Metropolitan Opera Preview: The Queen of Spades

In Tchaikovsky's ghost opera, know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Act II of the Met's production of The Queen of Spades.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2008 The Metropolitan Opera

The best way to describe Tchaikovsky's most imaginative opera is like a Mozart opera stuck somewhere in The Twilight Zone. Based on a story by Pushkin, The Queen of Spades (also known by its French title Pique Dame) is the story of Ghermann, a gaming-addicted soldier determined to win the hand of Lisa (Karita Mattila) by winning at the gaming tables.

To that end, he becomes obsessed with learning the secret of the "three cards", a supposedly unbeatable gambling formula, from Lisa's aunt, The Countess. This is one of the great roles for an aging diva, and has been sung at the Met by such luminaries as Leonie Rysanek and Elisabeth Söderstrom. Here, the good lady is essayed by house favorite mezzo Dolora Zajick.

Elijah Moshinsky's production, one of the Met's better efforts from the Joseph Volpe era, sets the action in a huge, tilted picture frame, contrasting the courtly atmosphere of St. Petersburg with Ghermann's night-time excursions. It's a clever production of a weird opera, and one that has done much for the reputation of this work with New York audiences.

Recording Recommendations:
Considering that this is one of Tchaikovsky's best operas, Queen is somewhat under-represented on disc. Here's three worth investigating.

Orchestre National de France cond. Mstislav Rostropovich
Lisa: Galina Vishnevskaya
Ghermann: Peter Gougaloff
Countess: Regina Resnik
Yeletsky: Bernd Weikl
This was the standard Pique Dame for many years. Characterful, flavorful conducting from Rostropovich, the famous cellist who was in the middle of a long exile from the then-U.S.S.R. Gougaloff is a little strained as Ghermann. Regine Resnik is at her over-the-top best as the Countess.

Mariinsky Orchestra and Chorus cond. Valery Gergiev
Lisa: Maria Guleghina
Ghermann: Gegham Gregorian
The Countess: Irina Arkhipova
Yeletsky: Vladimir Chernov
This recording came out in 1993 and it was instrumental in establishing the reputation of Valery Gergiev as a major conductor of Russian opera. A solid, completely idiomatic Russian cast, with Arkhipova, the grand dame of Soviet opera, as the Countess.

Boston Symphony Orchestra cond. Seiji Ozawa
Lisa: Mirella Freni
Ghermann: Vladimir Atalantov
The Countess: Maureen Forrester
Yeletsky: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Mirella Freni may have been a little old for the role of the teenage Lisa. But her Russian is excellent (her husband was Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov) and she is a great singing actress. The real attraction here is the young, velvet-voiced Hvorostovsky as Prince Yeletsky.

Opera Review: Ozawa flips Queen of Spades at the Met

It's been a little while since I've posted here. I havent been idle--have several compelling operas and concerts to write about. Let's start the backlog, shall we? After all, better late than Neva....

The Metropolitan Opera's much-anticipated revival of The Queen of Spades bowed on November 21. Elijah Moshinsky's lush, surreal production returned to the grand stage intact, complete with haunting color schemes and the thoroughly impressive entrance of Catherine the Great, Empress of all the Russias.

Equally impressive was the performance of Ben Heppner in the role of Ghermann, the opera's protagonist. Heppner was in excellent voice, but lacked intensity as the hard-luck gambler. He took over the opera in its final scene, where he commits suicide at the gaming table.

Maria Guleghina gave a tremendous performance as Lisa, the opera's equally doomed female protagonist. She is a bit robust to be your classic wilting Tchaikovsky heroine but sang with beauty and pathos, both in her opening song and in her final death scene where she throws herself into the Neva, an act which mirrored the composer's own suicide attempt in 1877.

The great Felicity Palmer was a regal Countess, impressive in death and life. The supporting cast included the welcome presence of "Mr. Met", Paul Plishka, who has sang at the big house for over thirty years.

The revival was somewhat let down by the choice of Seiji Ozawa on the podium. Ozawa, who had not conducted at the Met for 15 years, gave a limpid, textured reading of the score. His performance undermined the passions at work in this opera, emphasizing Tchaikovsky's genteel, Mozartean textures over the more stormy passages. These turbulent, emotional pages were given without fire or much energy, and while beautifully played, they failed to compel as drama.