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In terms of vocal power, lyrical beauty, and idiomatic authenticity, the casting for this 1992 live recording of the Kirov production of Pique Dame ("The Queen of Spades") could hardly be bettered. Gegam Grigorian (Herman) hits his fearsome, anguished high notes with the accuracy of a laser, and Maria Gulegina (Liza) has a huge voice but uses it with great subtlety--her opening duet with Pauline floats like gossamer, and her declarations of love for Herman at the end of Act 1 are spine tingling. Kirov superstars Sergei Leiferkus (Tomsky) and the rich-toned Olga Borodina (Pauline) also sound divine. In the pit Valery Gergiev renders every nuance of Tchaikovsky's score with clarity and drives the strings to produce an almost unbearably tense atmosphere of foreboding. It isn't all rosy, however. The production comes from the traditional Kirov "stand-and-sing" tradition and is somewhat static. For a more gripping production (though not quite as well sung), try the Glyndebourne performance. But for sheer musical pleasure, you won't find anything to beat this. --Warwick Thomson
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