Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 9 The Queen of Spades

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 16 Vladimir Galouzine (Gherman) in the 2010 Houston Grand Opera production. Consuming passion, frenzied obsession – they’ve been the downfall of so many characters in opera. Think of Gherman, the officer who harbors a dangerous desire to win at the gambling table. Lisa, the girl he’s also determined to win, and her grandmother, the mysterious Countess, are both drawn into his web of desperation that ends in total disaster for all three. It’s no surprise that Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed this riveting opera like a man possessed. Felix Sanchez / Houston Grand Opera