The gambler

"The stage production by Temur Chkheidze is simple and straightforward ... The cast is a decent one overall, with Tatiana Pavlovskaya making a glamorous Polina, Sergei Aleksashkin an old bumbler as the General, and Nikolai Gassiev and Alexander Gergalov both nicely suave as the Marquis and Mr Astley".

"The Mariinsky players are at their most impressive, and Valery Gergiev sustains Prokofiev's driving energy from start to finish with a theatrical force that I had frankly not expected in this work".

"Vurdering: Dvd of the month" - "Detailed stage design and committed performances make this worth a gamble ... Strongly recommended".

"Tcherniakov's line is a demanding contemporary realism, giving his singer-actors detailed physical gestures so they stop trying too hard to be naturalistic ... Barenboim's crystal-clear pacing of the score is hard-hitting rather that quicksilvery, but the payoff in the last Act is terrific".

Vurdering (performance): 5/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 5/5.