subtle yet powerful

National Theatre Brno’s Eugene Onegin at the Hong Kong Arts Festival centred on Tatyana and featured lush music and a minimalist set

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Curtain call by the National Theatre Brno after its performance of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin at the 2026 Hong Kong Arts Festival on March 21. Photo: courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Festival

Published: 3:15pm, 24 Mar 2026Updated: 6:56pm, 24 Mar 2026

Since its first Hong Kong appearance in 2017 with the Asian premiere of The Makropulos Case, the National Theatre Brno has twice been awarded festival of the year for its Janacek Brno Festival at the International Opera Awards in 2018 and 2025, and best new production for The Excursions of Mr Broucek in 2025.

The thread connecting these distinctions is the modernist Leos Janacek (1854-1928), who spent most of his life in Brno, in the Czech Republic, and whose often-bracing music the company performs with a familiarity as recognisable to audiences as an idiosyncratic neighbour.

This year, with the National Theatre headlining its return to Hong Kong with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin – the opera’s first appearance at the Hong Kong Arts Festival – it turns out the company’s deeply personal approach with Janacek remains highly transferable.

Even in the best of productions, Onegin can be an awkward fit on the opera stage. Alexander Pushkin’s original novel can be summarised in a couple of sentences. A cynical aristocrat spurns the feelings of a naive young girl and kills his best friend in a senseless duel. Years later, he returns to find the young girl is now an elegant, married socialite who rejects him in kind.

A scene from the production of Eugene Onegin during the 2026 Hong Kong Arts Festival. This photo was taken on March 19 and features a different cast from the March 21 performance reviewed. Photo: Patrik Borecky

While few have ever criticised Tchaikovsky’s score – a near-flawless blend of solo, ensemble and choral singing with exquisite orchestration – the composer felt the story lacked drama.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}National Theatre Brno’s Eugene Onegin at the Hong Kong Arts Festival centred on Tatyana and featured lush music and a minimalist set

National Theatre Brno’s Eugene Onegin at the Hong Kong Arts Festival centred on Tatyana and featured lush music and a minimalist set