Having seen and heard Eugene Onegin for years and considering it an operatic masterpiece, I watched this production of The Queen of Spades also from Tchaikovsky. And I was very impressed overall. The story, characters and music are wonderfully compelling throughout, and this is a fine production of it. Visually, the production looks fantastic, with elegant sets and sumptuous costumes, and the orchestra playing and conducting cannot be faulted. Likewise with the performances. Placido Domingo, while perhaps too old for the role, is otherwise excellent as Hermann, very consistent in the singing and the acting. Galina Gorchakova has a shaky start I agree, but the rest of the performance is spot on. I also thoroughly enjoyed Elisabeth Soderstrom's Countess, but my favourites of the production were Olga Borodina's lovely Pauline and Dmitri Hvorostovsky's warm and moving Prince. In conclusion, very well performed and very stunning visually. 9/10 Bethany Cox