No "Onegin," Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades" has fine, but unmemorable music and a story that entertains, but probably does not move the listener. To produce "Onegin" well, all you need is to stay out of the way; "Queen of Spades" needs a bit of help. As the San Francisco Opera premiered the Welsh National Opera production in the War Memorial today, it became quickly and joyfully clear that Richard Jones and John Macfarlane provided the extra support so that Donald Runnicles' brilliantly "Russian" music direction and an excellent cast could - and did - raise "Queen" to an unaccustomed throne. At times excessive and intrusive, aggressive direction and eye-popping sets nevertheless added up to a compelling, consistent framework. The curtain goes up on an enormous close-up portrait of the young Countess, in her "Venus of Moscow" days, but an overlay soon ages the face by a half a century (or more), showing the Countess as she will appear in the opera. Near the end of the story, the same portrait becomes a death mask. Ian Robertson's Opera Chorus, in a superb vocal performance, is kept in constant motion by Jones, strolling, rushing, reacting to events or just "acting weird." It may appear too much at times, but there is a logical link between the work and the choreography; even when it doesn't quite work, the hyperactive stage movement is meant well, it's not a director's arrogant, self-absorbed in-your-face act. Under Runnicles' caring direction (with the orchestra in prime form), vocal performances were cradled and put in best light. In the title role, for example, Hanna Schwarz exhibited both power and as much beauty as can be wrung out from this "ugly" role, but at one point, the score calls for a fairly long pianissimo passage. The way Runnicles balanced the orchestra against Schwarz's near-whisper was typical of the musical direction throughout the performance. Support from the large cast for Katarina Dalayman's powerful Lisa and Misha Didyk's crystal-clear Gherman (an unmistakably lyrical tenor with a heldentenor ability to fill the house) was without a weak link. Tomas Tomasson's Tomsky did not need the pre-curtain announcement about his indisposition - the Icelandic bass was terrific, along with John Hancock's Prince Yeletsky and Adam Klein's Chekalinsky. It was especially heartening to hear so many young Opera Center singers in this production, led by Nikki Einfeld's major-league Mascha. Among the others: Katherine Rohrer (Paulina), Catherine Cook (Governess), Sean Panikkar (Chaplitsky), Joshua Bloom (Narumoff), and Thomas Glenn (Master of Ceremonies). There are hundreds of shticks in the production, some excellent, some unintentionally comic and attention-diverting, but there is one sequence (in two "acts") that's pure genius. The long, and musically blah ballet scene in Act 2 has been transformed by Jones into a puppet play, taking place on a tilted green round table - the same prop (enlarged) becomes the final scene's card table on which the opera's characters meet their destiny, looking like puppets. The local Lunatique Fantastique puppeteers put on a technically amazing, enchanting show that serves the story and music much better than any ballet could. Within one scene - the opening of Act 3, in Gherman's quarters - there were clear examples of both the effectiveness and over-reach of the Jones-Macfarlane production. Gherman is in his bed for the dream scene in which the Countess' ghost discloses the secret of the cards... except that Macfarlane constructed a huge bed placed vertically upstage, in a stunning play with perspectives. When Gherman stops reading Lisa's note and drops the paper, it sticks to the wall, looking as if it were dropped next to a horizontally-located bed - a simple touch that "makes a difference" by maintaining the perspective. On the other hand, the Countess makes her ghost appearance in form of a skeleton popping up on the pillow next to Gherman. The obvious reaction: laughter, completely uncalled for in the context of the work. And yet, in spite of such missteps, the whole of the production does work. To return to the "Onegin"-"Queen" differentiation, one deserves attendance at every performance, the other usually is taken care of by a single visit. But with the production and musical values of this "Queen of Spades," two or three hearings are more in order. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]