The Gambler, Royal Opera House | reviews, news & interviews
The Gambler, Royal Opera House
The Gambler, Royal Opera House
The human zoo of Prokofiev's Dostoyevskian casino is viewed with sharp compassion
Friday, 12 February 2010
Gamblers anon: Prokofiev's Dostoevsky staged by Richard JonesClive Barda
Fasten your seatbelts; it's a bumpy ride to the casino. In Prokofiev's wilful but uncompromising take on Dostoyevsky's tale of obsession, all the private paths of love, lust and greed lead to the gambling tables - eventually. The composer saves up one of the most adrenalin-charged scenes in 20th-century opera for the last act, giving director and conductor some headaches in generating interest and comprehensibility along the way. With a dedication we can only imagine, Richard Jones and Antonio Pappano have solved Prokofiev the chess master's conundrum better than in any previous production I've seen.
Fasten your seatbelts; it's a bumpy ride to the casino. In Prokofiev's wilful but uncompromising take on Dostoyevsky's tale of obsession, all the private paths of love, lust and greed lead to the gambling tables - eventually. The composer saves up one of the most adrenalin-charged scenes in 20th-century opera for the last act, giving director and conductor some headaches in generating interest and comprehensibility along the way. With a dedication we can only imagine, Richard Jones and Antonio Pappano have solved Prokofiev the chess master's conundrum better than in any previous production I've seen.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £49,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Opera
Turnage, The Railway Children, Glyndebourne review – right train, wrong station
This talent-loaded opera excursion heads down a mistaken track
La bohème, Opera North review - still young at 32
Love and separation, ecstasy and heartbreak, in masterfully updated Puccini
Albert Herring, English National Opera review - a great comedy with depths fully realised
Britten’s delight was never made for the Coliseum, but it works on its first outing there
Carmen, English National Opera review - not quite dangerous
Hopes for Niamh O’Sullivan only partly fulfilled, though much good singing throughout
Giustino, Linbury Theatre review - a stylish account of a slight opera
Gods, mortals and monsters do battle in Handel's charming drama
Susanna, Opera North review - hybrid staging of a Handel oratorio
Dance and signing complement outstanding singing in a story of virtue rewarded
Ariodante, Opéra Garnier, Paris review - a blast of Baroque beauty
A near-perfect night at the opera
Cinderella/La Cenerentola, English National Opera review - the truth behind the tinsel
Appealing performances cut through hyperactive stagecraft
Tosca, Royal Opera review - Ailyn Pérez steps in as the most vivid of divas
Jakub Hrůša’s multicoloured Puccini last night found a soprano to match
Tosca, Welsh National Opera review - a great company reduced to brilliance
The old warhorse made special by the basics
BBC Proms: The Marriage of Figaro, Glyndebourne Festival review - merriment and menace
Strong Proms transfer for a robust and affecting show
BBC Proms: Suor Angelica, LSO, Pappano review - earthly passion, heavenly grief
A Sister to remember blesses Puccini's convent tragedy
Add comment