Above: Larissa Diadkova and Yusif Eyvazov as The Countess and Gherman in QUEEN OF SPADES; a Ken Howard/Met Opera photo
~ Author: Oberon
Saturday December 14th, 2019 matinee - Tchaikovsky's near the top of my list of favorite composers: his ballet scores, EUGENE ONEGIN, Serenade for Strings, and violin and piano concerti have ridden are high on my charts for years. But I've never really gotten into PYKOVIA DAMA, aka PIQUE-DAME, aka QUEEN OF SPADES.
I first heard the opera on a Texaco Met matinee broadcast in 1966, sung in English, with Jon Vickers, Teresa Stratas and Regina Resnik in the main roles; what I most vividly remember about it was Walter Cassel's performance of Tomsky's dramatic narrative with its final cry of "Three cards!".
I'd previously seen The Met's current Elijah Moshinsky production twice - once with Mattila, Heppner, and Rysanek in 1995, and again with Gorchakova, Domingo, and Söderström in 1999. In both of these performances the late, lamented Dmitri Hvorostovsky sang Prince Yeletsky, one of his signature roles. Despite these stellar interpretations, the opera itself has eluded me.
This afternoon, I opened my score as the house lights went down, determined to give the opera one more chance. The prelude, with its passionate love theme, drew me in. Excellent performances from tenor Paul Groves and basso Raymond Aceto as Tchekalinsky and Sourin respectively sent the afternoon off on a fine vocal trajectory. Alexey Markov as Count Tomsky arrived on the scene, his dark-hued baritone impressive. Then the opera's hapless protagonist, Gherman, appeared in the person of tenor Yusif Eyvazov. A singer I enjoyed very much in TOSCA and FANCIULLA DEL WEST, Mr. Eyvazov sounded slightly throaty and under-powered in this music; even so, his passion and commitment would eventually make everything work in his favor.
Now the opera's filler scenes began with the annoying "child-soldiers". Larissa Diadkova as the Old Countess, accompanied by Lise Davidsen (Lisa) and Igor Golovatenko (Yeletsky) appear in the park in St. Petersburg. Ms. Diadkova's dramatically urgent singing more than made up for a slight want lack of tonal power, whilst Ms. Davidsen - in her Met debut role, which seems to have made her an immediate Met favorite - sang pleasingly enough, the voice being steady and warm but with some passing intonation quirks (nothing alarming, but noticeable). Mr. Golovatenko sounded really good, but this was all the singing I would be hearing from him today. Mr. Markov then turned Tomsky's narrative into a tour de force, with a powerful climax.
Entertaining Lisa and her friends at home with a song, Elena Maximova as Pauline was not always smooth of voice, and her vibrato could intrude; yet there was something wonderfully "Russian" about her singing, which could be subtle at need and which sank to velvety depths near the end of her song. Another mezzo, Jill Grove, then had a delightful vignette as the Governess. Ms. Grove, who has been inexplicably absent from The Met for decade, showed the ripe tone and knack for characterful singing that made her so enjoyable in such diverse roles as Magdalene (MEISTERSINGER), the Omniscient Seashell (EGYPTIAN HELEN) and Auntie (PETER GRIMES).
Now Gherman finally meets Lisa - the object of his obsession - face to face. Mr. Eyvazov and Ms. Davidsen have a highly charged exchange. They are interrupted by Ms. Diadkova as the Old Countess, worried that Lisa is still awake. Then Lisa, already doomed - though she doesn't know it - finally confesses her love to Gherman, with Ms. Davidsen soaring to an enormous, house filling top-B which elicited an ovation.
Despite such highlights. and a uniformly strong cast, the opera simply wasn't reaching me on a deeper level. It was also freezing cold up among the score desks, and someone seated in my vicinity had coughed continually from the opening notes of the opera until the house lights came up. My friend Adi and I took our leave, but later we circled back so that Adi could meet Ms. Davidsen, who as having a CD-signing after the opera ended. She is very tall, very attractive, and very nice. She has a big Met contract for forthcoming seasons, and I shall look forward to hearing her in operas more to my liking.
Above: Lise Davidsen meets Adi Talati
~ Oberon