«What is our life? A game! Good and evil are merely dreams, work and honesty just lies,» Hermann fatalistically concludes in Pique Dame, as he faces his end at the gaming table. Based on Pushkin’s novella, Tchaikovsky paints a picture of a world dominated by economic inequality and the law that dictates only the strongest survive. Hermann must live up to the social standing of his lover Lisa at any cost; he hopes to gain wealth through the Countess’s cursed card secret. But his hope for happiness vanishes in a spiral of obsession that drags Hermann into the abyss. Doris Soffel returns as the Countess in Sam Brown’s production. Elena Guseva takes on the role of Lisa, while Arsen Soghomonyan makes his house debut as Hermann; both have performed the roles on stages from Milan to New York. Dean Murphy and Alexey Markov, two great baritones of our time, appear as Prince Yeletsky and Count Tomsky, respectively. The musical direction is by the Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits.