Interview with 'Pikovaya Dama' Director Tim Ocel

Operatic Saint Louis recently interviewed Tim Ocel, stage director of Union Avenue Opera’s Pikovaya Dama. Ocel has staged productions at diverse venues such as Opera Theatre St. Louis, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Sacramento Theatre Company and Boston Lyric Opera. He has also served on the faculty of the University of Kansas-Lawrence, directing several mainstage operas and scene programs. This fall, Tim joins the performance faculty of the Music Department at Washington University. Pikovaya Dama marks his first full summer production with Union Avenue Opera.

Operatic Saint Louis: What qualities of Pikovaya Dama’s score and libretto "spoke" to you in particular when preparing the opera for staging?

Tim Ocel: Tchaikovsky's genius in consistently setting a specific psychological movement through the story was truly inspiring. The interior lives of each character is so well depicted. Pikovaya Dama is practically Wagnerian in its use of musical thematic material. Tchaikovsky didn't avoid complicated or unique vocal settings. As an example, note the brief septet for principal men plus male chorus in the final scene--almost Billy Budd-like in quality. This makes for a rich and intriguing evening.

OSL: Opera composers and librettists have been known to embellish, modify or even deviate from the original literary source. In your mind, how does Peter and Modest Tchaikovsky's vision of Pikovaya Dama compare with the original Pushkin short story?

TO: They did contrive some changes to the Pushkin. The most noticeable is that at the beginning of the opera's story, Gherman is truly in love with Lisa; in the short story he is only using her to gain the secret of the cards. Lisa is a poor ward of the Countess in the book, but in the opera she is a granddaughter. The opera is actually more psychologically complex than the short story, where the Pushkin is clearer is in it's class structures and prejudices.

OSL: Has the Russian text been a particular challenge in preparation?

TO: It's taking us longer to finesse the surtitles, but since I always head to the Nico Castel word for word translations for any opera I direct, this was essentially the same process.

OSL: Among the arias and ensembles of Tchaikovsky’s score, which were the most engaging to you? Do you have any particular favorites?

TO: My favorites are Prince Yeletsky's aria ("Ya vas lyublyu"), Lisa's final aria at the river ("Akh! istomilas ya goryem") and Gherman's scene sung against the imagined Church Choir. Act Two, Scene Two--in the Countess' bedroom--is gripping from first note to last. All of these are brilliant and beautiful.

OSL: Have there been any particular moments or scenes in the opera that you found especially challenging to stage, whether logistically, dramatically or both?

TO: The ghost appearance in the final scene has been challenging. I'm still not happy with it. The acting area is small, and more distance would help. More space in the park would be helpful, too.

OSL: Before rehearsals began, were there any moments in the opera that you were especially excited or intrigued to see come to life?

TO: Act Two, Scene Two.

OSL: Modest Tchaikovsky’s libretto calls for a number of locales and settings--a definite challenge in a space such as Union Avenue Christian Church. How did this performance space inform your vision of the piece when collaborating with scenic designer Patrick Huber?

TO: The UAO space is tiny so we went with simple, abstract, and claustrophobic. There are three movable walls to change the architectural angles in each scene. I wanted the visual scale to always be human sized. The UAO space is wide and shallow, thus it's a challenge to create any sense of depth.

OSL: Pikovaya Dama has, at times, been set in eras other than its traditional setting at the close of the 18th century during Catherine the Great’s reign. In collaboration with Teresa Doggett, what specific era of Russian history did you ultimately arrive at for the costume designs?

TO: We're setting it at time of composition (1890), mostly for practical reasons. The short story seems to be set in the 1830s. The opera pushes the dates back to 1780-1790. The Grétry opera quoted in this opera--Richard Coeur-de-Lion--was written in 1784 though I now wonder whether Tchaikovsky thought anyone would recognize it.

Operatic Saint Louis: What would you say to convince the “man on the street” to attend this production?

Tim Ocel: Opera lovers aren't able to experience this piece very often. This is a good chance to hear it on its feet and enjoy its merits. Theatre people will like its contemporary psychological insights. The “man on the street” will enjoy the beautiful and haunting melodies, an extremely talented cast, an intriguing and surprising story told clearly, and a peek into the genius of Mr. Tchaikovsky.

Pikovaya Dama opens this Friday, August 20th and will run for three more performances on August 21, 27 & 28. Performances begin at 8pm. Sung in Russian with projected English supertitles. Venue: Union Avenue Christian Church located at 733 Union Blvd in St. Louis. To purchase tickets or learn more about this production, visit http://www.unionavenueopera.org/ or call 314.361.2881