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Operas by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Voyevoda (1868) Undina (1869) The Oprichnik (1874) Vakula the Smith (1876) Eugene Onegin (1879) The Maid of Orleans (1881) Mazeppa (1884) Cherevichki (1887) The Enchantress (1887) The Queen of Spades (1890) Iolanta (1892)
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The Queen of Spades (Russian: Пиковая дама, Pikovaya dama) is an opera, Opus 68, in 3 acts, 7 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by the poet Alexander Pushkin. The premiere performance took place in 1890 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

For a period the opera was commonly performed in French under the still recognized title Pique Dame. Nowadays, the opera is almost exclusively sung in Russian. There are several recordings of it, and it is frequently performed.

The management of the Imperial Theatre offered a commission to Tchaikovsky to write an opera to a plot by Ivan Vsevolozhsky in 1887/88. Originally Tchaikovsky refused, but later in 1889, he accepted. Toward the end of that year, he met with theatre managers to discuss the script, the lay-out of the scenes, and the elements of performance.

He sketched out the opera from January to March in Florence in only 44 days. From July to December of 1890, Tchaikovsky completed a set of changes to the literary text, recitatives, and voice parts. Working with the tenor Figner, he created two versions of Herman’s aria from the seventh scene, including different tonalities. All of these changes are found in the proof sheets and inserts for the first and second editions.

While composing the music, Tchaikovsky actively edited the libretto. He substantially changed the text, entered scenic notes, made reductions, and wrote his own lyrics for arias for Yeletsky, Lisa, and the chorus.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky with Nikolay and Medeya Figner, who sang the roles of Hermann and Liza in the premiere of The Queen of Spades, 1890.

In the opera, the main hero Herman is on stage and sings in all seven scenes. This demands a singer of great skill and endurance. The part was written for the notable Russian tenor Nikolay Figner, who performed the role in the premiere.

The composer himself took part in the preparation of the Saint Petersburg premiere. Critics gave rave reviews. "Figner's bright temperament has given to each phrase in the powerful moments the needed relief. In the lyrical parts... Figner’s singing was awe-inspiring with a charming softness and sincerity." Tchaikovsky later wrote, "Figner and the Saint Petersburg orchestra... have made true miracles."

The success of The Queen of Spades, as its author had well expected, was tremendous. It continued that success twelve days later at the Kiev premiere. The Bolshoy Theatre premiere took place the following year. Tchaikovsky was extremely pleased with the opera. In an eloquent self-estimation, he said, "...either I am terribly mistaken, or The Queen of Spades really is a masterpiece...." This appraisal truly was prophetic.

St. Petersburg Premiere (World Premiere)

• Date: 19 December, (O.S. 7 December), 1890
• Place: Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg
• Conductor: Eduard Nápravník
• Scene Designers: Vasilyev, Yanov, Levot, Ivanov, Andreyev
• Balletmaster: Marius Petipa

Kiev Premiere

• Date: 31 December (O.S. 19 December), 1890
• Place:
• Conductor: Iosif Pribik

Moscow Premiere

• Date: 4 November 1891
• Place: Bolshoy Theatre
• Conductor: Ippolit Altani
• Scene Designers: Karl Valts (Waltz), Lebedev
• Balletmasters: Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov

Other Notable Performances

• 1902, Vienna, Vienna State Opera, conducted by Gustav Mahler
• 1904, Moscow, Bolshoy Theatre, conducted by Sergey Rakhmaninov

Original Interpreters

Aleksandr Pushkin
(1799—1837)

The subject of the opera, very generally, is the destructive and isolating nature of gambling addiction. Herman is an army officer who manipulates the naive Lisa, the granddaughter of a countess known as the Queen of Spades. The countess knows the "secret of the three cards" and has revealed it to two men, but if she reveals it to a third, she will die. Herman becomes obsessed with learning the secret, and it costs him his possessions, Lisa, and ultimately his own life.

Pushkin's original story was modified to make the drama suitable for opera. In the opera, Herman's love affair with Lisa is more genuine and less a charade than in Pushkin's novella; where Pushkin sends Herman to an asylum and Lisa to marry another man, the opera melodramatically ends in a double suicide. The opera sharpens the social inequalities dividing the main characters by making Lisa the granddaughter of the countess and Herman's social superior (in the novella, Lisa was the countess' ward). By interpreting the story in his own way, Tchaikovsky simultaneously integrates it.

• Strings: Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses
• Woodwinds: Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 Clarinets (B-flat, A), Bass Clarinet (B-flat), 2 Bassoons
• Brass: 4 Horns (F), 2 Trumpets (B-flat, A), 3 Trombones, Tuba
• Percussion: Timpani, Snare Drum, Bass Drum
• Other: Harp, Piano

Source: 100 Опер, Издательство «Музыка», Ленинград

• Time: The close of the 18th century
• Place: St. Petersburg, Russia

Act I Scene 1. In a sunny, summer garden, people are strolling. Officers Surin and Chekalinsky share impressions about the strange behaviour of their friend Herman. He spends time in the gambling house, but does not tempt fate at all. Herman enters with Colonel Tomsky. Herman opens his soul to him, explaining that he is passionately in love, but he does not know his loved one's name. They are joined by several officers. Prince Yeletsky tells of his upcoming marriage. "This beautiful angel has given consent to combine her destiny with mine!" Herman is horrified to learn that the prince's fiancée is the object of his passion.

The countess and her granddaughter enter. Both women are hypnotised by the sight of the unfortunate Herman. Tomsky tells the story of the countess who, as a young Moscow "lioness" had lost all her fortune playing the card game Faro. By bribing Count Saint-Germain with sexual favors, she learned the secret of three winning cards, and won back her fortune. She told her husband the secret, and later a handsome young man. That night, a phantom came to her and said that she would receive a mortal blow from the third one she told.

Herman listens to the story with great interest. Surin and Chekalinsky mockingly suggest that he find out the old woman’s secret at cards. A thunderstorm rumbles. The garden empties. Only Herman meets the raging elements openly. He exclaims that while he is alive, he will never let the prince have his beloved.

Scene 2. At sunset in Lisa's room, the girls play music, trying to amuse their friend, who is sad despite her engagement to the prince. When alone, she reveals that she loves the mysterious stranger, in whose eyes she saw the fire of scorching passion. Suddenly, Herman appears on the balcony. He has come to see her one last time before killing himself. His ardour carries away Lisa. A knock at the door interrupts him. Hiding, Herman is excited by the appearance of the old countess, who looks like a terrible phantom of death. Unable to hide her feelings anymore, Lisa submits to Herman.

Act II Scene 1. A rich dignitary is hosting a ball. Yeletsky, disturbed by the coldness of Lisa, assures her of the immensity of his love. Chekalinsky and Surin, wearing masks, scoff at Herman, asking him whether he will be the third to learn the secret of the three cards. Their words spark his imagination.

After the completion of the intermezzo, Herman sees the Countess. When Lisa gives him the keys to her bedroom which connects to the countess's, Herman thinks it is an omen. Tonight he will learn the secret of the three cards, and with it, win Lisa’s hand.

Scene 2. Herman hides in the bedroom of the countess. She enters. She is unhappy with the customs of the day, and with melancholy recalls the past. She falls asleep in an armchair. Herman reveals himself, begging her to reveal the secret of the three cards, but the countess, who has grown dumb with fright, says nothing. When Herman threatens her with a pistol, she dies of shock. Blaming Herman for the death, Lisa sends him away. In this scene, the ancient French song "Vive Henri IV" as well as the beginning of Loretta’s aria from Grétry's Richard III is heard.

Act III Scene 1. Herman is in a barracks. He reads Lisa’s letter, forgiving him, and asking him to meet her on the quay. In his imagination, he sees pictures of the old woman's funeral. Doleful singing is heard. The phantom of Countess appears in a white funeral shroud. "Rescue Lisa, marry her, and the three cards will win in succession. Remember! The three! The seven! The ace!"

Scene 2. Lisa awaits Herman, full of doubt. At midnight, she is finally relieved when Herman appears. But Herman, after confessing his love, is possessed with the idea of using the secret of the three cards. When she refuses to go with him to the gambling house, he pushes her away and leaves. Lisa, realizing that the inevitable has happened, throws herself into the river.

Scene 3. The players are gambling in the casino. Tomsky entertains them with a playful song. Herman enters and wins two large stakes, betting on the three and the seven. Prince Yeletsky, looking for revenge, is the only one who will cover the third bet. Instead of the expected ace, Herman is dealt the queen of spades. He sees the features of the old dead woman on the card. Horrified, he goes crazy.

Act 1

Aria: "I don't even know her name" «Я имени ее не знаю» (Herman)

Arioso: "Why these tears" «Откуда эти слезы» (Lisa)

Aria: "Forgive me, adorable creature" «Прости, небесное созданье» (Herman)

Act 2

Aria: "I love you beyond measure" «Я вас люблю» (Yeletsky)

"I am worn out by grief" (Lisa)

Act 3

Song: "If pretty girls could fly like birds" «Если б милые девицы» (Tomsky)

"Life is but a game" (Russian: «Что наша жизнь? Игра!», literally, "What is our life? A game!") a quote from Act 3 of the opera, became a 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."