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Pique Dame Op. 68
Live
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Tchaikovsky: Pique dame, Op. 68 (Live)
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Track Listings
Disc: 1
| 1 | Introduktion |
| 2 | Gori, Gori Yasno |
| 3 | Chem Konchilas Vchera Igra? - Ya Imeni Yeyo Ne Znayu - a Yesli Tak, Skorei Za Delo! |
| 4 | Nakonets-To Bog - a Ty Uveren - Schastlivy Den - Skazhi, Na Kom Ty Zhenishsya |
| 5 | Mne Strashno! |
| 6 | Kakaya Vedma - Odnazhdy V Versalye |
| 7 | Se Non È Vero |
| 8 | Uzh Vecher |
| 9 | Obvorozhitelno! - Da, Vspomnila... Podrugi Milie - Nu-Ka, Svetik Mashenka |
| 10 | Mesdemoiselles |
| 11 | Pora Uzh Raskhoditsya - Ne Nado Zatvorit - Zachem Zhe Eti Slyozy - Ostanovites - Prosti, Prelestnoe Sozdanye - Liza, Otvori! - 'Kto Strastno Lyubya |
Disc: 2
| 1 | Radostno, Veselo V Den Sei |
| 2 | Khozyain Prosit Dorogikh - Ya Vas Lyublyu |
| 3 | Posle Predstavleniya |
| 4 | Pod Tenyu Gustoyu |
| 5 | Moi Milenki Druzhok |
| 6 | Kak Ty Mila |
| 7 | Kto Pylko I Strastno Lyubya! |
| 8 | Vsyo Tak, Kak Mne Ona Skazala - Shagi! Syuda Idut - Polno Vrat Vam! Nadoyeli - Je Crains de Lui Parler la Nuit |
| 9 | Ne Pugaites! - Ona Mertva! Sbylos |
Disc: 3
| 1 | Ya Neveryu Chtoby |
| 2 | Mne Strashno! Strashno! - Ya Prishla K Tebe |
| 3 | Uzh Polnoch Blizitsya - Akh! Istomilas Ya Gorem |
| 4 | A Yesli Mne V Otvet - O Da, Minovali Stradanya |
| 5 | Budem Pit I Veselitsya! - Dana! |
| 6 | Yeslib Miliya Devitsy - Tak V Nenastnye Dni |
| 7 | Za Dela, Gospoda - Chto Nasha Zhizn? - Idyot Yeshcho? - Knyaz! Knyaz, Prosti Menya! - Gospod! Prosti Yemu! |
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
BRKlassik presents the 2014 live recording from Munich's Philharmonie im Gasteig of the semistaged performance of Tchaikovsky's late masterpiece Pique Dame, or The Queen of Spades. In its long history as a concert orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has also devoted itself on numerous occasions to opera, under such eminent conductors as Rafael Kubelik and Leonard Bernstein. Chief conductor Mariss Jansons also maintains this tradition, for example with concert performances of Russian operas such as Eugene Onegin. With great connoisseurship, Maestro Jansons assembled a group of singers for this performance, sung in the original Russian, who are all native speakers of the language, and very familiar with the work, including Misha Didyk as Herman, Tatiana Serjan as Lisa, and Alexey Markov as Prince Yeletsky.
Review
"Jansons has a fine pedigree in Tchaikovsky and he paces the opera unerringly well, building tension superbly... With an excellent recording... this is a highly recommendable version of Tchaikovsky's opera which pulls the listener into the drama." --Mark Pullinger, Gramophone Editor's Choice, 2015
Product details
- Product Dimensions : 5.28 x 5.28 x 1.06 inches; 8.25 ounces
- Manufacturer : BR-Klassik
- Original Release Date : 2015
- Date First Available : July 31, 2015
- Label : BR-Klassik
- ASIN : B010GJTWP8
- Number of discs : 3
- Best Sellers Rank: #253,641 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #9,694 in Opera & Vocal (CDs & Vinyl)
- #31,823 in Classical (CDs & Vinyl)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
16 global ratings
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2017
Interesting recording.
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2016
On the infrequent occasions when Pique Dame is staged in the West, critics invariably comment that the orchestral music is magnificent but the opera overall is elusive. Tchaikovsky worked in a frenzied burst of creativity, finishing the piano score in 44 days during an 1890 stay in Florence. He had shown indifference at first to Pushkin’s short story as the basis for an opera, despite prompting by the hopeful director of the Mariinsky Theater. When he changed his mind, however, it was with a vengeance, and he turned his soldier protagonist, Herman, into the tragic victim of fate when all too easily the character might seem too anti-heroic in his self-destructive gambling to be more than a case study in addiction.
This concert performance from 2014 under Mariss Jansons stands out because, unlike every rival on disc (all having been reviewed and mostly snubbed by Fanfare critics), it isn’t star-crossed. As difficult as Pique Dame is to cast, depending above all on a tenor with heroic stamina—he plays a major part in all seven scenes—and the ability to portray psychological deterioration, Jansons’s entire cast shines. For collectors who have felt compromised by past recordings, rest assured that this Herman and Lisa both deliver performances at the top rank. Jansons conducts with total sympathy for the score’s many mood swings, from frivolity to horror and desperation; the Bavarian Radio Symphony is splendid throughout and is captured in excellent, vivid sound that does full justice to voices and orchestra together. Aside from its tragic intensity, Tchaikovsky’s score includes a divertissement of songs, dances, choruses, and pastoral tableaux that Jansons leads buoyantly.
The throaty, nasal timbre of many Russian tenors doesn’t fall easily on Western ears, and the Soviet era established a “can belto” tradition that works against the psychological depth of Herman as he abandons love and honor in a desperate attempt to win enough at the casino to raise himself to the station of the gentle-born Lisa. Thanks to online listening sites, I scanned the tenors who headline notable sets under Rostropovich, Ozawa, and Gergiev, and I feel confident that Misha Didyk is the best of them. The voice has an appealing Romantic tone, combining the supple upper range of Nicolai Gedda with strong, dark middle and lower registers. Didyk has charisma as a vocal actor without resorting to cliché operatic excess. In the act III duet with Lisa he transits perfectly from ardent lover to addled gambler.
Just as convincing is the Lisa of Tatiana Serjan, who possesses a lovely lyric soprano heightened by a fast beat that adds a thrilling edge. She confronts two rivals in the role with famous names—Galina Vishnevskaya for Rostropovich and Mirella Freni for Ozawa—but they sang the part too late in their careers to sound as fresh and secure as Serjan. She easily encompasses the full vocal range that takes Lisa from innocence to suicidal despair. The enclosed booklet contains not a scrap of information about the singers—I had never encountered any of them—but some online searching revealed that Didyk is Ukrainian and has sung at the major Russian opera houses as well as La Scala. Serjan is Russian, attended conservatory in St. Petersburg, and has been a soloist with the Mariinsky Opera since 2014.
Three other strong singers are needed for the secondary roles of Tomsky, Prince Yeletsky, and the Countess. The two men are quite good here, especially the Tomsky of baritone Alexey Shishlyaev, who makes the most of his “Tri karty” aria in act I—this sets in motion the plot device of three mystery cards that Herman pins all of his hopes on. The Countess is a scene-stealing role, both as an old lady and her malicious ghost. A stellar singer such as Maureen Forester on the Ozawa set leaves an indelible impression. That’s not true of mezzo Larissa Diadkova, who is solid and capable without being magnetic. The ghost (miked off-stage as a spectral touch) isn’t handing around cupcakes on a tray, but she’s not hair-raising, either—an opportunity missed.
For an opera with a hit-and-miss history on disc, this one miss is more than a quibble but far from being fatal. For anyone who wants a beginning Pique Dame, or even a first choice, this powerful new release is hard to surpass. The Munich audience remains quiet most of the time but bursts into applause and bravos that haven’t been edited out. The program notes are engaging, although for some reason BR Klassik provides no synopsis. Full libretto in Russian, English, and German, set in type small enough to make you squint constantly to decipher it.
(Reprinted with permission from Fanfare magazine archives.)
This concert performance from 2014 under Mariss Jansons stands out because, unlike every rival on disc (all having been reviewed and mostly snubbed by Fanfare critics), it isn’t star-crossed. As difficult as Pique Dame is to cast, depending above all on a tenor with heroic stamina—he plays a major part in all seven scenes—and the ability to portray psychological deterioration, Jansons’s entire cast shines. For collectors who have felt compromised by past recordings, rest assured that this Herman and Lisa both deliver performances at the top rank. Jansons conducts with total sympathy for the score’s many mood swings, from frivolity to horror and desperation; the Bavarian Radio Symphony is splendid throughout and is captured in excellent, vivid sound that does full justice to voices and orchestra together. Aside from its tragic intensity, Tchaikovsky’s score includes a divertissement of songs, dances, choruses, and pastoral tableaux that Jansons leads buoyantly.
The throaty, nasal timbre of many Russian tenors doesn’t fall easily on Western ears, and the Soviet era established a “can belto” tradition that works against the psychological depth of Herman as he abandons love and honor in a desperate attempt to win enough at the casino to raise himself to the station of the gentle-born Lisa. Thanks to online listening sites, I scanned the tenors who headline notable sets under Rostropovich, Ozawa, and Gergiev, and I feel confident that Misha Didyk is the best of them. The voice has an appealing Romantic tone, combining the supple upper range of Nicolai Gedda with strong, dark middle and lower registers. Didyk has charisma as a vocal actor without resorting to cliché operatic excess. In the act III duet with Lisa he transits perfectly from ardent lover to addled gambler.
Just as convincing is the Lisa of Tatiana Serjan, who possesses a lovely lyric soprano heightened by a fast beat that adds a thrilling edge. She confronts two rivals in the role with famous names—Galina Vishnevskaya for Rostropovich and Mirella Freni for Ozawa—but they sang the part too late in their careers to sound as fresh and secure as Serjan. She easily encompasses the full vocal range that takes Lisa from innocence to suicidal despair. The enclosed booklet contains not a scrap of information about the singers—I had never encountered any of them—but some online searching revealed that Didyk is Ukrainian and has sung at the major Russian opera houses as well as La Scala. Serjan is Russian, attended conservatory in St. Petersburg, and has been a soloist with the Mariinsky Opera since 2014.
Three other strong singers are needed for the secondary roles of Tomsky, Prince Yeletsky, and the Countess. The two men are quite good here, especially the Tomsky of baritone Alexey Shishlyaev, who makes the most of his “Tri karty” aria in act I—this sets in motion the plot device of three mystery cards that Herman pins all of his hopes on. The Countess is a scene-stealing role, both as an old lady and her malicious ghost. A stellar singer such as Maureen Forester on the Ozawa set leaves an indelible impression. That’s not true of mezzo Larissa Diadkova, who is solid and capable without being magnetic. The ghost (miked off-stage as a spectral touch) isn’t handing around cupcakes on a tray, but she’s not hair-raising, either—an opportunity missed.
For an opera with a hit-and-miss history on disc, this one miss is more than a quibble but far from being fatal. For anyone who wants a beginning Pique Dame, or even a first choice, this powerful new release is hard to surpass. The Munich audience remains quiet most of the time but bursts into applause and bravos that haven’t been edited out. The program notes are engaging, although for some reason BR Klassik provides no synopsis. Full libretto in Russian, English, and German, set in type small enough to make you squint constantly to decipher it.
(Reprinted with permission from Fanfare magazine archives.)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Artistic and technical excellence make this a triumph. Untreservedly recommended.
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2015
Pique Dame or The Queen of Spades, the nickname of the Countess in this tale as well as the playing card also known as “The Black Widow”, was Tchaikovsky’s most successful opera in his lifetime, more so even than Onegin, and it is my favourite of those of the 9 operas he completed (one was never finished, another is a re-working of an earlier work making a total of 11 in some lists) that I have heard.
Russian Opera is an acquired taste for many, and like so much in Imperial Russia was expected to conform to certain patterns, with dire consequences if it did not!
This work is from a short story by Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky declined it as a commission on several occasions because his preference would have been to compose a claustrophobic work true to the nature of the author’s intentions, but he knew from bitter experience that this would not be acceptable. He relented in 1890 and collaborated with his brother Modest on an expanded version of the tale, with the obligatory ballroom scene ending with a paean of praise at the entry of Catherine the Great-which kept the “powers that were” happy.
Ostensibly it is a tale of obsession with gambling, but it is much more than that. The themes interweave the anti-hero Herman’s gambling obsession with his being trapped in the lower stratum of a rigid class system, his sexual obsession with the hapless heroine Lisa, and the ambiguity of supernatural intervention –or is it psychological manipulation of his own actions by Herman plagued by guilt and subconsciously bringing about his own destruction?
It is a familiar artistic theme-Man versus Fate-and there is always only one winner, as the final card game in this work demonstrates, and to which Tchaikovsky himself fell victim not long afterwards!
There is to be fair humour in the work too, in the asides of the secondary characters, but it is certain from the outset that there will be at least one death (3 in fact, 2 by suicide) and very likely a duel-which is in fact avoided by the fact of Herman obligingly shooting himself.
Tchaikovsky whipped through the composing in 6 weeks, producing a flowing, lucid score filled with ample melodic invention, and yet only one big number-Yeletski’s baritone aria in Act 2 -has caught the imagination as a “highlight”-Hvorostovsky regular includes it in his concert programmes-which translates as “I love you…” and this perhaps explains why the earlier Onegin remains the more popular work.
(As an aside, I remember the look of shock on a friend’s parents who had just returned from an evening at Opera North wrongly believing they were due to see their favourite work, Iolanthe! Need I say more…?).
The default choice for me has been the 1991 Philips Kirov recording-when it was still Kirov-beautifully packaged with a superb cast including Gegam Gregorian, Nikolai Putilin, Irina Arkhipova and even Olga Borodina in the minor role of Polina. It is conducted by Gergiev at his best-before his deification and the conducting with toothpick-and the orchestra still has a Russianate feel about it.
This new set is taken from semi-staged performances in October 2014 in the Philharmonie am Gasteig , a venue whose acoustics are constantly criticised but which produces superb results on recordings, as it does here again under the technical direction of Wilhelm Meister (so aptly named!) and his BR team.
This venue results in a much more vibrant, punchy sound than the plush velvet of the Herkulessaal and percussion come through thunderously, brass are resplendent and strings gleaming and weighty-beyond criticism in fact. Balance between voices and orchestra is perfect, and distant sonic effects and change of acoustic are subtly introduced to great effect. The children’s chorus can be heard marching cheerily in the opening scene, and the chorus-always a main factor in Russian Opera-are superb throughout.
The entire cast are native Russian speakers, and the voices are indeed Russianate (not always a compliment!) in the best possible sense.
I am simply bowled over by Misha Didyk’s Herman, whose tone is even more baritonal than Kaufmann’s in the lower register, but who also attacks the top of the stave fearlessly and steadily. I had not heard him –or of him-but I look forward to future acquaintance.
Alexey Markov is a firm, noble Yeletski, delivering his Act Two showcase aria with all the bravura it warrants.
Shishlyaev’s hoary sounding Tomski gets a round of applause after his tale in Act One-it IS a live recording remember-and all the supporting roles are well taken.
Larissa Diadkova is the living Pique Dame, and she is as consummate an actress as she is an accomplished singer, not relying on Addams Family exaggeration in the chilling bedroom confrontation with Herman but delivering her role with an intensity and imperiousness that is riveting.
Tatiana Serjan is a big-voiced soprano with plenty of vocal heft in the rather thankless role of Lisa, but though she is occasionally a little wayward she is gives us a performance which thrills went it needs to, and is filled with pathos in a touching manner in her final scenes.
Early in his career Mariss Jansons was a regular conductor in the pit, but in the last 25 years he has conducted rarely in the opera house (Vienna and La Scala in recent years including a superb Vienna Carmen!), but he has conducted concert performances of mainly Russian Opera in Munich, Amsterdam and elsewhere. This is to date his only complete opera recording on CD, which is a great pity.
He puts not a foot wrong in this performance, pacing the work with just enough drive to keep it lively, but holding back to emphasise passages when required. Dynamics are very wide on this recording, sounding very natural, and he supports his singers perfectly.
I have already commented on the playing, but I cannot emphasise enough the beauty and richness of tone Jansons elicits to complement the perfect shaping.
There are sporadic bursts of applause at specific numbers, and again at the end of each act-to me this adds to the sense of a great occasion, and reminds us that the superb artistry is human after all. Otherwise audience presence is not noticeable.
The set is BEAUTIFULLY presented in what resembles a box of playing cards, complete with picture of THAT card from a Russian set. Each of the 3 discs is in a matching glossy cardboard folder, and there is a thick booklet with excellent notes and crucially in this work-a full libretto and translation. Aesthetically, it is a pleasure to own.
If you only want one recording of this work and you have the Gergiev already, I cannot in all fairness suggest that this new recording is SO superior that you should replace it with this one, not least because subjectivity always plays a part, but if you are looking for a new recording or love the work and want to hear it in different performances then I unhesitatingly recommend the br klassik set as First Choice! 5 Glorious Stars. Stewart Crowe
Russian Opera is an acquired taste for many, and like so much in Imperial Russia was expected to conform to certain patterns, with dire consequences if it did not!
This work is from a short story by Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky declined it as a commission on several occasions because his preference would have been to compose a claustrophobic work true to the nature of the author’s intentions, but he knew from bitter experience that this would not be acceptable. He relented in 1890 and collaborated with his brother Modest on an expanded version of the tale, with the obligatory ballroom scene ending with a paean of praise at the entry of Catherine the Great-which kept the “powers that were” happy.
Ostensibly it is a tale of obsession with gambling, but it is much more than that. The themes interweave the anti-hero Herman’s gambling obsession with his being trapped in the lower stratum of a rigid class system, his sexual obsession with the hapless heroine Lisa, and the ambiguity of supernatural intervention –or is it psychological manipulation of his own actions by Herman plagued by guilt and subconsciously bringing about his own destruction?
It is a familiar artistic theme-Man versus Fate-and there is always only one winner, as the final card game in this work demonstrates, and to which Tchaikovsky himself fell victim not long afterwards!
There is to be fair humour in the work too, in the asides of the secondary characters, but it is certain from the outset that there will be at least one death (3 in fact, 2 by suicide) and very likely a duel-which is in fact avoided by the fact of Herman obligingly shooting himself.
Tchaikovsky whipped through the composing in 6 weeks, producing a flowing, lucid score filled with ample melodic invention, and yet only one big number-Yeletski’s baritone aria in Act 2 -has caught the imagination as a “highlight”-Hvorostovsky regular includes it in his concert programmes-which translates as “I love you…” and this perhaps explains why the earlier Onegin remains the more popular work.
(As an aside, I remember the look of shock on a friend’s parents who had just returned from an evening at Opera North wrongly believing they were due to see their favourite work, Iolanthe! Need I say more…?).
The default choice for me has been the 1991 Philips Kirov recording-when it was still Kirov-beautifully packaged with a superb cast including Gegam Gregorian, Nikolai Putilin, Irina Arkhipova and even Olga Borodina in the minor role of Polina. It is conducted by Gergiev at his best-before his deification and the conducting with toothpick-and the orchestra still has a Russianate feel about it.
This new set is taken from semi-staged performances in October 2014 in the Philharmonie am Gasteig , a venue whose acoustics are constantly criticised but which produces superb results on recordings, as it does here again under the technical direction of Wilhelm Meister (so aptly named!) and his BR team.
This venue results in a much more vibrant, punchy sound than the plush velvet of the Herkulessaal and percussion come through thunderously, brass are resplendent and strings gleaming and weighty-beyond criticism in fact. Balance between voices and orchestra is perfect, and distant sonic effects and change of acoustic are subtly introduced to great effect. The children’s chorus can be heard marching cheerily in the opening scene, and the chorus-always a main factor in Russian Opera-are superb throughout.
The entire cast are native Russian speakers, and the voices are indeed Russianate (not always a compliment!) in the best possible sense.
I am simply bowled over by Misha Didyk’s Herman, whose tone is even more baritonal than Kaufmann’s in the lower register, but who also attacks the top of the stave fearlessly and steadily. I had not heard him –or of him-but I look forward to future acquaintance.
Alexey Markov is a firm, noble Yeletski, delivering his Act Two showcase aria with all the bravura it warrants.
Shishlyaev’s hoary sounding Tomski gets a round of applause after his tale in Act One-it IS a live recording remember-and all the supporting roles are well taken.
Larissa Diadkova is the living Pique Dame, and she is as consummate an actress as she is an accomplished singer, not relying on Addams Family exaggeration in the chilling bedroom confrontation with Herman but delivering her role with an intensity and imperiousness that is riveting.
Tatiana Serjan is a big-voiced soprano with plenty of vocal heft in the rather thankless role of Lisa, but though she is occasionally a little wayward she is gives us a performance which thrills went it needs to, and is filled with pathos in a touching manner in her final scenes.
Early in his career Mariss Jansons was a regular conductor in the pit, but in the last 25 years he has conducted rarely in the opera house (Vienna and La Scala in recent years including a superb Vienna Carmen!), but he has conducted concert performances of mainly Russian Opera in Munich, Amsterdam and elsewhere. This is to date his only complete opera recording on CD, which is a great pity.
He puts not a foot wrong in this performance, pacing the work with just enough drive to keep it lively, but holding back to emphasise passages when required. Dynamics are very wide on this recording, sounding very natural, and he supports his singers perfectly.
I have already commented on the playing, but I cannot emphasise enough the beauty and richness of tone Jansons elicits to complement the perfect shaping.
There are sporadic bursts of applause at specific numbers, and again at the end of each act-to me this adds to the sense of a great occasion, and reminds us that the superb artistry is human after all. Otherwise audience presence is not noticeable.
The set is BEAUTIFULLY presented in what resembles a box of playing cards, complete with picture of THAT card from a Russian set. Each of the 3 discs is in a matching glossy cardboard folder, and there is a thick booklet with excellent notes and crucially in this work-a full libretto and translation. Aesthetically, it is a pleasure to own.
If you only want one recording of this work and you have the Gergiev already, I cannot in all fairness suggest that this new recording is SO superior that you should replace it with this one, not least because subjectivity always plays a part, but if you are looking for a new recording or love the work and want to hear it in different performances then I unhesitatingly recommend the br klassik set as First Choice! 5 Glorious Stars. Stewart Crowe
Top reviews from other countries
M.E.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Überbewertet
Reviewed in Germany on September 19, 2020
Im Gegensatz zu den meist hymnischen anderen Rezensionen bin ich von dieser mit vielen und starken Nebengeräuschen belasteten Live-Aufführung aus dem Münchner Gasteig überhaupt nicht begeistert. Zunächst einmal wählt M. Janssons sehr bedächtige Tempi und setzt auf einen eher filigranen, hellen Orchesterklang, was m.E. für diese in düsteren und verstörenden Klängen schwelgende Oper (im Gegensatz etwa zu Eugen Onegin oder Yolanta) nicht der richtige Ansatz ist.
Doch meine Hauptkritik richtet sich an die Besetzung der beiden großen Hauptrollen.
T.Serjans Sopran ist zu schwer und vibratoreich, manchmal regelrecht matronenhaft, um in der Rolle der jungen Lisa überzeugen zu können. M. Didyks Timbre ist sehr baritonal geprägt und der Sänger muss bei den zahlreichen hohen Tönen ziemlich angestrengt drücken und stemmen, dazu kommt ein ebenfalls zu starkes Vibrato und ein unbefriedigender Registerausgleich in dieser- zugegebenermaßen- immens heiklen Rolle. Aber man höre sich einmal Grigorian oder Atlantow an, dann weiß man, wie ein überzeugender Hermann klingen sollte. Die beiden Baritonpartien sind vorzüglich besetzt, wohingegen die Gräfin durch eine viel zu jungen Sängerin dargestellt wird. Dem BR-Chor hört man deutlich an, dass ihm die Übung in slawischer Diktion fehlt. Unverständlich ist mir auch, dass der kurze und freche, aber dramaturgisch sehr wichtige Chor der kleinen Soldaten im 1. Akt von einem gemischten Kinderchor mit viel zu weichem Timbre gesungen wird. Janssons-Fans werden diese hauseigene BR-Edition sicherlich wie einen Schatz hüten, ich halte diese Pique dame hingegen für völlig überflüssig.
Doch meine Hauptkritik richtet sich an die Besetzung der beiden großen Hauptrollen.
T.Serjans Sopran ist zu schwer und vibratoreich, manchmal regelrecht matronenhaft, um in der Rolle der jungen Lisa überzeugen zu können. M. Didyks Timbre ist sehr baritonal geprägt und der Sänger muss bei den zahlreichen hohen Tönen ziemlich angestrengt drücken und stemmen, dazu kommt ein ebenfalls zu starkes Vibrato und ein unbefriedigender Registerausgleich in dieser- zugegebenermaßen- immens heiklen Rolle. Aber man höre sich einmal Grigorian oder Atlantow an, dann weiß man, wie ein überzeugender Hermann klingen sollte. Die beiden Baritonpartien sind vorzüglich besetzt, wohingegen die Gräfin durch eine viel zu jungen Sängerin dargestellt wird. Dem BR-Chor hört man deutlich an, dass ihm die Übung in slawischer Diktion fehlt. Unverständlich ist mir auch, dass der kurze und freche, aber dramaturgisch sehr wichtige Chor der kleinen Soldaten im 1. Akt von einem gemischten Kinderchor mit viel zu weichem Timbre gesungen wird. Janssons-Fans werden diese hauseigene BR-Edition sicherlich wie einen Schatz hüten, ich halte diese Pique dame hingegen für völlig überflüssig.
STEWART CROWE
5.0 out of 5 stars
A triumph musically and technically- and beautifully presented. Unreservedly recommended.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2015
Pique Dame or The Queen of Spades, the nickname of the Countess in this tale as well as the playing card also known as “The Black Widow”, was Tchaikovsky’s most successful opera in his lifetime, more so even than Onegin, and it is my favourite of those of the 9 operas he completed (one was never finished, another is a re-working of an earlier work making a total of 11 in some lists) that I have heard.
Russian Opera is an acquired taste for many, and like so much in Imperial Russia was expected to conform to certain patterns, with dire consequences if it did not!
This work is from a short story by Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky declined it as a commission on several occasions because his preference would have been to compose a claustrophobic work true to the nature of the author’s intentions, but he knew from bitter experience that this would not be acceptable. He relented in 1890 and collaborated with his brother Modest on an expanded version of the tale, with the obligatory ballroom scene ending with a paean of praise at the entry of Catherine the Great-which kept the “powers that were” happy.
Ostensibly it is a tale of obsession with gambling, but it is much more than that. The themes interweave the anti-hero Herman’s gambling obsession with his being trapped in the lower stratum of a rigid class system, his sexual obsession with the hapless heroine Lisa, and the ambiguity of supernatural intervention –or is it psychological manipulation of his own actions by Herman plagued by guilt and subconsciously bringing about his own destruction?
It is a familiar artistic theme-Man versus Fate-and there is always only one winner, as the final card game in this work demonstrates, and to which Tchaikovsky himself fell victim not long afterwards!
There is to be fair humour in the work too, in the asides of the secondary characters, but it is certain from the outset that there will be at least one death (3 in fact, 2 by suicide) and very likely a duel-which is in fact avoided by the fact of Herman obligingly shooting himself.
Tchaikovsky whipped through the composing in 6 weeks, producing a flowing, lucid score filled with ample melodic invention, and yet only one big number-Yeletski’s baritone aria in Act 2 -has caught the imagination as a “highlight”-Hvorostovsky regular includes it in his concert programmes-which translates as “I love you…” and this perhaps explains why the earlier Onegin remains the more popular work.
(As an aside, I remember the look of shock on a friend’s parents who had just returned from an evening at Opera North wrongly believing they were due to see their favourite work, Iolanthe! Need I say more…?).
The default choice for me has been the 1991 Philips Kirov recording-when it was still Kirov-beautifully packaged with a superb cast including Gegam Gregorian, Nikolai Putilin, Irina Arkhipova and even Olga Borodina in the minor role of Polina. It is conducted by Gergiev at his best-before his deification and the conducting with toothpick-and the orchestra still has a Russianate feel about it.
This new set is taken from semi-staged performances in October 2014 in the Philharmonie am Gasteig , a venue whose acoustics are constantly criticised but which produces superb results on recordings, as it does here again under the technical direction of Wilhelm Meister (so aptly named!) and his BR team.
This venue results in a much more vibrant, punchy sound than the plush velvet of the Herkulessaal and percussion come through thunderously, brass are resplendent and strings gleaming and weighty-beyond criticism in fact. Balance between voices and orchestra is perfect, and distant sonic effects and change of acoustic are subtly introduced to great effect. The children’s chorus can be heard marching cheerily in the opening scene, and the chorus-always a main factor in Russian Opera-are superb throughout.
The entire cast are native Russian speakers, and the voices are indeed Russianate (not always a compliment!) in the best possible sense.
I am simply bowled over by Misha Didyk’s Herman, whose tone is even more baritonal than Kaufmann’s in the lower register, but who also attacks the top of the stave fearlessly and steadily. I had not heard him –or of him-but I look forward to future acquaintance.
Alexey Markov is a firm, noble Yeletski, delivering his Act Two showcase aria with all the bravura it warrants.
Shishlyaev’s hoary sounding Tomski gets a round of applause after his tale in Act One-it IS a live recording remember-and all the supporting roles are well taken.
Larissa Diadkova is the living Pique Dame, and she is as consummate an actress as she is an accomplished singer, not relying on Addams Family exaggeration in the chilling bedroom confrontation with Herman but delivering her role with an intensity and imperiousness that is riveting.
Tatiana Serjan is a big-voiced soprano with plenty of vocal heft in the rather thankless role of Lisa, but though she is occasionally a little wayward she is gives us a performance which thrills went it needs to, and is filled with pathos in a touching manner in her final scenes.
Early in his career Mariss Jansons was a regular conductor in the pit, but in the last 25 years he has conducted rarely in the opera house (Vienna and La Scala in recent years including a superb Vienna Carmen!), but he has conducted concert performances of mainly Russian Opera in Munich, Amsterdam and elsewhere. This is to date his only complete opera recording on CD, which is a great pity.
He puts not a foot wrong in this performance, pacing the work with just enough drive to keep it lively, but holding back to emphasise passages when required. Dynamics are very wide on this recording, sounding very natural, and he supports his singers perfectly.
I have already commented on the playing, but I cannot emphasise enough the beauty and richness of tone Jansons elicits to complement the perfect shaping.
There are sporadic bursts of applause at specific numbers, and again at the end of each act-to me this adds to the sense of a great occasion, and reminds us that the superb artistry is human after all. Otherwise audience presence is not noticeable.
The set is BEAUTIFULLY presented in what resembles a box of playing cards, complete with picture of THAT card from a Russian set. Each of the 3 discs is in a matching glossy cardboard folder, and there is a thick booklet with excellent notes and crucially in this work-a full libretto and translation. Aesthetically, it is a pleasure to own.
If you only want one recording of this work and you have the Gergiev already, I cannot in all fairness suggest that this new recording is SO superior that you should replace it with this one, not least because subjectivity always plays a part, but if you are looking for a new recording or love the work and want to hear it in different performances then I unhesitatingly recommend the br klassik set as First Choice! 5 Glorious Stars. Stewart Crowe
Russian Opera is an acquired taste for many, and like so much in Imperial Russia was expected to conform to certain patterns, with dire consequences if it did not!
This work is from a short story by Pushkin, and Tchaikovsky declined it as a commission on several occasions because his preference would have been to compose a claustrophobic work true to the nature of the author’s intentions, but he knew from bitter experience that this would not be acceptable. He relented in 1890 and collaborated with his brother Modest on an expanded version of the tale, with the obligatory ballroom scene ending with a paean of praise at the entry of Catherine the Great-which kept the “powers that were” happy.
Ostensibly it is a tale of obsession with gambling, but it is much more than that. The themes interweave the anti-hero Herman’s gambling obsession with his being trapped in the lower stratum of a rigid class system, his sexual obsession with the hapless heroine Lisa, and the ambiguity of supernatural intervention –or is it psychological manipulation of his own actions by Herman plagued by guilt and subconsciously bringing about his own destruction?
It is a familiar artistic theme-Man versus Fate-and there is always only one winner, as the final card game in this work demonstrates, and to which Tchaikovsky himself fell victim not long afterwards!
There is to be fair humour in the work too, in the asides of the secondary characters, but it is certain from the outset that there will be at least one death (3 in fact, 2 by suicide) and very likely a duel-which is in fact avoided by the fact of Herman obligingly shooting himself.
Tchaikovsky whipped through the composing in 6 weeks, producing a flowing, lucid score filled with ample melodic invention, and yet only one big number-Yeletski’s baritone aria in Act 2 -has caught the imagination as a “highlight”-Hvorostovsky regular includes it in his concert programmes-which translates as “I love you…” and this perhaps explains why the earlier Onegin remains the more popular work.
(As an aside, I remember the look of shock on a friend’s parents who had just returned from an evening at Opera North wrongly believing they were due to see their favourite work, Iolanthe! Need I say more…?).
The default choice for me has been the 1991 Philips Kirov recording-when it was still Kirov-beautifully packaged with a superb cast including Gegam Gregorian, Nikolai Putilin, Irina Arkhipova and even Olga Borodina in the minor role of Polina. It is conducted by Gergiev at his best-before his deification and the conducting with toothpick-and the orchestra still has a Russianate feel about it.
This new set is taken from semi-staged performances in October 2014 in the Philharmonie am Gasteig , a venue whose acoustics are constantly criticised but which produces superb results on recordings, as it does here again under the technical direction of Wilhelm Meister (so aptly named!) and his BR team.
This venue results in a much more vibrant, punchy sound than the plush velvet of the Herkulessaal and percussion come through thunderously, brass are resplendent and strings gleaming and weighty-beyond criticism in fact. Balance between voices and orchestra is perfect, and distant sonic effects and change of acoustic are subtly introduced to great effect. The children’s chorus can be heard marching cheerily in the opening scene, and the chorus-always a main factor in Russian Opera-are superb throughout.
The entire cast are native Russian speakers, and the voices are indeed Russianate (not always a compliment!) in the best possible sense.
I am simply bowled over by Misha Didyk’s Herman, whose tone is even more baritonal than Kaufmann’s in the lower register, but who also attacks the top of the stave fearlessly and steadily. I had not heard him –or of him-but I look forward to future acquaintance.
Alexey Markov is a firm, noble Yeletski, delivering his Act Two showcase aria with all the bravura it warrants.
Shishlyaev’s hoary sounding Tomski gets a round of applause after his tale in Act One-it IS a live recording remember-and all the supporting roles are well taken.
Larissa Diadkova is the living Pique Dame, and she is as consummate an actress as she is an accomplished singer, not relying on Addams Family exaggeration in the chilling bedroom confrontation with Herman but delivering her role with an intensity and imperiousness that is riveting.
Tatiana Serjan is a big-voiced soprano with plenty of vocal heft in the rather thankless role of Lisa, but though she is occasionally a little wayward she is gives us a performance which thrills went it needs to, and is filled with pathos in a touching manner in her final scenes.
Early in his career Mariss Jansons was a regular conductor in the pit, but in the last 25 years he has conducted rarely in the opera house (Vienna and La Scala in recent years including a superb Vienna Carmen!), but he has conducted concert performances of mainly Russian Opera in Munich, Amsterdam and elsewhere. This is to date his only complete opera recording on CD, which is a great pity.
He puts not a foot wrong in this performance, pacing the work with just enough drive to keep it lively, but holding back to emphasise passages when required. Dynamics are very wide on this recording, sounding very natural, and he supports his singers perfectly.
I have already commented on the playing, but I cannot emphasise enough the beauty and richness of tone Jansons elicits to complement the perfect shaping.
There are sporadic bursts of applause at specific numbers, and again at the end of each act-to me this adds to the sense of a great occasion, and reminds us that the superb artistry is human after all. Otherwise audience presence is not noticeable.
The set is BEAUTIFULLY presented in what resembles a box of playing cards, complete with picture of THAT card from a Russian set. Each of the 3 discs is in a matching glossy cardboard folder, and there is a thick booklet with excellent notes and crucially in this work-a full libretto and translation. Aesthetically, it is a pleasure to own.
If you only want one recording of this work and you have the Gergiev already, I cannot in all fairness suggest that this new recording is SO superior that you should replace it with this one, not least because subjectivity always plays a part, but if you are looking for a new recording or love the work and want to hear it in different performances then I unhesitatingly recommend the br klassik set as First Choice! 5 Glorious Stars. Stewart Crowe
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brissaud
5.0 out of 5 stars
TCHAÏKOVSKI/ DAME DE PIQUE/JANSONS
Reviewed in France on September 16, 2015
Pièce majeure du répertoire lyrique et chef d'œuvre de son auteur, la Dame de Pique n'a pas au disque, la place qu'elle mérite. En effet, depuis 1967, date du second (et définitif) enregistrement de Boris Khaïkin (avec Andjaparidze, la jeune Milashkina, Levko, Arkhipova, Mazurok), venant après au moins deux autres illustres versions soviétiques (Samosoud 1937 et Melik-Pachaïev 1949, toutes deux chez Melodiya, ou Naxos), moins bien enregistrées, aucune version ultérieure n'avait pu faire l'unanimité.
La luxueuse version Rostropovitch chez DG était handicapée par une direction enfiévrée mais souvent brouillonne, une Vishnievskaïa vieillie et des chœurs indignes, malgré l'impérissable Comtesse de Regina Resnik, les témoignages d'Ozawa (RCA, plateau de stars hasardeusement assemblées, et trop tard pour les deux protagonistes principaux, Freni et Atlantov)d'une rare platitude, de Gergiev, plus idiomatique mais brouillon, souvent dénervé et arythmique (Philips), de Fedosseïev (Mobile Records, ou Relief) , anecdotique, malgré quelques excellents chanteurs (Tarashenko, Arkhipova, Hvorostovski), n'avaient guère marqué, pas plus que celui, heureusement disparu, de Tchakarov chez Sony. Tous laissaient la vedette au live sensationnel de l'Opéra de Munich publié naguère chez Orfeo où Julia Varady et la direction survoltée d'Algis Juraitis faisaient merveille, aux prix cependant d'odieuses coupures (dont l'intégralité ' ô crime !- de la Pastorale du II) et de seconds plans approximatifs. On passe sous silence la pâteuse version soviétique d'Ermler (Philips) qui, peu après Khaïkin II, marquait déjà le début de la décadence, malgré de grands noms.
Captée du 4 au 13 octobre 2014 lors d'exécutions de concert données à Munich, cette réalisation exemplaire vient donc combler un sérieux vide, s'imposant sans peine, presqu'à l'égal des trois versions soviétiques précitées, qu'elle n'éclipse pas tout à fait, comme la version moderne à connaître. Mariss Jansons montre ici toute l'envergure de son inspiration, à la tête d'un orchestre de la Radio Bavaroise resplendissant, et confondant d'exactitude et de classe. Sa conception retire à l'œuvre tout slavisme excessif, en la plaçant ouvertement dans une esthétique très « allemande », faite de cadrages rigoureux, de vigueur et de chaleur timbrique, ce qui n'est nullement un contresens. Même si une tension implacable est imprimée à chaque acte, la poigne du chef ne sollicite aucun pathos, aucune sentimentalité, aucun épanchement aucun effet brillant ou exagérément étrange, pour privilégier, tableau par tableau, une tension sèche, presqu'abstraite, une justesse d'atmosphères (à dominante mate et sombre), une précision absolue de la matière qui, exaltant l'économie supérieure de l'écriture de Tchaïkovski (pas une note en trop, une matière orchestrale chiche et millimétrée, à l'affût de chaque intermittence, de chaque lapsus, de chaque raptus psychologique), atteint sans faillir, et sans esbroufe, à l'essentiel. Les empilements harmoniques, les changements d'atmosphère, les enchevêtrements de motifs obsessionnels sont mis en lumière et en relation avec une maîtrise architecturale qui force l'admiration. A titre de micro-exemple, il est le seul chef qui mette à ce point en évidence la troublante citation (au cor anglais) de l'hymne à Henri IV reproduit par Tchaïkovski juste après le « Daje inogda sama, sama, Markisa Pompadour » du monologue de la Comtesse au II . C'est à peine si l'on peut noter un léger fléchissement au premier tableau du II, avec une Pastorale vite et sèchement conduite (cette mise en abyme rococo de l'action principale est vraiment conçue ici comme une parenthèse), et quatre derniers tableaux (enregistrés probablement lors d'autres concerts) qui, malgré leurs mérites, n'atteignent pas tout à fait l'extraordinaire niveau d'intensité du 1er acte, absolument magistral.
Misha Didyk est le grand titulaire actuel du rôle très lourd d'Hermann. Sans posséder l'ampleur, la classe absolue et la grande manière d'un Andjaparidze (Khaïkin II), ni la fièvre, la sensibilité et la subtilité allusive d'un Lemieshev (Melik-Pachaïev), tous deux inégalés, il compose, avec beaucoup d'intelligence et de considérables moyens vocaux, un Hermann passionné et extrêmement nuancé (écouter le duo du second tableau), d'un superbe sex-appeal vocal, dont il dessine avec une grande justesse psychologique et fort peu de relâchement la trajectoire vers la folie, qui démarre par une invocation aux éléments (l'orage de la fin du 1er tableau) parfaitement hallucinée. Autre grand format, idéalement apparié au ténor ukrainien, la Lisa passionnée de Tatiana Serjan, spécialiste des emplois verdiens lourds (c'est, un peu comme Guleghina avant elle, mais en plus intelligent, une Lady Macbeth ou une Abigaille) recentrée ici avec bonheur sur son cœur de répertoire. Si la voix, parfois un peu tirée, gutturale et légèrement trop mure pour le personnage, manque de charme, l'incarnation est saisissante, tissée de nuances constamment pertinentes (les hésitations, l'angoisse, les abandons, les extases, la colère, le désespoir se succèdent avec une totale justesse) et d'une émotion palpable, culminant dans ses deux duos avec Hermann, incandescents.
Troisième triomphateur, l'exceptionnel Tomski d'Alekseï Shishliayev, à la fois brillant et inquiétant, auquel le célèbre récit du 1er tableau (page essentielle puisqu'en révélant le passé sulfureux de la Comtesse et le secret des cartes elle va enflammer l'imagination d'Hermann jusqu'au délire et à la ruine) vaut une ovation parfaitement méritée du public : aucun chanteur avant lui ne lui avait conféré une telle intensité, un tel suspense jusque dans la manière dont il surjoue les dialogues rapportés entre le Comte de St Germain et la Comtesse (écouter par exemple comme il se convulse sur le « Kak smieietie vy ! » de la Comtesse). Enfin, Diadkova, sans doute la mezzo russe la plus complète des deux ou trois dernières décennies, se devait de nous laisser sa conception de la Comtesse : elle en a l'autorité, l'aplomb vocal, la parfaite tenue musicale (avec une économie de moyens et une intériorité, une réserve presque, assez surprenantes), à défaut de la morgue et de la morbidité des plus grandes : voilà une Comtesse parfaitement bien élevée, incontestablement aristocratique (avec un délicieux accent russe dans la partie française de son rôle), tout à fait saine, à laquelle manque simplement le souffle de la tombe ' et (même de son vivant) le timbre d'au-delà ou l'insolence tranchante d'une Resnik ou d'une Forrester.
Le reste de la distribution, entièrement russophone, peut-être moins marquant, reste de très haut niveau, et sans failles, avec notamment d'excellents comparses (Tchekalinski et Surin, aux rôles importants; remarquable Pauline également, qui fait quasiment jeu égal avec Arkhipova, Schwarz ou Borodina) et l'Eletski peu expansif et encore moins tranchant (dans le dernier tableau surtout, comparer avec l'illustre Lisitsian chez Melik-Pachaïev ou même Weikl chez Rostropovitch) mais sculptural d'Alexeï Markov.
Les chœurs, très importants dans cette œuvre, d'une précision et d'une homogénéité extrême, et d'une constante vitalité font oublier leur couleur trop occidentale (surtout perceptible au 1er tableau du III.) par une diction impeccable et une discipline impressionnante. Mention spéciale pour les enfants du 1er tableau, absolument parfaits.
Prise de son superlative, parfaitement étagée, avec une image d'un réalisme extrême. Les applaudissements, nombreux, n'ont pas été coupés au montage. Bon texte de présentation en anglais et allemand. Livret en russe, anglais et allemand.
Il n'y a donc pas à hésiter, voici le must des versions récentes, à écouter en priorité juste après Khaïkin II, le modèle.
La luxueuse version Rostropovitch chez DG était handicapée par une direction enfiévrée mais souvent brouillonne, une Vishnievskaïa vieillie et des chœurs indignes, malgré l'impérissable Comtesse de Regina Resnik, les témoignages d'Ozawa (RCA, plateau de stars hasardeusement assemblées, et trop tard pour les deux protagonistes principaux, Freni et Atlantov)d'une rare platitude, de Gergiev, plus idiomatique mais brouillon, souvent dénervé et arythmique (Philips), de Fedosseïev (Mobile Records, ou Relief) , anecdotique, malgré quelques excellents chanteurs (Tarashenko, Arkhipova, Hvorostovski), n'avaient guère marqué, pas plus que celui, heureusement disparu, de Tchakarov chez Sony. Tous laissaient la vedette au live sensationnel de l'Opéra de Munich publié naguère chez Orfeo où Julia Varady et la direction survoltée d'Algis Juraitis faisaient merveille, aux prix cependant d'odieuses coupures (dont l'intégralité ' ô crime !- de la Pastorale du II) et de seconds plans approximatifs. On passe sous silence la pâteuse version soviétique d'Ermler (Philips) qui, peu après Khaïkin II, marquait déjà le début de la décadence, malgré de grands noms.
Captée du 4 au 13 octobre 2014 lors d'exécutions de concert données à Munich, cette réalisation exemplaire vient donc combler un sérieux vide, s'imposant sans peine, presqu'à l'égal des trois versions soviétiques précitées, qu'elle n'éclipse pas tout à fait, comme la version moderne à connaître. Mariss Jansons montre ici toute l'envergure de son inspiration, à la tête d'un orchestre de la Radio Bavaroise resplendissant, et confondant d'exactitude et de classe. Sa conception retire à l'œuvre tout slavisme excessif, en la plaçant ouvertement dans une esthétique très « allemande », faite de cadrages rigoureux, de vigueur et de chaleur timbrique, ce qui n'est nullement un contresens. Même si une tension implacable est imprimée à chaque acte, la poigne du chef ne sollicite aucun pathos, aucune sentimentalité, aucun épanchement aucun effet brillant ou exagérément étrange, pour privilégier, tableau par tableau, une tension sèche, presqu'abstraite, une justesse d'atmosphères (à dominante mate et sombre), une précision absolue de la matière qui, exaltant l'économie supérieure de l'écriture de Tchaïkovski (pas une note en trop, une matière orchestrale chiche et millimétrée, à l'affût de chaque intermittence, de chaque lapsus, de chaque raptus psychologique), atteint sans faillir, et sans esbroufe, à l'essentiel. Les empilements harmoniques, les changements d'atmosphère, les enchevêtrements de motifs obsessionnels sont mis en lumière et en relation avec une maîtrise architecturale qui force l'admiration. A titre de micro-exemple, il est le seul chef qui mette à ce point en évidence la troublante citation (au cor anglais) de l'hymne à Henri IV reproduit par Tchaïkovski juste après le « Daje inogda sama, sama, Markisa Pompadour » du monologue de la Comtesse au II . C'est à peine si l'on peut noter un léger fléchissement au premier tableau du II, avec une Pastorale vite et sèchement conduite (cette mise en abyme rococo de l'action principale est vraiment conçue ici comme une parenthèse), et quatre derniers tableaux (enregistrés probablement lors d'autres concerts) qui, malgré leurs mérites, n'atteignent pas tout à fait l'extraordinaire niveau d'intensité du 1er acte, absolument magistral.
Misha Didyk est le grand titulaire actuel du rôle très lourd d'Hermann. Sans posséder l'ampleur, la classe absolue et la grande manière d'un Andjaparidze (Khaïkin II), ni la fièvre, la sensibilité et la subtilité allusive d'un Lemieshev (Melik-Pachaïev), tous deux inégalés, il compose, avec beaucoup d'intelligence et de considérables moyens vocaux, un Hermann passionné et extrêmement nuancé (écouter le duo du second tableau), d'un superbe sex-appeal vocal, dont il dessine avec une grande justesse psychologique et fort peu de relâchement la trajectoire vers la folie, qui démarre par une invocation aux éléments (l'orage de la fin du 1er tableau) parfaitement hallucinée. Autre grand format, idéalement apparié au ténor ukrainien, la Lisa passionnée de Tatiana Serjan, spécialiste des emplois verdiens lourds (c'est, un peu comme Guleghina avant elle, mais en plus intelligent, une Lady Macbeth ou une Abigaille) recentrée ici avec bonheur sur son cœur de répertoire. Si la voix, parfois un peu tirée, gutturale et légèrement trop mure pour le personnage, manque de charme, l'incarnation est saisissante, tissée de nuances constamment pertinentes (les hésitations, l'angoisse, les abandons, les extases, la colère, le désespoir se succèdent avec une totale justesse) et d'une émotion palpable, culminant dans ses deux duos avec Hermann, incandescents.
Troisième triomphateur, l'exceptionnel Tomski d'Alekseï Shishliayev, à la fois brillant et inquiétant, auquel le célèbre récit du 1er tableau (page essentielle puisqu'en révélant le passé sulfureux de la Comtesse et le secret des cartes elle va enflammer l'imagination d'Hermann jusqu'au délire et à la ruine) vaut une ovation parfaitement méritée du public : aucun chanteur avant lui ne lui avait conféré une telle intensité, un tel suspense jusque dans la manière dont il surjoue les dialogues rapportés entre le Comte de St Germain et la Comtesse (écouter par exemple comme il se convulse sur le « Kak smieietie vy ! » de la Comtesse). Enfin, Diadkova, sans doute la mezzo russe la plus complète des deux ou trois dernières décennies, se devait de nous laisser sa conception de la Comtesse : elle en a l'autorité, l'aplomb vocal, la parfaite tenue musicale (avec une économie de moyens et une intériorité, une réserve presque, assez surprenantes), à défaut de la morgue et de la morbidité des plus grandes : voilà une Comtesse parfaitement bien élevée, incontestablement aristocratique (avec un délicieux accent russe dans la partie française de son rôle), tout à fait saine, à laquelle manque simplement le souffle de la tombe ' et (même de son vivant) le timbre d'au-delà ou l'insolence tranchante d'une Resnik ou d'une Forrester.
Le reste de la distribution, entièrement russophone, peut-être moins marquant, reste de très haut niveau, et sans failles, avec notamment d'excellents comparses (Tchekalinski et Surin, aux rôles importants; remarquable Pauline également, qui fait quasiment jeu égal avec Arkhipova, Schwarz ou Borodina) et l'Eletski peu expansif et encore moins tranchant (dans le dernier tableau surtout, comparer avec l'illustre Lisitsian chez Melik-Pachaïev ou même Weikl chez Rostropovitch) mais sculptural d'Alexeï Markov.
Les chœurs, très importants dans cette œuvre, d'une précision et d'une homogénéité extrême, et d'une constante vitalité font oublier leur couleur trop occidentale (surtout perceptible au 1er tableau du III.) par une diction impeccable et une discipline impressionnante. Mention spéciale pour les enfants du 1er tableau, absolument parfaits.
Prise de son superlative, parfaitement étagée, avec une image d'un réalisme extrême. Les applaudissements, nombreux, n'ont pas été coupés au montage. Bon texte de présentation en anglais et allemand. Livret en russe, anglais et allemand.
Il n'y a donc pas à hésiter, voici le must des versions récentes, à écouter en priorité juste après Khaïkin II, le modèle.
eliottvonrob
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jansons on top form with Tchaikovsky’s finest opera
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2022
I liked the brilliant orchestral playing and superb singing from the characters Herman and Lisa whose relationship fell apart due to Herman’s gambling habits. A great opera written three years before the composer’s death but it was a major achievement and it comperes well with the best of Verdi and Wagner
jean-marie lambert
5.0 out of 5 stars
Une interprétation enthousiasmante
Reviewed in France on October 13, 2015
Edité sans publicité ni récompenses anticipées(...),oublié par la presse spécialisée,voici peut-être le meilleur coffret d'opéra de l'année.
Mariss Jansons a quelque peu délaissé l'opéra;il en a souvent donné les raisons;à l'écoute de cette "Dame de Pique" l'on ne peut que le regretter.A la tête de "son" orchestre de la radio bavaroise,enregistré au cours d'exécutions semi-scéniques en octobre 2014,Jansons nous livre ici une performance extraordinaire:des tempi toujours justes au service d'une conception unitaire de l'oeuvre,servie par des pupitres superlatifs et par une prise de son d'un grand naturel.C'est tout simplement la meilleure direction de l'oeuvre depuis Melik-Pachaiev,Khaikine et,un cran en-dessous, Ozawa.
Et la distribution,entièrement russophone (et jeune,sauf Diakova, comtesse idéale) est parfaite:Didyk est un Hermann engagé,bien chantant,dont la folie progresse au fur et à mesure du déroulement de l'oeuvre;digne héritier de Nelepp et Andjaparidze,il est le meilleur titulaire actuel du rôle avec Galouzine;Serjan est une superbe Lisa,passionnée et passionnante,et osons écrire qu'elle égale Milashkina et dépasse Freni.Quant au Tomski de Shishliaev,il est superlatif.Le reste de la distribution est impeccable(Pauline,Eletski...),et les choeurs bien en place même si un peu germains parfois...
Rares sont les enregistrements actuels dont on peut dire qu'ils sont indispensables;après neuf auditions l'enthousiasme ne faiblit pas,et cette interprétation rejoint donc Khaikine et Melik-Pachaiev parmi les références.Hors de toute routine,une interprétation d'exception par un chef qui a quelque chose à dire!
Mariss Jansons a quelque peu délaissé l'opéra;il en a souvent donné les raisons;à l'écoute de cette "Dame de Pique" l'on ne peut que le regretter.A la tête de "son" orchestre de la radio bavaroise,enregistré au cours d'exécutions semi-scéniques en octobre 2014,Jansons nous livre ici une performance extraordinaire:des tempi toujours justes au service d'une conception unitaire de l'oeuvre,servie par des pupitres superlatifs et par une prise de son d'un grand naturel.C'est tout simplement la meilleure direction de l'oeuvre depuis Melik-Pachaiev,Khaikine et,un cran en-dessous, Ozawa.
Et la distribution,entièrement russophone (et jeune,sauf Diakova, comtesse idéale) est parfaite:Didyk est un Hermann engagé,bien chantant,dont la folie progresse au fur et à mesure du déroulement de l'oeuvre;digne héritier de Nelepp et Andjaparidze,il est le meilleur titulaire actuel du rôle avec Galouzine;Serjan est une superbe Lisa,passionnée et passionnante,et osons écrire qu'elle égale Milashkina et dépasse Freni.Quant au Tomski de Shishliaev,il est superlatif.Le reste de la distribution est impeccable(Pauline,Eletski...),et les choeurs bien en place même si un peu germains parfois...
Rares sont les enregistrements actuels dont on peut dire qu'ils sont indispensables;après neuf auditions l'enthousiasme ne faiblit pas,et cette interprétation rejoint donc Khaikine et Melik-Pachaiev parmi les références.Hors de toute routine,une interprétation d'exception par un chef qui a quelque chose à dire!
