His friend tells him that the girl’s name is Lisa, and that her grandmother is an old countess who used to gamble (play cards for money) when she was young. Yusif Eyvazov, Lise Davidsen, Vasily Petrenko Shine In Fantastic Elijah Moshinsky Production. The Prince is Hermann’s foil with Lisa herself monologuing about how he is probably the perfect match for her in marriage. Vladimir Atlantov I have often encountered criticisms of him being overly-stentorian. At other instances in this particular scene, here running from one place to the other also seemed a bit awkward dramatically and only lessened Lisa’s sense of strength, even if she was frightened in the moment. Her display during the pastorale was undeniably her most impressive of the night, the mezzo showing herself very capable of keeping up with the ballet troupe throughout. It took him just six weeks to sketch it (write the basic ideas). The Queen of Spades (Russian: Пиковая дама, pronounced Pi-KO-va-ya DA-ma) is an opera by Tchaikovsky. The sets further enrich the shape of the story. However, overall dramatically she is rather static, a little too stand-and-deliver and somewhat stereotypical too often. While he sings throughout, he gets two notable solo numbers in the first and final scenes of the opera. 8/10 Bethany Cox. The pastorale could feel like a drag for a number of reasons. In the closing pages of the aria, he shifted up and down in his vocal temperament, adding to this tension until his voice really unleashed its full potential on the climactic repetitions of “Three Cards,” the final high G blasting into the hall. The character of Hermann appears in every single scene and gets some of Tchaikovsky’s most heroic and passionate music. Tchaikovsky gave her “Je crains de lui parler la nuit” from Grétry’s “Richard Coeur-de-Lion” as a melancholic moment of remembrance. This generally comes from conductors who give this section too much weight in an attempt to give the Mozartian style music Tchaikovskian consistency so that it feels “connected” to the other musical material that comes before and after. The first clarinet is especially good. The concept of Chiaroschuro is amply utilized in his production with the lighting design by Paul Pyant arguably the main protagonist throughout. View production, box office, & company info. In the ensuing scene he sang with darker and more subdued tones, but his fear was potently expressed when he interpolated one of the recitative lines into a higher tessitura. It must also be noted that his ability to shift in styles was at the core of this performance’s greatest success. The gripping plot is set against the vast elegance and macabre allure of St. Petersburg, which functions almost as a character itself. He was even softer on the slow and prolonged repetitions of “Oh God” before building up to the more matter of fact expressions of “Three cards.” The melody’s repetition drew out a graver sound, turning the initial mystery into something darker and graver. A massive frame hangs over the proscenium, immediately trapping its characters and society within it. And yet, it was restrained and you sensed that Eyvazov was holding off to some degree. In regard to his operas, I have more of a preference to Eugene Onegin but Queen of Spades is perhaps his most dramatically concise. With Yelena Obraztsova, Juri Mazurok, Vladimir Atlantov, Tamara Malashkina. Any good performance of this opera needs a good Hermann. The Queen of Spades (Russian: Пиковая дама, pronounced Pi-KO-va-ya DA-ma) is an opera by Tchaikovsky.It is based on a short story by Alexander Pushkin.Sometimes it is known by its German title Pique Dame.. A work of extreme moods and colors, The Queen of Spades explores life’s frivolities as well as the darkest impulses of obsession, addiction, madness, and self-destruction. (Credit: Metropolitan Opera / Ken Howard). Of course, Pauline’s big moment is her “Podrugi milyye” in scene three of Act one.

As Sourin and Tchekalinsky, Raymond Aceto and Paul Groves managed to provide the opera with a sardonic edge. That said her voice did seem to lose its focus in upper ascensions to a G flat and the climactic high A flat near the close of the piece with the vibrato widening and the pitch becoming unstable. Count Tomsky(Граф Томский) — bar… Of course, this being “The Queen of Spades,” tragedy comes back with a vengeance with Hermann committing murder.

Mezzo-soprano Elena Maximova interpreted the role of Pauline and delivered a truly wonderful performance that was most remarkable for her “triple threat” display.

Search for "The Queen of Spades: Bolshoi Opera" on Amazon.com, Title: You really felt that she was “filling” the hall. Later, the ghost of the grandmother comes to Hermann and tells him the three secret cards: Three, Seven, Ace.

If not for those highs, this interpretation was vocal elegance embodied. He was visibly the most involved of characters, seemingly in control of every situation, but also very sensitive to Hermann’s troubles. It opens with a choral sequence full of youthful children before moving onto the frivolity of soldiers ranting about card games. Prior to creating OperaWire, DAVID SALAZAR, (Editor-in-Chief) worked as a reporter for Latin Post where he interviewed major opera stars including Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Vittorio Grigolo, Diana Damrau and Rolando Villazon among others. Lisa drowns herself. As noted, Hermann is a hard character to fully connect with at times, but this was the moment where you could see him as a lonely human desperate for connection. To explore this further, Thompson gives Hermann a black costume for the duration of the opera, putting him in immediate contrast with Lisa’s white as well as the grey of Tomsky, who is shown to be a murkier character from a moral standpoint.

At the top of the show is “Odnazhdy v Versale,” his recount of the Countess’ past, which presents one of the opera’s major music motifs. As Prince Yeletsky, Igor Golovatenko delivered a really strong performance. She expanded on the opening recitatives leading up to the Andante molto cantible, her sound descrescendoing delicately and thus setting up the aria proper for a truly introverted approach. But, her shining moment was undeniably the third Act solo “Utzh polnoch blizitsya,” that commences the second scene. The idea of fate is important to the opera Carmen and also to Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. Furthermore, it allowed the piece to have a greater symphonic structure, that singular scene in the middle of the performance feeling like a movement unto itself. They grated against you for their pointed but cheery bullying of Hermann. It’s a glorious melody and it was more beautiful than usual in Golovatenko’s rich baritone. When she was finally allowed to sing on her in Act one aria “Zashem zhe eti slyozy,” you really got a great sense of her best qualities and the challenges. David holds a Masters in Media Management from Fordham University. Davidsen’s instrument is massive and even from the orchestra section, which is arguably one of the least favorable spots in the Met for a listening experience, you could hear her clearly. The line was connected and there was a sense of drive and intensity building throughout the aria. I can understand that, I find his singing thrilling and very strong though in want of more nuances. While his stage presence immediately cast a shadow on the stage for its depressed and dark manner, his voice sounded a bit soft and underpowered for much of the first scene. Yuri Simonov's conducting is full of passion or spirit, nothing rushes or drags. But that changed in the ensuing scene with Lisa where he seemed to be brimming with vocal confidence from the start of that scene, his sound soft and gentle at first and then building as he tried to calm Lisa’s angst, his voice crescendoing beautifully at one point from a G natural whole note into a High A natural. “The Queen of Spades” was one of those rare performances that seemed to get better and better as the night wore on and proved all the more memorable for it. “The Queen of Spades” is a truly challenging opera to cast, relying on a top tenor that can navigate a complex role. Her stage presence was also a bit uneven throughout, though perhaps some of this was more to due with the stage direction at times than her own commitment. But she managed to turn these perceived misgivings into qualities, allowing the audience to see the Countesses’ own sense of inner powerlessness; a truly moving contrast to the sense of fear she seeks to project into society. Tchaikovsky wrote some of his greatest music in this opera. This was undeniably present in the third act where you felt her move from desperation to excitement to heartbreak and then toward her decision to kill herself. At the Met, Tchaikovsky’s complex storytelling was furthered by Elijah Moshinsky decades-old production. But he wasn’t just an accompanist, but proved himself a symphonic poet, giving Tchaikovsky’s music shape and drive. In other places it is very romantic, with harmonies that he had learned by studying the operas of Wagner. Stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eddie Redmayne share their 5 reasons not to miss The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix. The first two cards are the Three and the Seven, but the third card is not the Ace, it is the Queen of Spades. He allowed this emotional and musical progression to unfold throughout the final phrase of the aria, each one softer and more relaxed Where most baritones might throw off the final high E flat with all they’ve got left, Golovatenko took a more measured approach and allowing the aria a more dignified conclusion of a man coming to terms with his situation and accepting it. Not only did she provide a bubbly foil to Davidsen’s Lisa in their initial scene together, but she also blended her sound with her soprano counterpart gloriously during their initial duet. This push and pull became more present as the passage developed, growing in intensity each time, the higher notes gaining greater stability, the high B flat of particular Wagnerian beauty. There are sixteen singing roles: 1. The opening stanzas of the aria were sung with very restrained sound and even ascensions into the high G and subsequent turn on F-G-F retained this delicacy of sound, giving it an emotional tension that one feels from the desire to hear the voice explode with greater sound. At other times it can sound very Russian. Tempi fluctuated seamlessly and you just felt like you were in very sure hands all the way through. The orchestral playing has the lushness and power you would expect from any orchestra performing Tchaikovsky or any other late romantic. In the supernatural scenes, Tchaikovsky uses the whole-tone scale like Glinka did in his operas. This page was last changed on 20 November 2013, at 03:00. That isn’t to say that he sounded pushed or forced in any way. They were at the core of the famed gambling song near the end of the opera. From here he allowed his voice to build in intensity, the monologue shifting from trivial to suspenseful.


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