The Queen of Spades at Blank Performing Arts Center

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2. The Queen of Spades

Tchaikovsky anticipated the 20th century in this brooding, ambitious ghost story set against the backdrop of imperial Russia. In this surreal drama by Pushkin, the soldier Gherman parlays his love for the young aristocrat Lisa into a life-and-death wager, using their mutual attraction to mask his entre to her grandmothers bedchamber. There, he confronts the aged Countess, known as the Queen of Spades, who long ago learned the secret to certain success when gambling at cards. She dies of fright, but her ghost soon conveys the formula to Gherman: Three, seven, ace! In his madness, Gherman rejects Lisa, with lethal results, then makes an enormous bet at the gambling table. He wins, first with a three and then a seven, but his final card is the Queen of Spades. The Countesss ghost appears again and claims her macabre winningsGhermans life.This new production features the return of three beloved artists to DMMO. Tenor Jonathan Burton will sing his first Gherman after successful appearances as Dick Johnson in 2015s The Girl of the Golden West and Calaf in Turandot in 2017. Following critically acclaimed performances as Marie in Wozzeck in 2019 and the title role of Rusalka in 2018, soprano Sara Gartland sings her first Lisa. When acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle returns to sing the role of the Countess in The Queen of Spades, she will be debuting her 140th role and the 51st year of her remarkable and wide-ranging career. The production will be led by Maestro David Neely and directed by Matthew Ozawa.