Stars: Gegam Grigorian, Sergei Leiferkus, Alexander Gergalov, Olga Borodina, Kirov Opera Orchestra And Choir

Summary: A performance of Tchaikovsky's opera 'Pique Dame' by the Kirov Orchestra And Chorus; conducted by Valery Gergiev.

Russian composer Tchaikovsky's masterwork, PIQUE DAME, is beautifully staged at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre by the world-renowned Kirov Opera. Under the assured and impassioned baton of conductor Valery Gergiev, stars Gegam Grigorian, Sergei Leiferkus, and Ludmila Filatova shine.

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In terms of vocal power, lyrical beauty and idiomatic authenticity, the casting for this 1992 live recording of the Kirov production of Pique Dame("The Queen of Spades") could hardly be bettered. Gegam Grigorian (Herman) hits his fearsome, anguished high notes with the accuracy of a laser and Maria Gulegina (Liza) has a voice the size of the QEII but uses it with great subtlety--her opening duet with Pauline floats like gossamer, and her declarations of love for Herman at the end of Act 1 are spine-tingling. Kirov superstars Sergei Leiferkus (Tomsky) and rich-toned Olga Borodina (Pauline) also sound divine. In the pit Valery Gergiev renders every nuance of Tchaikovsky's score with clarity, and drives the strings to produce an almost unbearably tense atmosphere of foreboding; Herman's manslaughter of the Countess is preceded by shallow, haunted phrases which rise and fall like a beating heart.

It isn't all rosy, however. The production comes from the traditional old Kirov "stand-and-sing" tradition and is somewhat static. The characters don't interact with much detail or generate much chemistry, and the chorus moves in unwieldy blocks. For a more gripping production (though not quite as well sung) try the Glyndebourne performance. But for sheer musical pleasure, you won't find anything to beat this.

On the DVD:Pique Damedoesn't feature particularly inventive camerawork, though it does give a good solid account of the production. The sound recording captures all the most important moments with clarity, though just occasionally singers stray away from the microphones. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese, and some trailers for other Universal Music DVDs. --Warwick Thomson

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Wide Screen
Main Language:	Russian
Region:	Region 0
Subtitles:	Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Release Date:	May 6, 2002
Runtime:	179 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	070 434 9
Keywords:	Music, Queen, Opera, Dame, Works, Spades, Stage, Classical, Performing, Operetta, Aka, Arts, Pique
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts