Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades Returns on May 23

Soprano Sonya Yoncheva and tenor Brian Jagde make their role debuts as Lisa and Hermann

Mezzo-sopranos Violeta Urmana and Maria Barakova make their Met role debuts as the Countess and Pauline

Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts

New York, NY (April 8, 2025)—Elijah Moshinsky’s production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades returns for five performances beginning May 23. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva and tenor Brian Jagde make their role debuts as Lisa and Hermann. Next season, Yoncheva will sing Maddalena di Coigny in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier and Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Jagde returns to the Met following his critically acclaimed performance as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca earlier this season; he is currently singing the role of Radamès in Verdi’s Aida.

Baritone Igor Golovatenko reprises the role of Prince Yeletsky. Earlier this season, Golovatenko made his Met role debut as Count di Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and next season he will reprise the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and sing Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier.

Mezzo-sopranos Violeta Urmana and Maria Barakova make their Met role debuts as the Countess and Pauline, respectively. Baritone Alexey Markov reprises the role of Count Tomsky, and Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson, founder and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, leads the cast from the podium.

Along with director Elijah Moshinsky, the creative team includes set and costume designer Mark Thompson, lighting designer Paul Pyant, and choreographer John Meehan. Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades has only been performed 78 times at the Met, including most recently in 2019.

The Queen of Spades Broadcasts on Radio and Online

The May 23 and June 7 performances of The Queen of Spades will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on the SiriusXM app. Audio from the May 23 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, metopera.org. Audio from the June 7 performance will also be broadcast over The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Toll Rush Tickets
The Met Opera app is now available for download on mobile devices, offering users a new way to purchase Toll Rush Tickets via an automated lottery. Lotteries open two weeks prior to a performance, and winners are notified the day before the performance. Toll Rush Tickets can also be purchased on a first-come, first-served basis by visiting the link here at 12PM for weekday performances, 2PM for Saturday evening performances, and four hours before curtain for matinee performances.

For More Information

For further details on The Queen of Spades, please click here.