A haunting tale of obsession, the internationally acclaimed Richard Jones production of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades opens Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2010 spring repertory.
Performances run April 16 - May 1, 2010 in the Brown Theater of the Wortham Theater Center.
Opera News calls Richard Jones's production of The Queen of Spades, originally created for Welsh National Opera "telling theatricality." London's Observer wrote "Once every few seasons, a production gets pretty much everything right. This is one ... dramatically spine-chilling, visually spare and coherent; it was the kind of theatrical experience which changes the way you look at life."
Russian tenor Vladimir Galouzine (Canio in HGO's production of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci
2008), considered to be one of the world's leading tenors and the finest interpreter of the role of
Hermann, returns to HGO to sing the role of the tormented gambler. Russian soprano Tatiana
Monogarova whom the London Financial Times calls "definitely a young singer to watch," makes her HGO debut as Lisa. Legendary Canadian mezzo-soprano Judith Forst, recently seen as Mrs. Grose in Britten's The Turn of the Screw, sings the role of the Countess, who possesses the gambling secret for which Hermann risks everything to discover. Also making his HGO debut, Icelandic baritone Tómas Tómasson sings the role of Count Tomsky. Soprano and HGO Studio alumna Maria Markina, who was last seen at HGO in the role of Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto (2009), returns to sing Pauline/Daphnis and Russian baritone Vasily Ladyuk makes his HGO debut as Prince Yeletsky.
Carlo Rizzi, former Music Director of Welsh National Opera and frequent guest conductor at the
Theatre alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and The
Metropolitan Opera, will conduct the HGO Orchestra and Chorus. Director Roy Rallo revives Richard Jones's original direction. The production also incorporates puppets by the Green Ginger puppeteers, who make their HGO debut with this production. Set and costume design by John MacFarlane.
The Queen of Spades opens on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Brown Theater at the
Wortham Theater Center. Additional performances continue through May 1, 2010 with curtain time at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. for Sunday matinees. The Queen of Spades will be performed in Russian with English supertitles.
About the opera:
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 (Pikovaya dama) is an opera in 3 acts (7 scenes) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The world premiere took place in 1890 in St. Petersburg, Russia at the Mariinsky Theater. Its New York premiere took place 20 years later on March 5, 1910, conducted by Gustav Mahler The Queen of Spades tells the story of one man's obsession with gambling which propels him, and those around him to heartbreaking tragedy. The original tale by Pushkin is cruel and cynical with elements of the grotesque. However Tchaikovsky made fundamental changes to the story for his opera, the most significant being the transformation of its central character, Hermann, from cold-blooded opportunist to that of highly disturbed hero.
Tchaikovsky also elevated the basic relationship between Hermann and Lisa into a true romance, paving the way for the opera's tragic outcome.
The Production
This award-winning production, originally directed by Richard Jones for Welsh National Opera, has been seenin Bologna, Oslo, Brussels, and San Francisco. Set in an unspecific time period, the production's sets are designed by the Scottish artist and designer, John MacFarlane. Jones and Macfarlane have created an empty, heartless world for the characters to inhabit, the opera's supernatural element depicted by the imaginative use of puppetry. The driving force in this searing production is the relationship between the five main characters. Both
principals and chorus are specifically choreographed to underline, enforce, and create a counterpoint, focusing on relationships, and the unfolding drama.
About the Artists:
Carlo Rizzi (Conductor) made his Houston Grand Opera debut conducting Verdi's Aida in 2007, and returns this spring to conduct Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades. Former music director of Welsh National Opera, he has conducted an extensive repertoire there, including Beethoven's Fidelio, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Britten's Peter Grimes and The Turn of the Screw, Wagner's Tristan and Isolde, R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Salome and Janacek's Katya Kabanová. Maestro Rizzi's international opera credits include Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Turandot at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Verdi's La traviata at the Teatro Regio in Parma and Un ballo in maschera in Turin, among others. He has conducted numerous productions at the Metropolitan Opera, including Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Verdi's Aida, La traviata, Nabucco and Il trovatore; Bellini's Norma; Puccini's Madame Butterfly, La bohème and Turandot; Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and
Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Engagements this season include Verdi's Don Carlos at Paris Opera, Puccini's La Fanciulla del West and Halévy's La Juive at Netherlands Opera, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and Puccini's La bohème and Madama Butterfly in Zurich. Last summer, he conducted the critically-acclaimed production of Aida at the Bregenz Festival. Rizzi's complete performances of Rossini's La Cenerentola and Verdi's La Traviata, Rigoletto, Faust and Un ballo in maschera, as well as Respighi's Tone Poems and Bizet's L'Arlésienne, are available on CD from Teldec. His 2006 recording of La traviata for Deutsche Grammophon was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Opera Recording."
