Boston’s landmark opera season keeps getting brighter. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera, brings Tchaikovsky’s gripping “The Queen of Spades” (Pique Dame) to Symphony Hall for two performances: Friday, January 29, 2027 at 7:30pm and Sunday, January 31, 2027 at 2:00pm.
Part of BLO’s dazzling 50th anniversary season, this passionate opera tells the story of Hermann, a Russian soldier who falls madly in love with Lisa — without knowing she is engaged to Prince Yeletsky. When he hears that Lisa’s grandmother, the Countess, holds a foolproof secret for winning at cards, obsession takes over and nothing can stop him from learning it.
Based on Alexander Pushkin’s haunting novella, Tchaikovsky’s score blends romance, mystery, and the supernatural in some of the most thrilling music ever written for the stage. The production features the BLO Chorus, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the BSO x NEC Honors Children’s Choir — a wall of glorious sound inside the legendary Symphony Hall.
The opera is sung in Russian with English supertitles, so every twist of the drama comes through loud and clear. Two performances only — a rare chance to hear this grand Russian masterpiece in the heart of Boston.
Photo: Beyond My Ken, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
