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Tchaikovski, The Queen of Spades:  Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus du Capitole Conductor: Tugan Sokhiev. Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. 3. 2.2008 (JMI)

New Production  - Capitole deToulouse.

Director: Arnaud Bernard.
Sets: Alessandro Camera.
Costumes: Carla Ricotti.
Lighting: Patrick Mèeüs.

Cast:
Hermann: Vladimir Galouzine.
Lisa: Barbara Haveman.
Countess: Raina Kabaivanska.
Prince Yeletsky: Vladimir Chernov.
Count Tomsky: Boris Statsenko.
Polina: Varduhi Abrahamnyan.

When last June I saw the program of Toulouse Capitole's 2007/2008 opera season, I considered this Queen of Spades the most interesting offering of all, because of Tugan Sokhiev as its musical director, Vladimir Galouzine singing Herman and a new production by Arnaud Bernard. Apparently, many people shared my opinion, since the box office showed a big “Complet” sign, which was a small surprise. Of course, this opera is not exactly  a rarity, but it does not belong either to the most popular repertoire. The end result was a  performance  that almost reached the height of my expectations, even though the staging was less than totally convincing.

Arnaud Bernard seems to me one of the  most promising directors of the new generation whose other work in Toulouse I have greatly enjoyed in the past, particularly his wonderful L'Elisir d' Amore from last season. Sadly, on this occasion his work was  less interesting and produced a sensation of “Déjà vu”. Bernard builds  the opera around the figure of a  Hermann  who is insane, which makes a lot of sense, since  we can all  agree that the character is indeed not exactly normal mentally speaking. What happens though is that, by extending this idea even to the sets  and costumes, the production reminds me too much to what Lev Dodin did in 1999 in La Bastille: Dodin presented the opera as a flash back in Hermann’s mind , while he lived in a mental hospital, which does in fact follow Pushkin's novel. The feeling of lack of originality also arises during the Pastoral, represented as a pantomime between a married couple in the 60s, whose privacy is invaded by colour TV set salesmen. This is also a reminder of what Peter Konwitschny did in his Don Carlos production in Vienna and Barcelona during the ballet music. Both the Russian and German directors were booed by the public. The stage direction is remarkable though, with interesting ideas like changing the barracks scene to a morgue, giving more impact to the Countess's revelation of reveal her secret. The sets consist mostly of white walls that accentuate Hermann's more  unreal aspects. Something similar can be said of costumes which are all in pale colours, except the Countess, who is always dressed in black. Despite good lighting work, in summary, this production of a the more than promising Arnaud Bernard, turned out to be slightly disappointing.

At 30 years old, the Russian  Tugan Sokhiev is one of the best things on the musical scene today. He made a very strong impression last year in Madrid in “The Love of the three Oranges” and the same can be said now about this Queen of Spades. I have rarely had the opportunity to see this opera conducted with so much strength and conviction and having had the privilege in the past of attending performances by Valery Gergiev and Vladimir Jurowski, all  I can say is that Tugan Sokhiev is up there with both of them. His hand movements (he conducted without abaton) remind one very much to Valery Gergiev in fact. He showed a total control of the score, very energetic gestures and a capacity for transmitting total conviction to the musicians, but with equally full control of the stage. This man is far more than promising,despite of his age. Under his leadership the Orchestre National du Capitole was magnificent, as also it was the the Capitole Chorus, except for some sporadic moments during the second act.

Vladimir Galouzine was an impressive Hermann in all senses who simply has no rival  in this repertoire. He has great stamina and a real baritonal middle range, but with an outstanding and powerful high register. His identification with the deranged Hermann was total and this was a memorable performance.

Dutch soprano  Barbara Haveman is a regular in this theater, where she has sung Jenufa, Micaela and, recently, Donna Elvira. In general. I always considered her as a decent soprano without too much interest, but as Lisa she gave her most convincing performance so far.  She was helped very well by the director, offering a most credible portrayal and  singing  with expressiveness and a voice perfectly suited to the needs of the role.

The veteran baritone Vladimir Chernov was good Prince Yeletsky, singing his great aria in the first act with taste. It is  peculiar what  happens with to this very good singer. During the first half of the  90s he was almost the baritone of reference in the main Verd  repertoire but lately, his presence in big opera houses has been infrequent, despite the fact that the voice is in good shape (perhaps a little less forceful than before) and his age (54 years) is still more than reasonable for a baritone.

The great Raina Kabaivanska was the Countess  - or The Queen of Spades who gives title to the opera. Without a doubt she has been one the great glories of the second half of the last century and she still maintains  her bearing and dignity  on stage and is an outstanding actress.   Vocally, her state leaves something to be desired, as happens with so many Countesses  but the important  thing is that nobody should go to opera to criticize older glory: instead we should respectfully  show her admiration and appreciation for her long and magnificent career.

Russian baritone Boris Statsenko was not too brilliant a  Count Tomsky but  Armenian mezzo soprano Varduhi Abrahamnyan was a good Polina, both in her duet with Lisa and in her own first act aria. And among the secondary roles Romanian Balint Szabo deserves much attention as  Sourine and there were no failures among  rest -  Vladimir Solodovnikov (Tchekalinski), Carolin Masur (Governess), and Elena Poesina (Macha and Chloé).

As I said before, there was a packed house with an audience that gave a triumphant applause to Vladimir Galouzine and Tugan Sokhiev. There were very warm receptions too for Haveman, Chernov and, of course, for Raina Kabaivanska.

José M. Irurzun

Pictures © Patrice Nin

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