In December 1877, in Italy, the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) completed his Fourth Symphony, and a month later the opera "Eugen Onegin" which he designated as "lyrical scenes". Based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin, "Eugen Onegin" was first produced at the Maly Theatre by students of the Moscow Conservatory. The conductor was Nikolai Rubinstein. Picture shows Scene Four of the first production of the opera. 1879 Supplied By: SCRSS - Society for Co-operation in Russian & Soviet Studies