London
В Пулково традиционно многолюдно. Регистрация на рейс Санкт-Петербург - Лондон уже началась и около стойки образовалась небольшая очередь. Среди разношёрстной публики выделялся господин в цилиндре и с тростью, кудрявая шевелюра напоминала театральный парик, а романтический взгляд выдавал в нём поэта. «Ай да Пушкин, ай да сукин сын!» послышался радостный восклик подходящего к очереди молодого человека, явно знакомого с поэтом.
- Евгений! Какими судьбами? Здесь? Сейчас? – живой эмоциональный ответ Пушкина не заставил себя долго ждать.
- Да вот, в Лондон лечу, к Татьяне в гости – поддержал разговор Евгений.
- К какой Татьяне? К Лариной, что ли?
- А к какой же ещё. Я других не знаю.
- Послушай Онегин, так ты не ней так и не женился? – поинтересовался Александр Сергеевич.
- Благодаря тебе нет. Сочинил бы всё по-другому, так я бы сейчас с ней в Лондоне жил. А так видишь, в гости летаю.
Тем временем подошла очередь на регистрацию, сотрудник аэропорта проверила документы и Пушкин с Онегиным проследовали на посадку.
In the cabin of the plane, Eugene exchanged with Pushkin's neighbor to talk in flight, because they had not seen each other for many years.
- Why are you in London? Everyone said that you now live in the south, you were recently seen in Odessa.
Yes, in the south. But you see brother Onegin, they don't let you rest. In Covent Garden, the director, another young talent, decided to stage a Russian fairy tale, he liked my “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, well, he doesn’t understand how the heroes get out of the waters, and how the princess with the baby in a barrel swam in the sea and did not drown. He already flew to Rome to Korsakov, and he says, “Without Pushkin, you can’t put on an opera.” So we agreed that everyone should get together and help the poor fellow with the premiere, especially since this is his directorial debut. How!
The plane taxied to the runway, the stewardess asked the passengers to buckle up and get ready for takeoff. After 3 hours, the Boeing landing gear touched the Heathrow runway. Pushkin stirred up the sleeping Onegin, he did not immediately understand where he was and with whom.
Leaving the airport control zone, it was difficult not to recognize Tatyana among those meeting, she joyfully rushed with her arms to Alexander Sergeevich, shouting:
- Sasha! Sasha! How are you here?
Turning to the taken aback Onegin, she continued:
- Zhenya, what a fine fellow you are that you brought him with you!
Kissing both, Tatyana offered to celebrate the meeting in a restaurant.
- Then, somewhere in the Covent Garden area, there is a theater, and a market and attractions. I hope they booked a hotel for me there - Pushkin took the initiative.
On this, the friends parted, agreeing to meet in the evening at the Rules restaurant - one of the oldest establishments in London located near the theater.
The day flew by unnoticed. Alexander Sergeevich, having met with the management of the theater and the director, realized that his business trip would drag on for a long time. Colleagues asked for his assistance in staging a new, original version of The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The director said that he wants to bring the characters to the present - this is a very fashionable and popular trend in modern opera, and that Rimsky-Korsakov will come this week to adapt the music. From the proposed fee, Pushkin felt uneasy and he agreed.
In the evening, friends sat in a restaurant and reminisced about the past. Onegin and Tatyana learned from Pushkin that Herman was cured, but after leaving the psychiatric hospital, he again took up the game, got in touch with dubious people and even served a term that, after going through everyday troubles, he became a crime boss and now lives near Moscow. Pushkin further said that Boris Godunov left for some African country, got there to the local throne, now reigns and is not going to return. He said that Dunya Vyrina, who graduated from the university, works as a senior researcher at the Research Institute of Railway Transport, so to speak, followed in her father's footsteps. Larina talked about her family, about children, showed their photos in her smartphone. She said that her husband went into business and everything turned out well, that the children were born in the UK. Onegin complained about worldly unsettledness and shared his impressions of traveling - he loved to travel a lot and far.
Rules lived up to expectations - it is not for nothing that the restaurant has preserved 200-year-old traditions - delicious food and impeccable service.
The next day, Pushkin visited Covent Garden Market and the Museum of Public Transport. And three days later, in the morning, he and Onegin met at the British Museum, located on Great Russell Street, where they spent half a day, and in the afternoon they rode London Eye (“London Eye”), surveying the capital from a bird's eye view.
Working in the theater, Alexander Sergeevich tried to visit as many sights of London as possible, “When else such an opportunity will fall” - he constantly thought. To make it more fun, he dragged Onegin along with him, Tatyana refused, referring to employment and the need to take care of children.
For three months they visited the National Gallery, the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Britain and Tate Modern galleries, Hampton Court Palace, the Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Gardens). Their favorite pastime was the Covent Garden area, with its market, shops and pubs, among which they became regulars at The Lamb & Flag. They also frequented the Camden Creative District and were met at night in the Shoreditch and Soho areas. As a result, Onegin ran out of money and Pushkin bought him a ticket home. Eugene said that he was in debt, that after Alexander returned to Russia he would pay him off, but Pushkin helped his friend from the bottom of his heart, not wanting to hear anything about the debt. With his salary, he could afford it.
Seeing Onegin off at the airport, Alexander Sergeevich handed him a ticket to the premiere of The Tale of Tsar Saltan, which was to take place in three months, and asked to give two tickets to Dubrovsky and Masha - they got married and lived happily in the estate, now deceased, Troekurov.
Time flew by quickly. The premiere was attended by representatives of the high society of British society. Critics praised the opera of the young director, and he only mentioned the name of Pushkin, noting that nothing would have happened without him.
On the way back, the men were drunk, Masha Dubrovskaya tried to pretend that she did not know them. St. Petersburg welcomed those who returned from London with spring coolness.
04/25/2020