Tchaikovsky's fantastic tragedy with Australian tenor Stuart Skelton in the leading role.
Tchaikovsky's fantastic tragedy moves in the aristocratic salons of 18th-century St Petersburg. There's an angry young man - a damaged soul. There's the beautiful young woman he desires. And there's an obsession - gambling at cards. The secret to success is held by an aged countess, the "Queen of Spades". But, despite ghostly interventions , it all ends badly and it wouldn't be opera without a double suicide.
The last time Sydney audiences experienced this opera was in 1979 in a production by the Australian Opera. Now Ashkenazy brings a concert version to the stage of the Concert Hall.
TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades
Sung in Russian with English surtitles
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor
Stuart Skelton tenor (Herman)
Dina Kuznetsova soprano (Lisa)
José Carbó baritone (Tomsky)
Andrei Bondarenko baritone (Yeletsky)
Irina Tschistyakova mezzo-soprano (Countess)
Deborah Humble contralto (Pauline/Daphnis - Milosvor)
Angus Wood tenor (Chekalinsky)
Gennadi Dubinsky bass-baritone (Surin)
Victoria Lambourn mezzo-soprano (Governess)
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
AUDIO PLAYER LISTING
Track 1 - TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades: Overture
Track 2 - TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades: Act II/1 Ya vas lyublyu (Yeletsky's aria)
Track 3 - TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades: Act III/2 Uzh polnoch blizitsya (Lisa, Canal Scene)
Track 4 - TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades: Act III/ 2 Akh, istomilas ya gorme (Lisa's arioso)
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano (Lisa), Bernd Weikl, tenor (Yeletsky) with the Orchestre National de France conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 463 6792
Audio kindly supplied by Silver Partner Universal Music