.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... With all of the arrogance of the Russian aristocracy, Eugene Onegin rejects the shy Tatyana because she is not of his class. So begins the tale of unrequited love in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” opening on Saturday, July 24, at the Santa Fe Opera. Soprano Sara Jakubiak stars in “Eugene Onegin” at the Santa Fe Opera. (Courtesy of The Santa Fe Opera) Baritone Lucas Meachem plays the snobbish Onegin. “I never think of my characters in a negative light,” Meachem said in a telephone interview. “I have to know they’re doing what they do for a reason. ................................................................ “Onegin, he’s more of a product of his time,” he continued. “It’s Russian aristocracy back in the 1800s. It’s the reason the French Revolution happened; it’s the reason the Russian Revolution happened. He’s a complete snob. He’s arrogant. I just think of her as a country girl who reads for fun and I’m going off to Paris. But in the end, he’s taught a lesson.”