Prokofiev's The Gambler

Visionary American director Peter Sellars returns to the Salzburg Festival in 2024 with a brand-new staging of Prokofiev's opera The Gambler, adapted from the Dostoevsky novel and performed by the Vienna Philharmonic and a dream vocal cast! The first notable opera by Prokofiev, completed in 1917 but not performed until 1929 in Brussels after a period of political turmoil, depicts the decadence of a society ruled by greed, obsessed with money and gambling. Our circle of characters includes Alexei (Sean Panikkar), tutor to the General's (Peixin Chen) family; the General's ward Polina (the sublime Asmik Grigorian), whom Alexei loves; Polina's wealthy grandmother Babulenka (the great Violeta Urmana!) whose inheritance the General covets; and others stricken by the vice of gambling and condemned to experience its seedier side. This strikingly modern drama, subject to censure in the composer's homeland for almost five decades, unfolds gloriously here in Salzburg, with Timur Zangiev leading the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic in the memorable score.

Photo © Salzburg Festival / Ruth Waltz