‘Anything Can Happen’: Performing the Heroine of ‘Eugene Onegin’

The soprano Asmik Grigorian is starring as Tatiana, one of her signature roles, in Tchaikovsky’s classic at the Metropolitan Opera.

By Simon Morrison

The soprano Asmik Grigorian is one of the most sought-after singers in the world. And she is now performing one of her signature roles — Tatiana, the heroine of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” — at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Grigorian, 44, grew up in Vilnius, Lithuania, the daughter of an Armenian tenor and a Lithuanian soprano. Following in her parents’ footsteps, she became an opera singer, beginning her career abroad before establishing herself at home. Her profile continues to grow, in part because of her rare silky, steely, light-dark voice type of Falcon soprano and her immersive approach to acting.

Photo credit: The soprano Asmik Grigorian, who is singing in “Eugene Onegin” at the Metropolitan Opera through May 16. | James Estrin/The New York Times