Organization

Conductor

Andrew Davis

Stage director

Graham Vick

Set designer

Richard Hudson

Lighting designer

Thomas Webster

Choreographer

Ron Howell

Chorus master

David Angus

Singer

Tenor

Yuri Marusin

Herman

Soprano

Nancy Gustafson

Lisa

Mezzo-soprano

Felicity Palmer

Countess

Baritone

Sergei Leiferkus

Count Tomsky

Dimitri Kharitonov

Prince Yeletsky

Graeme Matheson Bruce

Chekalinsky

Bass

Andrew Slater

Surin

Robert Burt

Chaplitsky

Christopher Thornton Holmes

Narumov

Marie-Ange Todorovitch

Masha

Enid Hartle

Governess

Anne Dawson

Prilepa

Rachael Tovey

Others

The Glyndebourne Chorus

Orchestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Glyndebourne

Pikovaya Dama -  (The Queen of Spades)

Lewes

United Kingdom

The unforgettable Nancy Gustavson gives life to Lisa, the unlucky lover of Hermann in the tragic story of The Queen of spades.

Herman, a young officer, is in love with an unknown woman from the nobility. The beautiful young lady eventually appears to be Lisa, the fiancée of Prince Yeletski, Herman's army friend. But Lisa is unhappy with this engagement imposed on her. She prefers the romantic personality of Herman. Herman and Lisa meet in secret and declare their undying love to each other. But Herman has no money. What to do? Lisa's grandmother, the Countess, is said to know the secret to win without fail at card games. Breaking into the old woman's room, Herman begs the Countess to reveal her secret. Terrified by the threatening young man, the Countess dies. Lisa, walking into the room, discovers her lover in front of her grandmother's corpse. Crying, she beseeches Hermann to leave at once. The Countess' ghost appears to Hermann, and reveals to the young man the secret: the three winning cards are three, seven and ace. After a last meeting with Hermann, Lisa realizes that there is no hope for to have the love she desires so jumps into the Neva. Herman, in a state of madness, goes to the casino and bets everything he owns. He loses everything. The last winning card was not an ace, but the queen of spades.

Inspired by the The Queen of spades written by Alexander Pushkin, Tchaikovski's opera was premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1890. The Queen of Spades is an intense work in which death seems to be the unavoidable outcome. The remarkable production by Graham Vick plunges the spectator into the desperate love struggle between the innocent Lisa and Hermann, a dark character who steadily advances towards madness.

The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, P. I., From (1992/1992), Directed by Graham Vick,, Conductor Andrew Davis, Glyndebourne, Lewes, United Kingdom

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues