The Queen of Spades, Op. 68

About

The Queen of Spades is an opera in 3 acts and 7 scenes, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on a libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky (the composer's brother). It is based on Alexander Pushkin's short story, although the plot was altered. The premiere took place in 1890 at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.

Hermann, a young officer, is in love with an unknown woman from the nobility. The beautiful young lady eventually appears to be Lisa, the fiancée of Prince Yeletski, Hermann's army friend. But Lisa is unhappy with this engagement imposed on her. She prefers the romantic personality of Hermann. Hermann and Lisa meet in secret and declare their undying love to each other. But Hermann has no money. What to do? Lisa's grandmother, the Countess, is said to know the secret to win without fail at card games. Breaking into the old woman's room, Hermann begs the Countess to reveal her secret. Terrified by the threatening young man, the Countess dies. Lisa, walking into the room, discovers her lover in front of her grandmother's corpse. Crying, she demands that Hermann leave at once. The Countess' ghost appears to Hermann, and reveals to the young man the secret: the three winning cards are three, seven and ace. After a last meeting with Hermann, Lisa realizes that there is no hope and she jumps into the Neva. Hermann, in a state of madness, goes to the casino and bets the whole of his savings. He loses everything. The last winning card was not an ace, but the queen of spades.

The Queen of Spades is an intense work in which death seems to be the unavoidable outcome.