Tchaikovsky Opera at Les Arts

Tchaikovsky owes his fame to ballets such as “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake”, but he also had time to compose as many as eleven operas. One of the most notable was “The Queen of Spades”. Opera fans can enjoy it from October 1 to 14 at the Palau de Les Arts.

“The Queen of Spades” is based on a story of the same name by Pushkin that captivated Tchaikovsky with the tortuous paths taken by the soul: greed and avarice, amorous deceit and all the remorse that these acts provoke; the death of two deceived women and the madness of the protagonist upon his ruin, understanding that his fate was written from the beginning in the letters.

London stage director Richard Jones proposes a dark staging in which moments of powerful visual impact predominate, involving the spectator in the tension of the characters.

James Gaffigan directs Tchaikovsky's harrowing drama for the second time. He will lead a solid cast headed by Armenian tenor Arsen Soghomonyan, who recently played Otello under Gergiev and Mehta. He is accompanied by veteran Doris Soffel, remembered for her heartbreaking Klytämnestra in Elektra, Russian soprano Elena Guseva in the role of the female protagonist, Lisa, as well as by baritones Roman Burdenko and Nikolay Zemlianskikh.

An opportunity to discover a less well-known Tchaikovsky in a major work with top-notch performers and direction.