Russian opera. What can I say? It's definitely an acquired taste and I personally LOVE it. When I say it's an acquired taste I am of course referring to the insane plot. To summarize in a brief sentence, it is basically: curtain up, angst, angst, angst, deceit, massive angst, really twisted love, insanity, curtain down, the end. Inject in there a stunning set, great costumes, fantastic voices, and some shady characters and you have the Met's Production of "The Gambler." It was quite the production.

Russian born soprano Olga Guryakova did a wonderful job as the emotionally tortured and tormented Polina. She had a lovely voice rich with color and complexity that added dimension to her character. While I loved her voice I did feel that she sacrificed the legato line in favor of crystal clear enunciation. But hey, that's her artistic choice and I can't exactly critique a language I studied for only a half-year. Russian born tenor Vladimir Galouzine did a stunning job as the bordering insane and obsessed fan boy of Polina. His voice was lovely and his difficult high notes were filled with power. He kept this up throughout the entire opera and ended with an amazing note that left the audience vigorously clapping (no screaming at the Met!) for more!

Sergei Aleksashkin, the Russian born bass played the role of the manipulated General who was consumed with greed. He had a powerful dark voice and a wealth of perfectly executed low notes. Olga Savova, a Russian born mezzo soprano, did a commendable job as the mistress of Polina's step-father. She had a good dark voice matching well with the General's dark sound. She portrayed her character with all the flaky, conniving, sneakiness that was expected of a well paid "courtesan." Finally, the Russian born mezzo-soprano Larisa Diadkova did a wonderful job adding slight touches of comedy to relieve the tension that had built up over 3 acts. She played the witty and wily grandmother who refused to give her inheritance to the desperate General. She had a wonderful playfulness in her voice and in her small gestures despite being confined to a wheelchair which really communicated her character to the audience.

Of course, praise should also be allotted to the conductor Valery Gergiev who did a wonderful job bringing the score to life. Under his talented baton, the musical interludes were filled with vivacity and color, adding dimensions that one usually does not come to expect.

The setting was amazing with its intricate metal garden and X-large casino table. I especially loved the green spiral metal trees that dotted the stage. The entire set transformed back to my childhood when I was obsessed with Alice in Wonderland (it looked like they replicated the Queen of Heart's Garden!)

Overall I really loved this performance! It had great sets, great voices, and a stunning ending. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a healthy self-esteem (j/k!!) and who loves Dostoevsky (the author <3 <3).