'The Gambler' (2010)
Opening thoughts: 'The Gambler' is not a great opera. If anybody wants an opera with likeable or emotionally investable characters and/or memorable tunes, they are better looking else. 'The Gambler' is still worth seeing/watching though, it is when performed well devilishly fun and atmospheric and has great moments in the orchestration. Have always admired a lot of Prokoviev's music and while not one of his better or more accessible scores this is worth checking out for completest sake.
In terms of seeing and hearing 'The Gambler', and Prokoviev in general, well performed, it doesn't get much better than this excellent Mariinsky production. Mariinsky and its music director Valery Gergiev (hate him as a person but love much of his early and mid-career work) have done so much making too little-known Russian operas more accessible internationally to a very high standard and they prove it here.
Bad things: If criticisms have to be made, and part of me doesn't want to say because of good the good things are and how well the production did in making difficult source material easy to comprehend for a wider audience, to me there were a few too many overhead shots. Which were not needed.
Some of the final act also seemed somewhat too frantic at points, but that is largely the fault of the actual opera itself.
Good things: On the other hand, the many good things, which is everything else, are mostly absolutely outstanding. Loved the very imaginative sets and costumes, which make the most, revel in even, the very clear and not heavy-handed setting. Very colourful and atmospheric in a haunting way, and never drab or overblown. There for me was no trouble understanding the staging, which is very clever and never dull and does a great job making a puzzling and sprawling story entertaining and cohesive.
Nothing came over as gimmicky or tasteless. Figuring out the time and place was always easy and everything felt necessary, at no point did it feel like the point of the opera was lost, missed or even ignored. Nor did it feel like the point was being laid on too thick.
Can't fault either the orchestral playing, which is tight and has a wide variety of tone colour and rich colours. The louder moments not being too harsh and the quieter ones not being too subdued. The chorus sound great and show some of their most animated and individual acting in years. It has been said that Prokoviev is Gergiev's favourite composer and his vast experience in his music shows in a very tightly energetic and expansive account of it. All the cast are on top form, with Tatiana Pavlovskaya being particularly outstanding. Especially in her powerful final scene. Vladimir Galouzin may be too old for his role, but tiredness and over-the-hill-ness actually didn't show here in his still surprisingly youthful voice.
Closing thoughts: All in all, excellent.
9/10.
