Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame

I was expecting from the reviews I read to not have any sub-titles but lo and behold the Englsh titles came on immediately.The singing was superb. The only drawback was the recording of the Orchestra which sounded as though it had beenplaced secondarily. The sets were appropriate and done in period.

When I first viewed this production I was put off by Vladimir Atlantov's loud, brash style of singing. Milashkina also seemed excessively shrill and unrefined. After years of continued investigation into Russian opera performance practice, and realizing the sheer paucity of excellent interpretations on the market, I returned to this Pique Dame.Max Lorenz had recently desensitized me to this type of tenor - of the loud and unrestrained school - or so I had once viewed these power singers. Lorenz had stunned me and opened my mind with his Bacchus in the 1944 Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Karl Böhm. Lorenz was brilliant in this role, unmatched by any other tenor except Helge Rosvaenge in 1935.Atlantov is a spiritual and artistic cousin to Lorenz and Rosvaenge, and he may be even more musical and skilled with his ability to sing softly and to expressively modify his tone. Other than a few cringe-producing top notes, Atlantov is a marvelously expressive Germann, tormented, withdrawn, and passionately self-destructive. He is in better voice here than in the Ermler studio recording of Pique Dame, where his voice is more strident and less beautiful. His wife Milashkina sings magnificently in both.I have completely revised my opinion of Atlantov and Milashkina, now viewing them as the apotheosis of Russian singing of that period. They are as distant as possible from the current HIP style of delicate, detailed singing heard in much recent opera. The USSR would last less than a decade following this Bolshoi performance. The new international sound promoted by Gergiev would begin to replace this vigorous blood and guts style of Russian singing, soaked in vodka and borscht.To Atlantov and Milashkina's achievement must be added the gorgeous Countess of Elena Obraztsova. Her acting is convincing as a shrunken, bitter old woman, and her singing is pure beauty. I can't think of a any singer who approaches her in this role, and there have been many great Countesses. Usually they are more mature, taking on this role as they move toward retirement like Martha Mödl or Elisabeth Söderström. Obraztsova is still fresh, brilliant, and in wonderful voice.I'm less excited by Yuri Mazurok's Yeletsky. He sounds worn out and crude, and his timbre is constricted, lacking warmth and beauty.On record, the greatest Pique Dame remains Melik-Pashaev's with the Georgi Nelepp's sensitive poet Germann and the gorgeous Yeletsky of Pavel Lisitsian. It is unlikely that this recording will ever be surpassed. For a video account of this opera, this Bolshoi performance has now become my preferred choice. The Gergiev has much to commend it - the Germann of Gigam Grigorian is moving, and his singing is beautiful. Gulegina's Liza is also pretty impressive, but the rest of the cast pales compared to earlier singers. And most significantly, Gergiev's conducting is simply not Russian in sound or approach. It's missing the driving, rhythmic thrust and vitality of the old Russian masters. Gergiev's slow and limp style takes the thrill out of Russian music, which should be viscerally exciting and dramatic.Pique Dame is Tchaikovsky's most successful dramatic work. It has elements of autobiography, which add believability to the last act in particular. After he completed his civic education, Tchaikovsky quietly immersed himself in drinking, smoking, gambling, and partying. Germann reflects Tchaikovsky's own outcast experience, and his difficulties controlling his addictions to substances and relationships. This opera, with its beautiful melodies and orchestration, is great theater. The West's tendency to dismiss Russian art with condescension stems from long standing international hostilities. With the cold war ended, we can reassess Russian opera on its own terms, not in comparison to German or Italian work. As theater, it creates its own parameters, and sets its own standards as part of the noble Russian stage tradition. The double suicides of this opera are chilling considering Tchaikovsky's own tragic end.

In spite of some negative reviews of this performance for its acting and sound, I find myself very drawn to it, a very Russian sounding and looking 1983 Bolshoi performance of one of Tchaikovsky's greatest operas.Vladimir Atlantov has been criticized for his sometimes over-stentorian singing, but to my ears he did not overdo it here (unlike his convincing but too loud and occasionally tiresome vocalizing as the lead in the 1980 Bolshoi DVD of Rimsky Korsakov's Sadko). He sings Herman here beautifully, with a wider range of tone than he sometimes produces. Atlantov brings a controlled energy and winning ring to his tone, giving Herman an increasingly demented portrayal as befits the role. Most convincing.Lisa, Atlantov's real life wife, Tamara Milashkina, sings with authority and winning vocal allure, easy on the ear (unfortunately, not so much on the eye). Both sound truly Russian, although Milashkina could use more dramatic conviction in her acting. She is the epitome of the old-fashioned, stereotypical Russian stand-and-deliver approach to opera. Still, her understated approach does have its own appeal, matching Lisa's withdrawn, melancholy soul.As Yeletsky, Yuri Mazurok sings his famous aria of love and devotion to Lisa with eloquence and passion. Elena Obraztsova's Countess, often taken by a singer at the end of her career, here finds Obraztsova at 44, in peak form, splendidly portraying this most compelling old gal with outstanding vocalism and most convincing acting. An intimidating sight indeed, as surely she should be.Yuri Simonov, an underrated Russian conductor, leads with all the passion and conviction lacking in Gergiev's pedestrian 1992 Kirov DVD on Philips. Simonov brings a very robust Russian-sounding excitement and dramatic fervor to the score. Under his direction, the characters and scenes have tremendous color and involvement, a real feeling of Russianness. Even in the Rococo pastiches which grace this wonderful work, Simonov sounds fluent and full of life, while Gergiev lumbers, unable to give them the drive they need, seemingly not caring much for this musicA couple of the reviewers here have criticized the sound, which I did not find a problem with. Balance rightly favors the soloists, but the excellent Bolshoi orchestra (special kudos to the soulful first clarinet) is by no means swamped. And for a 1983 recording the sound is just fine, with an appealing fullness. Compare this to the Philips set of nine years later which overloads and distorts in loud passages, especially harmful with Maria Gulegina's at times overpowering and unwieldy vocal production as Lisa.It is true that neither Russian production offers the most exciting acting (especially the static Milashkina), but the Bolshoi's soloists' vocal efforts combined with sumptuous (albeit sometimes old-fashioned) costumes, fabulous dancing and splendrous sets quite easily overcome the few drawbacks. I watched with amazement the set design for Lisa's Act 3 scene at the banks of the canal, which has a most alluring depth of large buildings on one side and streetlights on the other that needs to be seen to be believed. A model for stage designers to study.In spite of the later Philips production, its picture is curiously dull and lacks sharpness. I actually prefer the Bolshoi picture, which has a greater contrast in color and textures, and frequently brings us closer to the action in the important scenes between Herman, Lisa, the Countess and Yeletsky. The immense size of both stages can be a problem for stage directors and film crews alike, and in spite of Brian Large's fine filming for Philips, the Bolshoi camera work makes the important dramatic scenes seem more present and cogent.These two sets are the only Russian DVDs of Pique Dame. A fine Russian performance of this marvelous work brings rewards that none other can bring. Count me easily on the side of the Bolshoi here. Ignore the nitpicking critics of this marvelous set and give it a viewing. The rewards are immense.

inferior sound with a background hum. otherwise excellent voices and staging

Despite a favourable editorial review from Amazon themselves I do not intend to rebuke, the prospective buyer of this dvd of a starrily cast 1983 Bolshoi performance of Tchaikovsky's most intriguing opera should be aware that, in my copy at least, the sound is seriously flawed: the effect is as if you had taken the left channel of a standard stereo recording and wired it through an Y-shaped connector into a mono track that feeds both speakers; a mono soundtrack of the left channel of a stereo recording, if I explain myself rightly. Thus, violins are heard quite distinctly as are also most of the orchestral instruments whose players seat towards the left of conductor Simonov, and those placed towards the conductor's right are heard distantly (if at all), as if coming from another room. Also, the volume relationship of orchestra and voices favours the latter to absurd proportions, perhaps as a collateral result of the problem. I don't know if the original, source recording is affected by the problem I have attempted to describe or if the whole thing is an unforgivable mistake on the part of Kultur but what is questionable is none the less is that it is not advised on neither cover. Information contained inside the box is according to Kultur's scant standards.

The Queen of Spades is one of my favourite operas and Elena Obraztsova is one of my favourite singers (she famously appeared barefoot as Carmen in Bolshoi in 1973 and gave us a proper image of a feisty girl from a Seville tobacco factory). She sings the Countess, looks the part, and the bedroom scene is quite blood-chilling.Unfortunately, Liza, Herman et al are pudgy and static in the old operatic way which has long gone out of fashion (this live performance was recorded in 1983). What's more, the production employs white wigs and cumbersome outfits, which are perfectly correct for the period, but oh so unattractive. Whether it is the fault of this heavy gear or of the heavy-handed direction, but to my eye the singers often appear like stilted marionettes, not to say stuffed bears.Most of the singing is world-class and sublime; but, apart from a very few dynamic moments, I found this DVD is best enjoyed with a piece of needlework...