This latest production part of Opera Holland Park’s 2016 season is Tchaikovsky’s opera, directed by Rodula Gaitanou. So what have critics made of it? 

The Guardian: **** “Musically, it’s exceptionally strong, though there are moments of theatrical unevenness.”

The Financial Times: *** “All told, a solid performance, which rises in dark power as dusk settles over the Holland Park stage.”

Evening Standard: **** “Rodula Gaitanou’s new production (conducted by Peter Robinson) works hard to enliven these interludes, with some success, but more importantly, she catches the work’s hallucinatory intensity.”

The Independent: **** “directed, designed, conducted, lit, and choreographed with wonderful assurance.”

The Telegraph: **** “nothing detracted from the overall power of an enthralling performance. ”

Bach Track: *** “This Queen of Spades is quite superbly staged and despite my reservations musically, it’s still worth seeing.”

Culture Whisper: **** “A really attractive feature of the production is its characters’ enjoyment of music. They sing around the on-stage piano, dance a little rustic dance, and revel, as we do, in Tchaikovsky’s affectionate pastiche of a Mozartian entertainment of the shepherds-and-shepherdess variety.”

The Times: **** “Holland Park ends a strong season with one of its most consistent casts to date and the orchestra unfurls Tchaikovsky’s melodies with authority.”

The Arbuturian: “an intense and inspired production.”

Th Queen of Spades is the final production in Opera Holland park’s 2016 season, closing on the 13th August. For more information and to book tickets visit: http://www.operahollandpark.com/the-queen-of-spades/