The courage to be sincere
Eleanor Lyons says Tchaikovsky's heroine taught her that vulnerability is not weakness, and that sincerity takes more courage than detachment ever will.
Australian soprano Eleanor Lyons has sung on some of the world’s finest stages, but when it comes to Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, her connection runs unusually deep.
Lyons, who studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before training in Russia and the United Kingdom, has seen the opera performed at St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre at least 20 times. Now she is bringing that intimacy to West Australian Opera’s production, playing the lead role of Tatyana.
It is a role she has long felt drawn to, and not only for the music.
“She doesn’t die at the end!” Lyons pointed out. “In so many operas the female character dies, so I guess that made her stand out immediately.”
But it is Tatyana’s emotional courage that truly captivates her.
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