We know that Russian conductor Valery Gergiev knows Tchaikovsky's music like the back of his hand. We know that soprano Anna Netrebko will be a splendid Tatiana. We have to expect that Mariusz Kwiecien will be a strong Onegin and Piotr Beczala a potent Lenski. And we suspect that Fiona Shaw will do just fine stepping in for director Deborah Warner, who was forced to withdraw for health-related reasons. Really, the sole mystery about the Met's super-elite opening-night gala is what form the anti-Putin protests by LGBT-rights supporters will take. It's an an exciting prospect, if your pockets are deep enough.
