proverb in Russian. What? Where? When?, a trivia game and one of the most popular TV-shows in Russia and former Soviet countries, starts with a musical quotation from the opera, Herman singing the phrase "Life is but a game." Recordings 1937: Samuil Samosud (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra; Nikandr Khanayev (Herman), Ksenia Derzhinskaya (Liza), Faina Petrova (Countess), Alexander Baturin (Count Tomsky), Piotr Selivanov (Prince Yeletsky), Nadezhda Obukhova (Polina). Melodiya 1942: Samuil Samosud (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra; Nikandr Khanayev (Herman), Ksenia Derzhinskaya (Liza), Bronislava Zlatagorova (Countess), Alexander Baturin (Count Tomsky), Panteleimon Nortsov (Prince Yeletsky), Maria Maksakova (Polina). Aquarius 1947: Arthur Rother (conductor), Radio-Orchester Berlin; Rudolf Schock (Herman), Elisabeth Grümmer (Liza), Margarete Klose (Countess), Jaro Prohaska (Count Tomsky), Hans Hermann Nissen (Prince Yeletsky), Anneliese Müller (Polina). Gala (Abridged in German) 1950: Alexander Melik-Pashayev (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra; Georgi Nelepp (Herman), Evgeniya Smolenskaya (Liza), Evgeniya Verbitskaya (Countess), Alexei Ivanov (Count Tomsky), Pavel Lisitsian (Prince Yeletsky), Veronika Borisenko (Polina). Great Hall 1952: Artur Rodzinsky (conductor), Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; David Poleri (Herman), Sena Jurinac (Liza), Gianna Pederzini (Countess), Mario Petri (Count Tomsky), Ettore Bastianini (Prince Yeletsky), Rina Corsi (Polina). Andromeda (Live in Italian) 1955: Krešimir Baranović (conductor), Yugoslav Army Chorus, Children's Choir of Radio Belgrade, & Orchestra of the National Opera, Belgrade; Alexander Marinković (Herman), Valerija Heybal (Liza), Melanija Bugarinović (Countess), Jovan Gligorijević (Count Tomsky), Dušan Popović (Prince Yeletsky), Biserka Cvejić (Polina). Deutsche Grammophon 1958: Sergei Yeltsin (conductor), Choir and Orchestra of the State Kirov Opera; Matvei Gavrilkin (Herman), Ludmila Revina (Liza), Sofia Preobrazhenskaya (Countess), Lipa Solomiak (Count Tomsky), Konstantin Laptev (Prince Yeletsky), Valentina Krayushkina (Polina). IM Lab (Live) 1961: Nino Sanzogno (conductor), Teatro alla Scala Chorus and Orchestra; Antonio Annaloro (Herman), Leyla Gencer (Liza), Marianna Radev (Countess), Ivo Vinco (Count Tomsky), Sesto Bruscantini (Prince Yeletsky), Adriana Lazzarini (Polina). Gala (Live in Italian) 1966: Boris Khaikin (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra; Zurab Andzhaparidze (Herman), Tamara Milashkina (Liza), Valentina Levko (Countess), Mikhail Kiselev (Count Tomsky), Yuri Mazurok (Prince Yeletsky), Irina Arkhipova (Polina). Melodiya 1974: Mark Ermler (conductor), Bolshoi Theatre Chorus & Orchestra; Vladimir Atlantov (Herman), Tamara Milashkina (Liza), Valentina Levko (Countess), Vladimir Valaitis (Count Tomsky), Andrei Fedoseyev (Prince Yeletsky), Galina Borisova (Polina). Melodiya 1976: Mstislav Rostropovich (conductor), Choeur Tchaikovsky, Maîtrise de Radio France, & Orchestre National de France; Peter Gougaloff (Herman), Galina Vishnevskaya (Liza), Regina Resnik (Countess), Dan Iordachescu (Count Tomsky), Bernd Weikl (Prince Yeletsky),