CAST
Gegam Grigorian (Herman)
Sergei Leiferkus (Count Tomsky)
Alexander Gergalov (Prince Yeletsky)
Ludmila Filatova (Countess)
Maria Gulegina (Liza)
Olga Borodina (Pauline)

Kirov Opera, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg
Valery Gergiev

Yuri Temirkanov (stage production)

Brian Large (TV director)

ABOUT THIS DVD
Alongside Eugene Onegin, Pique Dame is Tchaikovsky's most celebrated opera, its dark tale of obsession conquering love inspiring some of Tchaikovsky's most tormented music. But there is a lighter, more glamorous side to the opera, offering a welcome contrast to the demonic drive of its central character, the gambler Herman. This is the spectacular, Rococo-period setting of the story, which takes place in the Kirov Opera's home city of St Petersburg. This serves as Tchaikovsky's cue for elegant 18th century pastiche (such as the Countess's Grétry aria) and the producer's cue for the magnificent, palatial set designs created for the opera's great public scenes.

This outstanding Pique Dame was one of the pioneering series of Gergiev / Kirov Opera productions released on the Philips label during the 1990s. Now transferred to DVD, it joins another triumphant release from this team, newly released on DVD — Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (075 089-9 PH2). It boasts a cast of leading Russian principals, including (once again) Sergei Leiferkus and Olga Borodina. At this time, Gergiev's Pique Dame looks set to be the first production of this opera to appear worldwide on DVD.

For enthusiasts, this DVD release offers a spacious DTS Digital 5.1 surround sound (in addition to Dolby Digital stereo), plus optional subtitles in no less than six languages.