Sergei Prokofiev’s (1891 - 1953) opera Der Spieler/The Gambler, moves along at a pace. "Classical" arias and ensembles are replaced by a declamatory style which wonderfully mirrors the dialogue in Dostoyevsky’s story on which the opera is based. It could be said that these performances in Frankfurt return Dostoyevsky’s work to its geographical roots: the author, an enthusiastic gambler, lost large sums of money at the casino in Wiesbaden. It has often been speculated that the ficticious town of Roulettenburg is meant to be Wiesbaden or Bad Homburg.

Anja Silja, whose many triumphs during her long career have included roles in Frankfurt, is the Grandmother/Babusha, who dashes the hopes of several people in Roulettenburg when she turns up to gamble away her fortune herself instead of popping her clogs in Moscow and leaving it to the General. British bass Clive Bayley (who will be remembered for his sensational Claggart in Britten’s Billy Budd and, more recently, Dosifei in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina) is back as the General. The huge cast includes members of our Ensemble (among them Claudia Mahnke, Martin Mitterrutzner and Frank van Aken) and Opera Studio, soloists from the Chorus and guest artists. It is conducted by Sebastian Weigle, General Music Director of Oper Frankfurt.

Further performances:  February 15th, 17th, 22nd & 24th (at 3.30pm!!) 2013, which, apart from the first night and performance on February 24th, all begin at 7.30pm (All sold out!)

A talk will be hosted by Bernd Loebe (part of our "Loving Opera" series) in the Holzfoyer after the performance on February 15th - one of his guests will be Anja Silja. (Sold out)

There is FREE CHILDMINDING (for children aged 3-9) available in house during the afternoon performance on February 24th - ring +49 (0) 69 212 37 348 to enrol.