Organization

Conductor

Pavel Smelkov

Stage director

Yuri Temirkanov

Set designer

Igor Ivanov

Choreographer

Oleg Vinogradov

Chorus master

Larisa Shveikovskaya

Anna Pipia

Pianist

Marina Repina

Lighting designer

Alexander Naumov

Assistant Stage Director

Anna Shishkina

Singer

Tenor

Mikhaïl Vekua

Herman

Soprano

Irina Churilova

Lisa

Contralto

Yulia Matochkina

Polina

Mezzo-soprano

Larissa Diadkova

Countess

Natalya Zakharchenko

Governess

Alina Mikhailik

Prilepa

Baritone

Dmitry Nelasov

Count Tomsky

Alexei Kostyuk

Chekalinsky

Bass

Yevgeny Plekhanov

Surin

Sergei Pleshivtsev

Narumov

Ilya Astafurov

Chaplitsky

Vsevolod Marilov

Master of Ceremonies

Elena Tretyakova

Masha

Maxim Aksenov

Vyacheslav Vasilyev

Elena Stikhina

Laura Bustamante

Aleksandr Diyanov

Alexander Gergalov

Prince Yeletsky

Alena Diyanova

Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre

Russian

Pikovaya Dama -  (The Queen of Spades)

Vladivostok

Russia

Pikovaya Dama

Public

The Queen of Spades

English

Approved

In the spring of 1890 The Queen of Spades, a mystic short story by Alexander Pushkin, inspired Pyotr Tchaikovsky to compose an opera in which Pushkin’s subject would be treated very originally. The story of a consuming passion for gambling was transformed into a dramatic opera about an unearthly love. Pushkin’s heroine named Liza, an old countess’s impoverished young ward, turned into the countess’ grand-daughter engaged to Prince Yeletsky, and German’s behavior was based on his love for the young woman whose social and wealth statuses precluded him from marrying her. Those were circumstances which allowed Tchaikovsky to compose the operatic music astounding the public with its depth and insight.

When Yuri Temirkanov as a director and conductor was going to stage The Queen of Spades at the Kirov Theatre (presently the Mariinsky Theatre) in 1984, Igor Ivanov as a designer was allotted a task to recreate an old Saint Petersburg atmosphere in details. “It should be luxurious because Tchaikovsky is a great dramatist. He sought to show that German, that no one in a shabby surtout, who got into society and finally went mad because he longed to live the high life,” said Temirkanov.

The features of Saint Petersburg in the Catherine Age were thoroughly reconstructed in Temirkanov’s staging, whether they were statues in the Summer Garden where German first met the countess or a costume ball in a grandee’s house or the Winter Canal in which Liza drowned herself out of despair. All costumes and furnishings in a gambling house, quarters or rooms were in accordance with their prototypes in the past. Even military uniforms were designed in keeping with those of certain regiments which once existed in reality.

The staging turned out a great success. The Queen of Spades staged by Yuri Temirkanov became a classic example of opera direction and was accorded international recognition and long happy life on the stage.

The opera staging was shifted from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in December 2015. At the premiere the opera was performed by the Mariinsky Theatre lead soloist under the direction of Valery Gergiev. Since then the Far East audience has heard Liza’s and German’s arias sung by legendary singers such as Larisa Diadkova and Vladimir Galuzin and seen young stars such as Elena Stikhina, Yulia Matochkina, Alexei Markov, and Roman Burdenko. Nowadays The Queen of Spades continues to host guest singers and open up opportunities for local soloists under the guidance of Pavel Smelkov, a Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Natalia Rogudeeva

The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, P. I., From (2016/2016), Directed by Yuri Temirkanov,, Conductor Pavel Smelkov, Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, Vladivostok, Russia

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues