{"id":7995,"date":"2025-05-30T15:10:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/opera-review-tchaikovskys-queen-of-spades-at-the-met\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:10:42","slug":"opera-review-tchaikovskys-queen-of-spades-at-the-met","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/opera-review-tchaikovskys-queen-of-spades-at-the-met\/","title":{"rendered":"Opera Review: Tchaikovsky\u2019s Queen of Spades at the Met"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Arsen Soghomonyan and Sonya Yoncheva as Hermann and Lisa. Ken Howard\/MetOpera<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When details of star soprano Anna Netrebko<\/a>\u2019s lawsuit against the Metropolitan Opera surfaced, one of the projects planned for her was a revival of Tchaikovsky\u2019s searing tragedy Queen of Spades. <\/i>After she became soprano non grata <\/i>at the Met in response to the Ukraine war and her support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, several Netrebko plans were dropped, while others, like new productions of Lohengrin<\/i><\/a> and La Forza del Destino<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>proceeded with other sopranos.<\/p>\n

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But the company decided to proceed with Queen of Spades<\/a> <\/i>starring sonya yoncheva<\/a>, another marquee name, as Lisa, while Netrebko\u2019s first stab at the opera has been rescheduled for late June at the Vienna Staatsoper alongside her now ex-husband Yusif Eyvasov<\/a>. After his Met success as Hermann in 2019, Eyvasov would surely have repeated it in 2025, so the Met had to also find a new Hermann: a task that proved to be inordinately complicated.<\/p>\n

The opera\u2019s plot, based on a novella by Pushkin, revolves around soldier Hermann\u2019s reckless quest to uncover the magical three cards that will guarantee his gambling success. The Met\u2019s plans to put its Queen of Spades <\/i>back on stage ultimately involved three <\/i>tenors. When this spring\u2019s revival was announced in February 2024, American Brian Jagde<\/a> was Hermann, a new role for him. When I asked him about it last year<\/a>, he offered that \u201cHermann is a role I feel I can really sink my teeth into and\u2026 it presents challenges I feel I\u2019m now ready for in my development as an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: Maike Cruse On Why Art Basel\u2019s Flagship Still Sets the Bar <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, less than a month before the premiere, Jagde withdrew, later revealing that he hadn\u2019t had sufficient time to prepare for the role. The opera company then summoned Brandon Jovanovich<\/a>, who had starred in a new production of Queen of Spades <\/i>just last season at Munich\u2019s Bavarian State Opera, to take over. Then, the day before the dress rehearsal, the Met announced that Jovanovich would be replaced by Armenian tenor Arsen Soghomonyan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A veteran Hermann, Soghomonyan amply demonstrated in his hastily arranged Met debut that he has the powerful tenor needed. But perhaps nerves or a lack of rehearsal caused him to crack at several crucial points. No doubt embarrassed by those mishaps, the tenor appeared for his solo bow, brandishing the pistol he used to \u201ckill himself\u201d minutes earlier. Acknowledging the enthusiastic applause, he pointed it to his temple with a shrug of apology.<\/p>\n

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Alexey Markov as Tomsky. Ken Howard\/MetOpera<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In another turn of the opera world merry-go-round, Soghomonyan had to leave Turandot <\/i>at the Greek National Opera to take on his surprise Met duties. He was replaced in Athens as Calaf by Jagde whose website still lists Hermann on his schedule at Berlin\u2019s Deutsche Oper for late June.<\/p>\n

A blunt actor, Soghomonyan embodied Hermann\u2019s distracted obsession effectively and otherwise delivered his increasingly desperate music with burning intensity. Aside from the unfortunate cracks, he fervently hurled potent high notes into the packed house.<\/p>\n