The Creative Team of Eugene Onegin
- Behind the Scenes
Meet the brilliant minds behind Eugene Onegin
Yuri Possokhov
Yuri Possokhov has become one of today’s most dynamic choreographic voices. After a celebrated international performance career—including a decade with San Francisco Ballet—he shifted to creating works that blend classical precision with bold theatricality. Possokhov’s ballets, from sweeping story pieces to edgy contemporary creations, are known for their musical boldness and emotional charge. As a frequent collaborator with major companies worldwide, he has reimagined classics and crafted original narratives, earning a reputation for choreography that is both deeply human and irresistibly cinematic.
Ilya Demutsky
Ilya Demutsky is a celebrated composer, conductor, and performer. Born in 1983, Demutsky studied choral conducting at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory and later earned a Master of Music Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on a Fulbright scholarship. He rose to prominence in ballet and theater: his score for the full-length ballet A Hero of Our Time (premiered in 2015 at the Bolshoi Theatre) brought him the esteemed Golden Mask Award for Best Composer in Musical Theatre. His music has since accompanied major works such as Possokhov’s Nureyev and Anna Karenina, performed around the world with acclaim. Demutsky also composes film scores, and he was honored as “European Composer of 2016” by the European Film Academy.
Tim Yip
Tim Yip is a Hong Kong–born visual artist whose innovative work has transformed film, theater, opera, ballet, and contemporary art worldwide. He rose to international prominence for his art direction and costume design on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design. His bold, poetic designs have earned him global acclaim and led him to stage major exhibitions, design for opera and ballet, and collaborate with top directors. Critics and audiences praise his work as “cinematic beauty with Eastern soul,” noting his uncanny ability to evoke powerful mood and cultural resonance through color, texture, and space.
Tom Pye
Tom Pye is a British set and production designer renowned for his versatility across
theater, opera, ballet, film, and television. After studying theater design at the Wimbledon School of Art, he built a global career collaborating with leading directors and companies around the world. Pye’s credits span iconic Broadway plays like Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Glass Menagerie, major West End productions, top-tier operas, as well as ballets like Anna Karenina and The Nutcracker. Critics and colleagues praise Pye for his ability to reshape theatrical space with emotional and visual intelligence, transforming scenes into immersive worlds that amplify drama, music, and movement.
Jim French
Jim French is a praised lighting designer whose work has illuminated performances across dance, theater, and live events in more than 25 countries. After a nine-season tenure as resident designer for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, he has crafted lighting for over 15 world premieres at San Francisco Ballet. Known for his striking ability to shape mood and movement, French’s work has accompanied works for American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Ballet West, earning admiration from critics and collaborators alike for his imaginative use of light, shadow, and space.
