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The Queen of Spades Reviews"The climactic encounter between Hermann and the Countess (Carole
Wilson) is astonishingly handled - at once fierce in its compassion and
disturbing in its examination of images of physical decline. Stuart Stratford's
conducting combines detail with passion, and the City of London Sinfonia's
playing is all oily sensuality and brooding menace. Boylan, Stone and Wilson are
exceptionally fine. Boylan is rapturous and profoundly touching. Stone suggests
Yeletsky's snobbish diffidence as well as his proud charm. And Wilson superbly
conveys the psychological terrors that lurk behind the Countess's steely public
persona." "Martin Lloyd-Evans's neat staging found imaginative solutions. Stuart
Stratford conducted a fine performance, with rich, dark gurglings from the
prominent clarinets. Orla Boylan's impassioned Lisa, Carole Wilson's icy
Countess and Mark Stone's Yeletski were excellent." "Run, run, run to get any remaining tickets for Opera Holland Park's
Queen of Sapdes... Viktor Lutsyuk has an enormous, tirelessly powerful voice, a thrilling
clarion sound and looks great. It's a blue-moon chance to hear the role sung
with real Russian oomph. Orla Boylan sings with passionate intelligence as Lisa,
Mark Stone is great as Prince Yeletsky..." "Lloyd Evans has set the opera in the first decade of the 20th century,
lending it a tense social context, and affording one utterly magical image of
"la Venus Moscovite"... the casting is superlative, with Orla Boylan a
radiant and thoughful Lisa, Mark Stone a beautifully restrained Prince Yeletsky,
Carole Wilson a chilling, tragic Countess, and rising stars Antonia Sotgiu and
Matthew Hargreaves as Polina and Tomski." "Carole Wilson's authoritarian countess and Matthew Hargreaves'
slickly rich-toned Tomsky... Stuart Stratford conducts with a flair for both the
dance music and the high drama." "Lutsyuk's was one of the most exciting pieces of heroic tenor singing
we've heard in years... [Carole Wilson] sang magnificently and embodied her role
rivetingly. The casting was from strength down to the smallest parts... A
memorable to the season; Holland Park's tent has become a venue no enthusiast
can afford to pass by." "Holland Park favourite Mark Stone as Prince Yeletski was particularly
fine in his impassioned second-act declaration of love and frustration. Matthew
Hargreaves' Tomski captivatingly delivered the aria in which he tells of the
aged Countess who reputedly knows the 'secret of the three cards', while Aled
Hall and Omar Ebrahim had fun as his mischievous cohorts. The Countess was the
imposing Carole Wilson, who touchingly delivered her aria recalling her youth...
one of the hottest tickets in town." |
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