Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, 19 April 2025

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame

The plot of Tchaikovsky’s opera Pique Dame can be placed in almost any context today, and over the years there have been all sorts of attempts to come up with something innovative and creative while retaining the psychological core of the opera. In his production from the 2023/24 season at the Bavarian State Opera, Benedict Andrews tries to focus on the characters – especially Herman, who appears here as the strange, mysterious Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver – in a film noir style. It is certainly not a provocative piece of Regietheater; if you break the opera down and watch each scene separately, there is always something appealing, and the psychological core of the opera is not lost, but it is somewhat monotonous and static over the course of almost three hours. The problem is that Andrews neglects so many elements of the opera: it is, after all, an opera about society as a whole, not just individuals and their fates. Rufus Didwiszus’ set is extremely minimalist: the stage is almost entirely bare and dark, with various objects shifting in the opera’s seven scenes.

German conductor Sebastian Weigle delivers a solid interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s rich score and shows an excellent sense of musical drama and interaction with what is happening on stage. However, he does not put much of a personal touch on the music. The orchestra and chorus also deliver a brilliant and compact performance.

Baritones Vladislav Sulimsky and Boris Pinkhasovich give solid performances as Tomsky and Yeletsky respectively, as does mezzo-soprano Victoria Karkacheva as Polina. Violeta Urmana has had a long and successful career as both a soprano and a mezzo, and now she steps down to the role of the Countess, for which she shows that she has the expressive vocal depth.

Elena Stikhina has a dark soprano with both volume and intensity that makes her perfect for the role of Lisa, but without any special interpretational skills, which makes her performance bland and lacking in depth and maturity.

The star of the evening is undoubtedly the Armenian Arsen Soghomonyan, whose dark tenor has both the dramatic power and the vocal range for the complex character of Herman. He is able to cover the role’s wide range of emotions, from passionate love to obsession, despair and madness.

Read also Record Guide: Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame