St Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre

The Gambler

opera in four acts and six scenes

Performed in Russian (the performance will have synchronised Russian and English supertitles)

Performers

Conductor:

Pavel Smelkov

The General: Andrei Serov
Pauline: Tatiana Pavlovskaya
Alexei: Vladimir Galouzine
Babulenka: Irina Bogacheva
The Marquis: Nikolai Gassiev
Mr Astley: Maxim Bulatov
Blanche: Yekaterina Sergeyeva

Credits

Music by Sergei Prokofiev
Libretto by the composer after the novella of the same name by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Musical Director: Valery Gergiev
Stage Director: Temur Chkheidze
Set Designer: Zinovy Margolin
Costume Designer: Tatiana Noginova
Lighting Designer: Gleb Filshtinsky
Lighting Adaptation for the Mariinsky II by Andrei Ponizovsky and Yegor Kartashov
Director: Yuri Laptev
Musical Preparation: Marina Mishuk
Principal Chorus Master: Andrei Petrenko

SYNOPSIS

The action unfolds in 1865 in the fictional town of Roulettenburg near Spa.

In the spa town of Roulettenburg, famed for its gaming houses, fate has brought together the retired General, Polina (his step-daughter), Alexei Ivanovich (the tutor of his children), the Marquis, Mr Astley and Mademoiselle Blanche of the demi-monde.

The general has lost his fortune at roulette and is in debt to the Marquis. Moreover, the charms of Mademoiselle Blanche have completely turned his head. All of the General and his friends' hopes lie on the fortune of a rich Grandmother in Moscow, and they eagerly await news of her death. Instead of a telegram, however, the Grandmother herself arrives and, viewing the situation with a sober mind, resolves to disinherit the General. Intrigued by stories about roulette, she decides to see it with her own eyes. The Grandmother leaves the gaming house, having lost almost everything she had.

The General sees marriage of his step-daughter to the Marquis as the only solution to this desperate problem. But Polina, having been subjected to the attentions of the Marquis, now understands the utter lowliness of the man, and the fact that she owes him a large sum of money makes her dependence even more torturous. Alexei Ivanovich promises Polina to procure the money. In the casino he has the most fantastic luck: he breaks the bank – twenty thousand francs. Polina, however, sensing that this is not money from a man in love with her but from the gambler's good luck, throws it into Alexei Ivanovich's face.


World premiere – 29 April 1929, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
First Mariinsky Theatre production – 5 December 1991
Second Mariinsky Theatre production – 18 June 1996
Third Mariinsky Theatre production – 21 June 2007


Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes
The performance has one interval

Sponsor of the production:
Age category 16+

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This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N139-FZ dated 28 July 2012 “On the introduction of changes to the Federal Law ‘On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health and development’ and other legislative acts of the Russian Federation.”