[Met Performance] CID:333540
Metropolitan Opera Premiere
The Gambler {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/19/2001.
(Debuts: Olga Guryakova, Sergei Aleksashkin, Olga Savova, Yuri Laptev, Franco Pomponi, Emmanuel Di Villarosa, Robert Brazil, Temur Chkheidze, George Tsypin, Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili
Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
March 19, 2001
Metropolitan Opera Premiere
THE GAMBLER {1}
Prokofiev-Prokofiev
Alexei....................Vladimir Galouzine
Polina....................Olga Guryakova [Debut]
General...................Sergei Alexashkin [Debut]
Marquis...................Nikolai Gassiev
Grammy....................Elena Obraztsova
Blanche...................Olga Savova [Debut]
Mr. Astley................John Fanning
Prince Nilsky.............Richard Fracker
Baron Würmerhelm..........Alexander Anisimov
Baroness Würmerhelm.......Inge Rappaport
Potapich..................Yuri Laptev [Debut]
Director..................Vaclovas Daunoras
Croupiers.................Ronald Naldi
Croupiers.................Eduardo Valdes
Fat Englishman............LeRoy Lehr
Tall Englishman...........Richard Vernon
Garish Lady...............Andrea Trebnik
Pale Lady.................Yvonne Gonzales Redman
Lady Comme ci, Comme ça...Reveka Mavrovitis
Venerable Lady............Wendy Hoffman
Suspicious Old Lady.......Diane Elias
Feodor....................Andrew Nies
Other Feodor..............Robert Brazil [Debut]
Marfa.....................Carole Goldstein
Reckless Gambler..........Vladimir Grishko
Sickly Gambler............Bernard Fitch
Hunchback Gambler.........Anthony Laciura
Unlucky Gambler...........Kamel Boutros
Old Gambler...............Philip Cokorinos
Gamblers: Emmanuel Di Villarosa [Debut], Iosef Shalamayev, Franco Pomponi [Debut], John Fiorito, Alfred Walker, Patrick Carfizzi
Conductor.................Valery Gergiev
Production................Temur Chkheidze [Debut]
Set designer..............George Tsypin [Debut]
Costume designer..........Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili [Debut]
Lighting designer.........James F. Ingalls
The Gambler received six performances this season.
Production a gift of The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.
[Note: Sergei Aleksashkin was billed as Sergei Alexashkin until 2/9/07.]
Review of Martin Bernheimer in the June 2001 issue of Opera (UK)
Gambling on Prokofiev
The programme at the Metropolitan Opera on March 19 called the esoteric challenge on display "The Gambler." For most impractical purposes, however, this was "Igrok."
In this, its first encounter with Sergey Prokofiev, the Met took advantage of its resident hyper-overachiever, Valery Gergiev. The semi-stylized production - directed by Temur Chkheidze and designed by George Tsypin, with costumes by Georgy Alexy-Meshkishvily - suggested a variation on the version assembled and conducted by the maestro five years ago in St Petersburg, and also in Milan and Paris. Apart from a few versatile Americans allotted minor roles, the Russian cast proved almost identical to the one on Gergiev's recording. For better or worse, this was a Kirov import.
It turned out to be admirable on its own distinct and distant terms. Still, an ingrate might question the wisdom of performing this obscure opus in New York with Russians singing Russian. "Igrok" doesn't exactly abound in pretty tunes. The composer valued other preoccupations here: clever declamation, sharp conversational exchange, subtle orchestral comment, imaginative rhythmic and harmonic punctuation of a complex narrative. The words are the thing, and the expressive key is irony. Unfortunately, New York audiences do not recognize the Dostoyevskian source and cannot negotiate the dramatic curves without help. The Met offered a communicative crutch with translations flashed on tiny screens in front of every seat. The system functions well for works with simple plots. In this instance, however, the text demands minute attention. A conscientious patron was thus forced to read first, to watch and listen second. The imbalance might have been avoided, of course, if the management had chosen to perform Prokofiev in English.
Gergiev conducted with crisp bravado and a welcome concern for momentum. Chkheidze's staging scheme focused the action, and inaction, with cinematic clarity, nicely abetted by James F. Ingalls's fluid lighting design. Tsypin's rather spare sets, dominated by garish roulette motifs, made canny use of abstract decoration and structural symbolism. The enlightened ensemble was dominated by Vladimir Galuzin, overpowering as the protagonist obsessed with easy money and difficult romance. He nearly made the arduous challenge seem easy, sustaining both poise and pathos as he traced Alexey's agonizing progress from desperation to madness. Olga Guriakova emerged wonderfully earthy yet radiant as Paulina, his elusive love. Sergey Alexashkin bumbled knowingly as the greedy General. Olga Savova was suavely seductive as Mme. Blanche, and Nikolay Gassiev was incisively pompous as the manipulative Marquis. Elena Obraztsova returned as the old Bahulenka, her
mezzo-soprano now worn, her persona still vital. The accompanying Americans, led by John Fanning as a stuffy Englishman, held their own.