Tchaikovsky's second most popular opera today, after EUGEN ONEGIN, inspires above all by its sheer size: in PIQUE DAME the mood skilfully changes from large, representative choral and ensemble opera to psychological chamber play scenes. The glamour of a sophisticated elite meets the misery of the proletariat.
Image gallery
u. a. Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Pikowaja Dama - Pique Dame
Pikowaja Dama - Pique Dame
Martin Muehle als Hermann
Chance Jonas-O'Toole als Tschekalinskij, Padraic Rowan als Ssurin, Lucio Gallo als Tomskij
Doris Soffel als Gräfin, Dean Murphy als Jeletzkij, Lucio Gallo als Tomskij, Martin Muehle als Hermann und Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Doris Soffel als Gräfin, Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Doris Soffel als Gräfin, Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Thomas Lehman als Jeletzkij, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Thomas Lehman als Jeletzkij, Sondra Radvanovsky als LisaMarcus Lieberenz
Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Doris Soffel als Gräfin, Martin Muehle als Hermann
Doris Soffel als Gräfin, Martin Muehle als Hermann
Martin Muehle als Hermann
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa, Doris Soffel als GräfinMarcus Lieberenz
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Doris Soffel als Gräfin
Martin Muehle als Hermann, Sondra Radvanovsky als Lisa, Doris Soffel als GräfinMarcus Lieberenz
- Conductor: Juraj Valčuha
- Director: Sam Brown
With Brian Jagde, Sara Jakubiak, Jennifer Larmore, Lucio Gallo, Thomas Lehman, Karis Tucker a. o.
About the work
THE QUEEN OF SPADES, Tchaikovsky’s second most popular opera after EUGENE ONEGIN, delights audiences due to its sheer scale, among other qualities.
The mood switches effortlessly from full chorus and ensemble to delicate chamber scenes. Sophisticated leisured society rubs up against indigent proletariat.
Pushkin’s novella was used by Pyotr and Modest Tchaikovsky as the springboard into a psychogram of the two main protagonists Herman and Lisa, who are bound by their star-crossed despair and thwarted desire to express themselves freely. Herman serves the homosexual Tchaikovsky brothers not only as a touchstone in his capacity as social outcast; his profession as military engineer is also a reference to their father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky.
Herman, an officer fascinated by the secrets of the gambling community, is in love with Lisa, a lady of gentle birth. Lisa yearns for self-determination but still lives under the thumb of her grandmother, the Countess, who, besides having stirred up Parisian high society in her youth, is also reputed to be the holder of a secret strategy for winning at cards. When Herman hears the rumour, he is sure that he has found a way out of his misery. His fixation on the mystery of the Three Cards takes its course.
About the production
Director Sam Brown makes his debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. His set design - heavily informed by that of his friend and director colleague Sir Graham Vick, who died tragically in 2021 – accentuates the nuances and ambiguities of the work’s dramatic storyline. His approach deliberately poses questions that are meant to remain unanswered. D
Herman love Lisa or is she just the means to an end? Is Lisa a helpless victim or does she just think Herman can help her escape her golden cage? Is there really a secret key to success at cards or is it just a figment of Herman’s imagination?
Additional information
In Russian with German and English surtitles
- Opera in three acts by Piotr I. Tchaikovsky
- Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky based on Alexander Puschkin
- First performance on 19 December, 1890, in Sankt Petersburg
- Premiere on 9 March 2024
45 minutes before beginning: Introduction (in German language)
Participating artists
Juraj Valčuha (Musikalische Leitung)
Sam Brown (Inszenierung)
Stuart Nunn (Bühne, Kostüme)
Linus Fellbom (Lichtdesign)
Ron Howell (Choreografie)
Jeremy Bines (Chöre)
Christian Lindhorst (Kinderchor)
Konstantin Parnian (Dramaturgie)
Brian Jagde (Hermann, ein Offizier)
Sara Jakubiak (Lisa)
Jennifer Larmore (Gräfin)
Lucio Gallo (Tomskij)
Dean Murphy (Fürst Jeletzkij)
Martina Baroni (Polina)
Chance Jonas-O'Toole (Tschekalinskij)
Padraic Rowan (Ssurin)
Andrew Dickinson (Tschaplitskij)
Michael Bachtadze (Narumow)
Nicole Piccolomini (Gouvernante)
Arianna Manganello (Mascha)
Jörg Schörner (Zeremonienmeister)
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Chöre)
Kinderchor der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Chöre)
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Orchester)
Opernballett der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Ballett)
Dates
June 2025
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