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Only one opera moved Tchaikovsky to tears while he was composing it: The Queen of Spades. The tragedy of Hermann, a man whose obsession with gambling leads him to lose all hope for happiness and love, inspired the composer to write his most moving and harrowing arias.

Ghosts, love, madness, and revenge are the mainstays of this “opéra romantique” version of Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas. While it adds new episodes to the Shakespearean tragedy, making room for colourful dances and choruses, at the same time it preserves the original’s darker and more violent scenes, taken to new heights by extraordinary music.

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and the Jacobin’s reign of terror, Andrea Chénier is the tragedy of a poet willing to sacrifice his life for his ideals, and the woman who chooses to share his fate on the gallows for love. Umberto Giordano’s score skilfully weaves together the local colour of the moment with arias and duets of memorable passion.