A few weeks ago, I flipped on the radio as I headed to The Sun and found myself in the third movement of Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony. Something about the performance grabbed me instantly, the liveliness of the playing, the power of the phrasing. I just had to hear the rest of the work, so I ended up staying in my car in the parking garage right through the intense drive of the finale. Afterward, I expected the radio announcer to identify a Russian orchestra and conductor. Instead, it turned out to be the Saint Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin. I recalled that experience Monday night as I listened at the Kennedy Center to Slatkin leading the National Symphony Orchestra in a concert version of Tchaikovsky's opera, Eugene Onegin. The things I loved about that Second Symphony recording were in abundance here -- especially the extra propulsion where it counted, as at the end of the famous Act 2 Waltz. But Slatkin's sensitivity to the gentler portions of the score proved just as appealing. He caught the opera's emotional bittersweetness to telling effect throughout, and he generated from cast and orchestra alike a remarkable expressive impact.

 In the title role, seasoned baritone Sergei Leiferkus might not have sounded like the 20-something anti-hero of the libretto, but he sang with abundant nuance and, except for some strain at the upper reaches, solidity. Irina Mataeva was a marvelous Tatiana, her tone rich and penetrating, her characterization involving. Daniil Shtoda's tenor was a little too light for the role of Lensky, but his singing was quite eloquent. Ekaterina Semenchuk (Olga), Irina Tchistjakova (Larina) and Mzia Nioradze (Filipyevna) produced a great deal of sumptuous tone and animated phrasing. Gustav Andreassen sang Prince Gremin's aria nobly. Robert Baker delivered the little solo of Monsieur Triquet with admirable subtlety and charm. The Washington Chorus handled its assignment colorfully.

One of the best things about hearing operas in concert form is the opportunity to savor the fullness of the orchestration, something not always encountered, for one reason or another, in regular stage productions. (I wish the Baltimore Symphony would wake up to the possibilities of concert opera.) Other than some questionable articulation or tuning in the winds, the NSO dug into Tchaikovsky's music impressively, with the strings offering especially elegant work.

As he winds down his 12 seasons at the helm (this was his penultimate program), Slatkin seems to be in top form. His beautifully molded account of Eugene Onegin can be added to the most memorable achievements of his tenure.   

Photo by Steve J. Sherman