Based on Alexander Pushkin’s iconic verse novel, the opera Eugene Onegin reimagines the Byronic romantic anti-hero as the definitive bored Russian aristocrat caught between convention and ennui.

At the core of the opera is a young girl, Tatiana, who grows from a sentimental adolescent into a complete woman in one of the operatic stage’s most convincing character arcs.

In the original opera, Pushkin presents a vast overview of old Russian society around 1820, which Tchaikovsky devices into three acts: from the timeless rituals of country life to the rural gentry with its troubles and pleasures, and finally, to the glittering imperial aristocracy of St Petersburg.

The Met’s production takes viewers to the later 19th century, precisely at the time of the opera’s premiere.

The opera is being screened tomorrow at St James Cavalier, Valletta, at 2.30pm. For more information and tickets, visit www.kreattivita.org.