12.09.2026

ANTHEA BARAĆ | New production of "The Queen of Spades" at the Hanover State Opera

Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote his penultimate opera,  Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades), in a feverish rush over just 44 days whilst staying in Florence in 1890. The result: music that is positively bursting with tension and expressiveness, that is intoxicating and exuberantly varied, that empathises with the story’s main characters, yet does not shy away from peering into the abyss of a soul tormented by obsessions and delusions. Director Roland Schwab follows Hermann on his desperate quest for happiness, whilst at the same time shining a harsh light on a society for which Hermann’s impending downfall is nothing more than an amusing yet eerie spectacle.

Following her first, highly successful season at the Hanover State Opera, during which Anthea Barać appeared, amongst other roles, as the Gingerbread Witch in Hänsel and Gretel, as the High Priestess in Dusapin’s Penthesilea and as Brigitta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, she will sing the role of Polina for the first time in this premiere and will also be heard as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto in the coming months.

As a concert singer, too, Anthea Barać will have the opportunity over the coming months to collaborate with several orchestras – including the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Andris Nelsons. Towards the end of the season, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde alongside Brian Gadge promises to be a particular repertoire highlight for this vocally versatile and highly promising artist.

Cast

Xavier Moreno, Herman
Philipp Jekal, Count Tomsky / Zlatogor
Max Dollinger, Prince Yeletsky
Michal Prószyński, Chekalinsky
Daniel Eggert, Surin
SeungJick Kim, Chaplitsky
Serhii Moskalchuk, Narumow
SeungJick Kim, Master of Ceremonies
Helen Donath, Countess
Kiandra Howarth, Lisa
Anthea Barać, Polina / Milowzor

Francesco Angelico, conductor
Roland Schwab, director
Piero Vinciguerra, stage design
Gabriele Rupprecht, costumes
Andreas Schmidt, light design
Lorenzo Da Rio, chorusmaster
Tatiana Bergh, children's choir
Daniel Menne, dramaturgy
Matthias Brandt, Xchange