The man who once left as many as 20,000 fans spellbound after his poetry readings in Russian sports stadiums did not fail to captivate an American audience as he sang, danced and declaimed across a makeshift stage at the Russian Embassy residence Wednesday night.
It was, perhaps, inevitable that Yevgeny Yevtushenko would steal the scene from Alexander Pushkin at the event honoring that Russian literary icon’s legacy. After reciting several of the master’s love poems with his customary “upfront and in your face” histrionics (with translation provided by his talented 15-year-old son, Yevgeny Jr.), Mr. Yevtushenko launched into his own verse, set to “Lara’s Theme” from the score of “Dr. Zhivago,” then waltzed with an actress doing her best to tra-la-la along to the melody. (Earlier, Mr. Yevtushenko requested that organizers find someone “young, tall and beautiful — it doesn’t matter if she can sing.”)
Russian Ambassador Yuri V. Ushakov, who hosted the affair with his wife, Svetlana, performed the role of indulgent godfather confronted by genius. “Yevtushenko is not playing on the stage, he’s living on it,” he said of the acclaimed author of “Babi Yar” and other noted works.
Applauding VIPs turned out in force for the event, organized by Ina Ginsburg and Gaetana Enders on behalf of the Pushkin Legacy, founded by Alexander Pushkin’s great-great-great-nephew Kenneth Pushkin to support Russian cultural, educational and child welfare programs in the poet’s name. Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Stephen Breyer; Sens. Thad Cochran, Richard Shelby and Paul Sarbanes; British Ambassador Sir David Manning; and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend were among the 250 guests who enjoyed the evening of poetry, superb operatic performances of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff by Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, and a buffet with an unending supply of vodka and top-quality Russian sevruga caviar.
— Kevin Chaffee
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