Actor Ralph Fiennes to Make Opera Directing Debut

The English actor will direct a production of Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin" at Paris's Palais Garnier

Paris's Palais Garnier has announced that English actor Ralph Fiennes will direct a new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin as part of its 2025/26 season. Fiennes will collaborate with conductor Semyon Bychkov, set designer Michael Levine, and costume designer Annemarie Woods.

The opera will run from January 26 to February 27, 2026, and its singers will include Boris Pinkhasovich in the title role, Ruzan Mantashyan as Tatiana, Bogdan Volkov as Lensky, and Susan Graham as Madame Larina.

Fiennes is closely acquainted with the plot of the opera: in 1999, he starred in the title role of the film Onegin, which was based on the same Pushkin novel. He appeared opposite Liv Tyler, and the film was directed by his sister Martha Fiennes.

Perhaps best known for the 1993 historical drama Schindler’s List and the 1996 romance The English Patient, Ralph Fiennes has more than 100 acting credits. He starred as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movie franchise, as Monsieur Gustave in Wes Anderson's 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel, and in several Shakespeare adaptations. Fiennes received a Tony Award for his portrayal of Hamlet in a 1995 Broadway production of the play.

"The figure of the melancholic man, disenchanted with the world, is often found in Russian literature," Fiennes said of the opera. "This condition of the human soul is absolutely timeless."