Young soprano Lise Davidsen shines in The Queen of Spades

Revivals of Elijah Moshinsky’s grand production from 1995 of The Queen of Spades are invariably welcome. The current one is especially so for hosting the Met debut of a young Norwegian associated — amid considerable media hype — with German rather than Russian repertoire. Met general manager Peter Gelb has proclaimed Lise Davidsen “the next great Brünnhilde”, yet based on her Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s opera, I’d gratefully hear the gifted soprano in whatever role she sings. Big moments reveal a voice of striking quality, size and flexibility; her full-bodied tone is endowed with silvery brilliance and focus. To her credit, she doesn’t oversing but rather shows musicality in phrasing and dynamic control.

Tall and slim, Davidsen looks good on stage — and if her portrayal of the aristocratic young woman smitten by a compulsive gambler wasn’t the most impassioned imaginable, it will doubtless take on greater dramatic character should the role figure importantly in her career. If Davidsen keeps a level head and sensibly charts what to sing and when, she will go far.

The cast is otherwise solid, while lacking anyone to challenge Davidsen’s pre-eminence. Yusif Eyvazov’s tenor sounds appealingly fresh, but his portrayal projects Hermann’s madness only sporadically and sometimes seems small in scale. Alexey Markov contributes a well-seasoned Count Tomsky, despite some loss of vocal bloom, and Igor Golovatenko, in his Met debut, sings firmly in Prince Yeletsky’s gorgeous aria. Larissa Diadkova exudes stern authority as the Countess without effacing memories of predecessors such as Felicity Palmer.

In another debut, conductor Vasily Petrenko leads a well-paced, idiomatically assured performance that would nonetheless profit from a sharper dramatic edge and greater emphasis on the darker hues of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral writing. Moshinsky’s production treats the action straightforwardly and holds up well under Peter McClintock’s direction in this revival. Mark Thompson’s sets, seen through a skewed picture frame, respect tradition yet add chill to the drama with modernistic touches, including a sparse use of colour that extends to his stiffly elaborate period costumes. Lisa’s suicidal descent into the canal is awkward, however, and the production errs by having Catherine the Great meander around during the chorus in her honour rather than remaining unseen.

★★★☆☆

To December 21, metopera.org