The Queen of Spades Is Dec. 14, 2019, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades is the Dec. 14, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, numbering second of the season’s 23 radio matinees.

Russian lyric tenor Nikolay Figner (1857-1918) and his wife Italian-born mezzo-soprano/soprano Medea Mei-Figner (1859-1952) created the main tenor and soprano roles in two of 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s operas, The Queen of Spades and Iolanta; The Metropolitan Opera most recently staged Iolanta during the 2018-2019 season, and The Queen of Spades is revived for the 2019-2020 season: Melvyn Madigan @myaskofiev, via Facebook Dec. 19, 2018

Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades is the Dec. 14, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and numbering as the second of 23 scheduled Saturday matinee radio broadcasts during the 2019-2020 Met Opera season.

Late-Romantic Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893) set his musical score for The Queen of Spades to a Russian libretto written by one of his younger brothers, Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 13, 1850-Jan. 15, 1916).

The literary source for Modest Tchaikovsky’s libretto was the same-named, supernatural short story, The Queen of Spades (Russian: Пиковая дама, Pikovaya dama), by Romantic Era Russian playwright and poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (June 6, 1799-Feb. 10, 1837). Pushkin’s short story appeared in the March 1834 issue of literary magazine Библиоте́ка для чте́ния (Biblioteka diya chteniya; The Reader’s Library).

The Tchaikovsky brothers’ The Queen of Spades premiered Dec. 19, 1890, at Mariinsky Theatre in the Baltic seaport of St. Petersburg in northwestern Russia. Mariinsky Theatre, sited at 1 Theatre Square (Театральная площадь, Teatralnaya ploshchad), opened Oct. 2, 1860.

The Metropolitan Opera House hosted the United States premiere of The Queen of Spades. The premiere took place March 5, 1910, as a matinee. The libretto was sung in German. The opera received four performances during the 1909-1910 Met Opera season.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season offers seven performances of The Queen of Spades. The season’s first performance took place Friday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The season’s six remaining performances of The Queen of Spades are scheduled for December. The month’s first performance took place Monday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Additional performances in December are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; and closing night, Saturday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s The Queen of Spades has an estimated run time of 3 hours 33 minutes. Act I is estimated at 65 minutes. An intermission of 32 minutes follows. Acts II and III are estimated at 116 minutes.

Vasily Eduardovich Petrenko conducts all performances of The Queen of Spades. The Russian-British conductor made his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 29 in the 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s production of The Queen of Spades.

Lise Davidsen appears in all performances as Lisa, whose lover’s obsession with her grandmother’s card-winning secret torments her into suicide. The Norwegian lyric dramatic soprano’s appearances as Lisa mark her Metropolitan Opera debut.

Elena Maximova appears in all performances as Pauline, Lisa’s friend. The Russian mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Olga in the opera house’s 144th performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Larissa Diadkova appears in all performances as the Countess, known as the Queen of Spades. The Russian mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut April 6, 1996, as Madelon in the opera house’s 152nd performance of Andrea Chénier by Italian composer Umberto Giordano (Aug. 28, 1867-Nov. 12, 1948).

Aleksandrs Antonenko appears in the season’s first three performances (Friday, Nov. 29; Monday, Dec. 2; Thursday, Dec. 5) as Hermann, whose obsession with learning the Queen of Spades’ three special cards proves fatal. The Latvian tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut March 9, 2009, as the Prince in the opera house’s 16th performance of Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

Aleksandrs Antonenko shares the role of Hermann with Yusif Eyvazov and Kristian Benedikt. Yusif Eyvazov appears as Hermann in three performances: Sunday, Dec. 8; Saturday, Dec. 14; and closing night, Saturday, Dec. 21.

The Metropolitan Opera announced via Twitter Nov. 25 that, because of illness, Aleksandrs Antonenko has withdrawn from his three performances. Yusif Eyvazov, therefore, is adding Antonenko's Dec. 8, Dec. 14 and closing night Dec. 21 appearances to his roster, for a total commitment of six appearances as Hermann.

Yusif Eyvazov made his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 7, 2015, as Calaf in the opera house’s 305th performance of Turandot by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, the Azerbaijan dramatic tenor reprises the role of Calaf for the season’s production of Turandot and also for the New Year’s Eve Gala. He also appears as Cavaradossi for the season’s production of Puccini’s Tosca and also for the New Year’s Eve Gala.

Kristian Benedikt appears as Hermann in the Wednesday, Dec. 18, performance. The Lithuanian tenor made his Metropolitan Opera debut March 28, 2019, as Samson in the opera house’s 229th performance of Samson et Dalila by French Romantic Era composer Camille Saint-Saëns (Oct. 9, 1835-Dec. 16, 1921).

Igor Golovatenko appears in all performances as Prince Yeletsky, whose engagement to Lisa is disrupted by Hermann. The Russian baritone’s appearances as Yeletsky mark his Metropolitan Opera debut.

Alexey Markov appears in all performances as Tomsky, Hermann’s friend whose tale of The Queen of Spades’ third suitor fascinates Hermann. The Russian operatic baritone and bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Dec. 10, 2007, as Prince Andrey Bolkonsky in the opera house’s 11th performance of War and Peace by Russian-Soviet composer, conductor and pianist Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953).

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s performances of The Queen of Spades revive staging by Elijah Moshinsky. The Australian opera director’s new Met Opera production of The Queen of Spades debuted Oct. 26, 1995, in the opera house’s 35th performance of Tchaikovsky’s card-themed opera.

Moshinsky’s production team comprises Mark Thompson as set and costume designer and Paul Pyant as lighting designer. John Meehan choreographs the production.

The takeaway for The Queen of Spades as the Dec. 14, 2019, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that Russian Romantic Era composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s card-themed opera numbers as the second of 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts that air weekly through Saturday, May 9, 2020.

Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko makes his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 29 in the 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s revival of Pyotr and Modest Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades: IMG Artists @IMGArtistsUK, via Facebook Sept. 16, 2019

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Russian lyric tenor Nikolay Figner (1857-1918) and his wife Italian-born mezzo-soprano/soprano Medea Mei-Figner (1859-1952) created the main tenor and soprano roles in two of 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s operas, The Queen of Spades and Iolanta; The Metropolitan Opera most recently staged Iolanta during the 2018-2019 season, and The Queen of Spades is revived for the 2019-2020 season: Melvyn Madigan @myaskofiev, via Facebook Dec. 19, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/myaskofiev/status/1075326538273308673

Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko makes his Metropolitan Opera debut Nov. 29 in the 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s revival of Pyotr and Modest Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades: IMG Artists @IMGArtistsUK, via Facebook Sept. 16, 2019, @ https://twitter.com/IMGArtistsUK/status/1173548700939014144

For further information:

“Debut: Alexander Vedernikov, Elena Maximova.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 355150 Eugene Onegin {144} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/23/2013.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=355150

“Debut: Kristian Benedikt.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357005 Samson et Dalila {229} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/01/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357005

"Debut: Yusif Eyvazov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356109 Turandot {305} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 11/07/2015.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356109

“Debuts: Aleksandrs Antonenko, Brenda Patterson.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352925 Rusalka {16} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/09/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352925

“Debuts: Aleksei Markov, Lucas Meachem . . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352228 War and Peace {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/10/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352228

“Debuts: Michael Chioldi, Larissa Diadkova . . .” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 323860 > Andrea Chénier {152} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/6/1996.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=323860

IMG Artists ‏@IMGArtistsUK. “Vasily #Petrenko's @MetOpera debut at the end of November is one of the @nytimes events not to miss this season. . . .” Facebook. Sept. 16, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/IMGArtistsUK/status/1173548700939014144

Marriner, Derdriu. “2019-2020 Met Opera Season’s 10th Week Has Glass, Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 18, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/2019-2020-met-opera-seasons-10th-week.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “2019-2020 Met Opera Season’s 11th Week Has Glass, Mozart and Tchaikovsky.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 25, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/11/2019-2020-met-opera-seasons-11th-week.html

Melvyn Madigan ‏@myaskofiev. “Tchaikovsky, with Nikolay and Medea Figner, 19 July 1890. On 19 Dec they starred in the premiere of Tchaikovsky's opera 'The Queen of Spades' (as Herman and Liza). The initial run was quite short due to Medea's pregnancy, and her husband's refusal to work with another soprano.” Facebook. Dec. 19, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/myaskofiev/status/1075326538273308673

Metropolitan Opera ‏@MetOpera. "Yusif Eyvazov will sing Hermann in the November 29, December 2, and December 5 performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, replacing Aleksandrs Antonenko who has withdrawn due to illness. #CastChange." Twitter. Nov. 25, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/1199072250001010689

“New Production: The Queen of Spades.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 322250 New Production The Queen of Spades {35} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/26/1995.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=322250

United States Premiere. “The Queen of Spades.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 47140 United States Premiere The Queen of Spades {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/5/1910.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=47140