The Queen of Spades, Garsington Opera

Jack Furness’s The Queen of Spades at Garsington Opera is a bold, psychologically charged interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s brooding masterpiece. Stripped of supernatural theatrics and steeped instead in distorted memory, social disintegration, and obsessive compulsion, this production delves into the opera’s darker layers with striking effectiveness—even if not every directorial decision entirely lands.

Set in its original 18th-century context, the staging nonetheless bears a distinctly modern sensibility. Designer Tom Piper’s mirror-laden set creates a sense of internal collapse and entrapment, allowing spaces to morph with the characters’ mental states. Lucy Burge’s imaginative choreography adds moments of grotesque levity, while Lizzie Powell’s lighting transforms bucolic Garsington into a shadow-drenched psychological arena. The masked ball scene, rife with unsettling eroticism, and the final card game, rendered with riveting theatricality, are visual high points.

Aaron Cawley commands the stage as Hermann. His immense vocal power and searing intensity paint a portrait of a man completely unravelled. Cawley’s heroic tenor sometimes verges on excessive force, but his obsession and torment are never in doubt. His presence is not only vocally authoritative but theatrically potent, even if the performance occasionally risks eclipsing his fellow cast members.

Laura Wilde’s Lisa offers vocal polish and interpretative poise. Her performance in Act III, particularly “Akh! istomilas ya goryem,” is moving in its desolation, but her chemistry with Cawley feels underdeveloped—perhaps a result of direction rather than vocal mismatch. Harriet Williams, stepping in as the Countess, offers one of the most touching performances of the night. Her reminiscences of Versailles are tinged with wistful elegance and restraint.

Stephanie Wake-Edwards brings engaging vitality to the role of Polina, offering one of the evening’s more nuanced character portrayals. Roderick Williams is an affecting Yeletsky, singing with warmth and expressive honesty, though dramatically underused. Robert Hayward’s Tomsky is energetic and vocally robust, adding necessary drive to ensemble scenes.

Douglas Boyd leads the Philharmonia Orchestra with precision and momentum. Tchaikovsky’s score is rendered with clarity and rhythmic urgency, though some critics may yearn for a deeper, more anguished quality. The woodwind writing, particularly in scenes of psychological unrest, is well-shaped, and the orchestral interludes bristle with latent menace.

While a few choices, such as the surreal image of Lisa being carried off or the bizarre vision of Hermann shooting Catherine the Great, feel disconnected from the rest of the concept, the production’s broader vision holds together. This is a thought-provoking, musically assured Queen of Spades that prioritises psychological realism over ghostly fantasy, and largely succeeds in doing so.

Photo credit: Julian Guidera, Garsington Opera.