Act I

Scene 1

With her devoted servant Filippyevna, the widowed Madame Larina sits on the garden of her country estate. Her daughters, Olga and Tatyana, sing a love song that reminds the older women of days gone by. Peasants coming from the fields bring freshly cut hay for their mistress and celebrate the completion of the harvest with songs and dances. Olga taunts Tatyana for failing to enjoy the festivities. Pale and shy, Tatyana remains pensive and apart, wrapped in the fantasy of her beloved novels. As the peasants leave, the poet Lensky, Olga’s suitor, and his worldy friend Eugene Onegin arrive. When Madame Larina and Filippyevna enter the house, the four young people mingle, awkwardly at first. Then Lensky pours forth his love to Olga. Onegin, strolling with Tatyana, asks if she does not tire of her bucolic existence. Visibly upset by the handsome stranger, the girl answers with difficulty. As night falls, the two couples go in for dinner.