Opera on 3 - Live from the Met - Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades

Direct from the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Seiji Ozawa conducts Tchaikovsky's opera, based on Pushkin's story about a man who loses his fortune and his mind to cards, with Maria Guleghina as Lisa and Ben Heppner as Ghermann. Ghermann is madly in love with Lisa, the wealthy granddaughter of the Countess, but he is too poor to have much hope of aspiring to her hand. He must learn the Countess's gambling secret in order to strike it rich and marry Lisa. She kills herself, though, when she realises that Gherman's obsession with gambling has driven him mad, and he commits suicide after losing his fortune. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. The two intervals include live backstage interviews with some of the artists. Lisa ...... Maria Guleghina (soprano) Ghermann ...... Ben Heppner (tenor) Pauline ...... Ekaterina Semenchuk (mezzo-soprano) The Countess ...... Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano) Count Tomsky ...... Mark Delavan (baritone) Prince Yeletsky ...... Vladimir Stoyanov (baritone) Chekalinsky ...... Alan Oke (tenor) Surin ...... Paul Plishka (bass) Chaplitsky ...... Mark Schowalter (tenor) Narumov ...... LeRoy Lehr (bass) Master of Ceremonies ...... Bernard Fitch (tenor) Governess ...... Kathryn Day (mezzo-soprano) Masha ...... Erin Morley (soprano) Chloe ...... Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Seiji Ozawa (conductor) Including the Met Opera Quiz during the interval.