Pyotr Tchaikovsky THE QUEEN OF SPADES

Opera production by Yuri Alexandrov
Libretto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky after the novel by Alexander Pushkin
(12 characters, 43 musicians & 30 chorus singers)
Staged by Yuri Alexandrov
Premiere: 18 December 1999

The Queen of Spades serves as the culmination to the unique operatic triptych of subjects based on works by Pushkin, the others being Eugene Onegin and Boris Godunov. Yuri Alexandrov’s ultra-modernistic production deals with Russia in the 20th century: the age of wars, suffering and nostalgia… On the stage, we see an interpretation of the passing century through the prism of Tchaikovsky’s opera, now long considered a classic. The production is remarkable for the play of subtexts, the resonance of thought and the refined reading of the score.