Tchaikovsky’s opera ‘Pique Dame’ in Brussels is an unprecedented treat
Enjoying a great, great Russian opera based on a text by Pushkin – is allowed with good decency as long as Putin’s war rages on? And in that context, what about a children’s choir that sings “Gathering together to intimidate the enemy of Russia . . . hurrah, hurrah, hurrah?”
Whatever the moral compass, current politics is a long way off in Hungarian director David Marton (1975)’s view of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Lady for the Brussels Munt opera. The discomfort of the warlike children’s voices is cleverly avoided by blaring them through a radio, listened to by the real choir – hands over ears. This production isn’t about war, but about another, cross-border enemy: our obsession for material, made flesh in the gambling addict Hermann. He will do everything in his power to obsess over the “three cards” that lead to blissful victory.
Fair concrete
The opera is set in the communist Eastern bloc of the 1970s. Corpse beige terlenka trousers, stiff skirts to the fullest part of the calf, spencers and dust jackets – you will not be spared fashion horror in the brutalist station hall that serves as the main decor (with seats made of honest concrete). At the heart is a striking and deviant black concert grand piano. The program book explains why; director Marton cherishes memories of his piano teacher Ferenc Rados (1934) at the Budapest Conservatory, who remained true to his focus on music after 1989 and could only accept tuition fees with downcast eyes.
Marton’s concept forms the bedding for nice extras, such as an entre-acte by alcoholics mixing handgel with handgel. The concert pianist (homage to Rados) who sometimes plays along with the orchestra is a nice gimmick. But the power of the direction lies mainly in the characters, and the way many characters on stage start scenes with extra depth, such as a hall full of intimately shuffling couples on the delightful love aria by Jeletski Ya vas lyublyu – sung here with a little too little vocal agility by tenor Jacques Imbrailo.
Splash-like
There is excellent sung by 12 alternating fine, really good or character-cast soloists. In the latter category fall the lived Pauline of mezzo Charlotte Hellekant and starzzo Annie Sofie von Otter as the old Countess. Von Otter never had a big voice and here too relishes the intimacy of her timbre. But it works: the fatal scene in which Hermann loves her the secret of the three cards – precisely because of her vocal vulnerability. Dmitri Golovnin sings a Hermann full of mania and loneliness and soprano Anna Neachaeva’s Lisa is strong and radiant.
Under the conductor Nathalie Stutzmann (formerly a singer), a chamber musical finesse curls up from the box, which regularly gives you soft movements; the strings sing and lament. The fatal bedroom scene is orchestral ultimate due to the contrast between a mechanical rhythm and a graceful melody. Also perfect: the tuning with the great singing choir Even the most daring gears keep splashing; an unprecedented treat. This is especially true for choir and orchestra Pique Lady worth a trip to Brussels.