The Queen of Spades

On Saturday 26 January I saw 'The Queen of Spades' by Tchaikovsky at the new opera house in Frankfurt am Main. It was only the second opera I have seen, but I was very impressed.

The production was immaculate and the highs and lows ebbed and flowed deliciously.

It was sung in Russian and had German sub(top)titles. The music was solemn and measured, perfectly fitting the lurking threat of death that haunted the characters.

Officer Hermann, the main character, is a heavy gambler and a wild man, full of passion. On first sight he falls in love with Lisa, the granddaughter of a countess known as the Queen of Spades. However, Lisa is already engaged to the buoyant Prince Yeletsky. Hermann is in despair when he finds out - he believes that he is far too poor to compete for the fair Lisa. His officer friends taunt him and tell him the story of the old countess. Her fortune is said to be based on the secret of three dead-cert winning cards: 'tri karty! tri karty! tri karty!' A refrain oft repeated throughout the piece.

Frank van Aken is perfect for the role of Hermann. He staggers around the stage with the weight of the world on his shoulders and rages against the elements, memorably in a flashing thunderstorm. It was van Aken, incidently, who played Laca, another desperate aggressive lover in the other opera I saw here, 'Jenufa'.

Lisa performed by Anja Kampe, certainly has the innocent desire to do good. Just as Jenufa, she is cast as the embodiment of purity. Lisa falls for the raw passion of Hermann over the take-it-or-leave it attitude of Yeletsky. For me there was something missing in her character. She was too much the simple object of purity. She just did not emit enough emotion, her facial expression seemed too rigid - neither loving, nor despairing.

You can see that Michael Nagy has fun playing the happy-go-lucky Prince Yeletsky and he provides a great foil to the brooding Hermann. I really enjoyed his lighter mercurial lines which came as some relief from the melancholic mood.

The importance of the military and its traditions in late 19th century Russian life was powerfully evoked as the stage was often filled with rows of soldiers in blue uniform. And the codes of courage and strength clearly shine through all that jolly cameraderie. Pistols abound and game upon game of Russian roulette is gleefully played with little concern for the dead losers who have to be dragged out of the way.

Finally, the stage set and choreography of the characters really made the piece. Four huge square arches were lined up in a row on the stage. On one side they were shiny, which made the lightening scene, and on the other dark. The action took place under this forboding monolith and to make the characters seem even more fragile and pawn like, the pillars were set on a circular rotating stage. One of the huge backdrops showed a fine bearded man, perhaps representing Hermann. In a later scene, this was turned upside down to reveal a grinning skull!

The set was both modern and minimalist, yet also strangely classical. The statue of a bright red gorilla with raised fist was hardly out of place. It reflected the raw brutal animal urges of Hermann. When the statue smashed into pieces on the floor, it was not a good sign. To see something like this live... well it was so much more powerful and real than any Hollywood special effects.

Overall, a fantastic performance that carried Tchaikovsky's self-declared 'masterpiece' off with great applomb. He must have been smiling in his grave.