The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, P. I., Fra (2023/2023), I regi av Paul Curran,, Dirigent Paul Daniel, The Grange, Northington-Alresford, United Kingdom

Pushkin’s moody story, set in the St Petersburg imperial court, is capable of multiple interpretations. It is clearly ‘an eternal tale of gambling and avarice’ but also a fantastical excursion into the supernatural and an exploration of how over-weaning obsession erodes rational behaviour. Tchaikovsky had a huge and immediate success with his 1890 operatic version, first performed in St Petersburg and then a week later in Kyiv. The central role of Herman will be sung at The Grange by Ukrainian tenor Eduard Martynyuk, currently fighting for his country’s survival; we welcome also fellow Ukrainian Andrei Kymach as Count Tomsky and Ilya Kytyukin as Prince Yeletsky. We are privileged to announce Dame Josephine Barstow as the Countess, with the star Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan as Lisa and Arlene Belli as Polina, both making their Grange Festival debuts. Paul Daniel conducts and our new production will be created by Paul Curran (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2021) and acclaimed designer Gary McCann.