Experience the world ballet masterpiece 'Eugene Onegin' in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
WVR - Following the success of “Anna Karenina” in 2025, the renowned Russian ballet troupe Eifman Ballet will return to Vietnam in October 2026 with "Eugene Onegin" – one of the works choreographed by Boris Eifman, considered one of the most outstanding in his creative career. On June 26, tickets for the 8 performances in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will officially go on sale.
Latest
 |
| First premiered in St. Petersburg on March 3, 2009, Eugene Onegin is a two-act ballet created by legendary choreographer Boris Eifman, adapted from the verse novel of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. (Source: Eifman Ballet) |
Accordingly, Eugene Onegin will be performed from October 21-24 at Hoa Binh Theater (Ho Chi Minh City) and from October 28 to 31, 2026, at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace (Hanoi). The program is licensed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) in collaboration with the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet.
The event continues the journey of bringing the world's top artistic works closer to Vietnamese audiences, while also contributing to promoting cultural exchange between Vietnam and the Russian Federation through performing arts.
Pushkin's masterpiece from a contemporary perspective
This is the second time Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg performs in Vietnam as part of the troupe's international tour. If Anna Karenina once took audiences to one of the most famous love tragedies in Russian literature, then Eugene Onegin continues to open up the world of the great poet Alexander Pushkin – where youthful aspirations, fateful choices, and belated regrets are told through the emotionally rich language of ballet.
First premiered in St. Petersburg on March 3, 2009, Eugene Onegin is a two-act ballet created by legendary choreographer Boris Eifman, adapted from the verse novel of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.
Rather than recreating the original 19th-century Russia, Boris Eifman places the characters in a modern setting – a society in transition, where old values disintegrate and new rules gradually form. Through this, Pushkin's classic story becomes a universal work about aspirations, love, choices, and human regrets today.
Sharing about this approach, choreographer Boris Eifman once stated: “I want to prove that the history of human relationships develops in a spiral and always repeats.” He also sees in Pushkin's work elements of "pre-psychoanalysis," where dreams, obsessions, and the inner world of the characters are depicted long before Sigmund Freud's time.
 |
| The fusion of classical ballet and contemporary music creates an artistic space that is both familiar and novel. (Source: Eifman Ballet) |
One of the unique features of Eugene Onegin is the bold combination of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's music with rock compositions by Alexander Sitkovetsky. The fusion of classical ballet and contemporary music creates an artistic space that is both familiar and novel, highlighting the psychologically rich dance language – a style that has become Boris Eifman's trademark.
Stage design by Zinovy Margolin; costumes by Olga Shaishmelashvili, Pyotr Okunev, and Anna Yakushchenko; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinsky along with Boris Eifman.
The performance lasts about two hours, including two acts and an intermission.
When academic art dialogues with the pulse of the era
According to choreographer Boris Eifman, Eugene Onegin is: “A performance aimed at the youth – about young people, about the aesthetics in their relationships, combined with classical and rock music.”
From its premiere in St. Petersburg, the work attracted a large young audience – a group that rarely visits ballet theaters. For Eifman, this is proof that academic art can indeed dialogue with the pulse of the era if told in a new language.
In the structure of the work, he particularly focuses on the maturation journey of the character Tatyana – from a shy provincial girl to a mature woman among the elite. According to Eifman, it is this inner transformation, rather than just the love story, that is the core of the performance.
For Boris Eifman, Eugene Onegin is not merely an adaptation of a classic Russian literary work but also a special milestone in his creative career spanning nearly half a century.
He once affirmed that it is “an outstanding work even among my own ballets,” and also noted that it is the most financially invested performance in his entire career. The entire stage system, costumes, and lighting design were newly created to realize the artistic ideas he had cherished for many years.
“I have achieved everything I ever dreamed of” – Boris Eifman shared about Eugene Onegin.
Not only has it captivated experts, but Eugene Onegin has also become one of Eifman Ballet's most successful works on the international stage. Since its debut in 2009, the performance has been staged in over 40 countries and continuously featured in the troupe's major tours across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
More than 15 years since its first performance in St. Petersburg, Eugene Onegin is still regarded as one of Eifman Ballet's most iconic works, where literature, music, and dance converge to tell a story that transcends all boundaries of time, space, and audience generations.
 |
| Following the success of "Anna Karenina" in 2025, Vietnamese audiences have shown increasing interest in world-class academic art works. (Source: Eifman Ballet) |
Vietnam - A noteworthy destination on the touring map of the World's leading art troupes
In recent years, Eugene Onegin has continuously appeared at major art centers in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In 2023, the troupe first brought the work to China with a series of performances in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi'an, Suzhou, and Beijing; followed by tours in Israel, Brazil, Dubai, and many Central Asian countries during the 2024-2025 season.
Vietnam's continued appearance in Eifman Ballet's international tour in 2026 holds special significance. Following the success of Anna Karenina in 2025, Vietnamese audiences have shown increasing interest in world-class academic art works. This reception not only facilitates the realization of large-scale projects but also contributes to making Vietnam an increasingly important destination on the touring map of the world's leading art troupes.
Behind programs like Anna Karenina and Eugene Onegin is the persistent effort of the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) along with Artistic Director Nguyen Bao Anh in building an international cooperation network and developing an audience for academic art in Vietnam.
Through large-scale projects, SPO not only brings the world's classic works closer to domestic audiences but also helps affirm Vietnam's organizational capabilities for international art programs.
The return of Eifman Ballet is thus not merely a performance event. It is also a sign that Vietnam is gradually asserting its position in the global cultural exchange flow, becoming a new rendezvous for the pinnacle of artistic values.
From June 26, audiences can purchase tickets to see Eugene Onegin on platforms such as Ticketbox, Ticketmelon, MetaTicket, and TicketVN.
