Tchaikovsky’s most ambitious opera, The Queen of Spades is being beamed live from the Royal Opera House on Tuesday, January 22 to cinemas including Saffron Screen, Haverhill Arts Centre and Cambridge Arts Picturehouse.
Tchaikovsky’s most ambitious opera, The Queen of Spades is being beamed live from the Royal Opera House on Tuesday, January 22 to cinemas including Saffron Screen, Haverhill Arts Centre and Cambridge Arts Picturehouse.
The opera in three acts (with seven scenes) was premiered in 1890 in St Petersburg.
Tchaikovsky completed the full score in Florence in only 44 days. The opera centres on the supernatural, lead character, Herman is caught between the woman he loves and a destructive fixation.
The Queen of Spades is based on a short story by Pushkin, and comes to the Royal Opera House in a new production that got five-star reviews in Amsterdam. The production is set in 1890, the year of the opera’s premiere. Herman sings in all seven scenes, requiring great skill and endurance by the performer. The part was written with the notable Russian tenor Nikolay Figner in mind, and he performed the role at the premiere. His wife Medea Mei-Figner created the role of Liza.
Screenings at 6.45pm. Prices vary at the venues.
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