Queen of Spades (opera)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Queen of Spades |
| Original title: |
Пиковая дама (Pikowaja dama) |
Marija Slawina as a countess in the second picture of the second act, Saint Petersburg 1890 |
|
| Original language: | Russian |
| Music: | Peter Tchaikovsky |
| Libretto : | Modest Tchaikovsky |
| Literary source: |
Alexander Pushkin : Queen of Spades |
| Premiere: | December 19, 1890 |
| Place of premiere: | Mariinsky Theater , Saint Petersburg |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | St. Petersburg, late 18th century |
| people | |
intermezzo
Others
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Pique Dame (Russian: Пиковая дама , Pikowaja dama ) is an opera in three acts and seven pictures by Peter Tchaikovsky based on a libretto by his younger brother Modest Tchaikovsky , which is based on the story of the same name by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin . The opera premiered on December 19, 1890 in the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg .
action
first act
Hermann meets Lisa, whom he loves, but who is engaged to Prince Jelezki. He wants to wrest Lisa's grandmother the secret of how to win every card game. The grandmother used to be called Queen of Spades because of her passion for gambling .
Second act
At a masked ball , Hermann receives the key to the Countess, Lisa's grandmother, from Lisa. He should come to her through this room. When Hermann is in the countess's room, he tries to snatch the secret from her and finally threatens her with a gun. She dies from a heart attack. Lisa, however, is offended. He didn't come because of her, but because of the secret of the three cards.
Third act
After Hermann has read a forgiving letter from Lisa, the countess's ghost appears to him and gives him three cards: three, seven, ace.
Lisa awaits Hermann at night. But he's only interested in the game and rushes to a club to play Pharo . Lisa throws herself into the Neva .
Hermann wins the first two games with the three and the seven. When he supposedly bets everything on an ace in the end, only Prince Jelezki, who has lost his Lisa to Hermann, still plays. An ace actually wins, but it is pointed out to Hermann that he accidentally bet on the queen of spades. Hermann sees the countess's ghost again and stabs himself.
Instrumentation
The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:
- Woodwinds : three flutes (3rd also piccolo ), two oboes (1st also English horn ), two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons
- Brass : four horns , two trumpets , three trombones , tuba
- Timpani , drums : bass drum , drum
- piano
- harp
- Strings
- Incidental music: children's trumpet, children's drum, trumpet, drum
Work history
Three years before Tchaikovsky's death, in a phase dominated by depression and arguments with his wife, who blackmailed him because of his homosexuality, his penultimate opera was written in Florence, where he had fled to work undisturbed.
The composer approached the subject hesitantly. His younger brother Modest Tschaikowski had written a libretto for the composer Nikolai S. Klenowski in 1887 for the Imperial Theater in Saint Petersburg . Pushkin's story, published in 1834, is modified and supplemented: The plot is moved back to the late 18th century, social conditions are more clearly worked out, the figure of the countess is demonized and the figure of Prince Yeletsky is inserted. The ending is completely changed: with Pushkin Hermann had ended up in a madhouse and Lisa entered into an advantageous marriage of convenience.
Modest had used verses by Konstantin Batjuschkow , Gawriil Derschawin and Wassili Schukowski in his text . Peter Tchaikovsky himself made further additions.
The libretto was initially left blank because the author had fallen out with Klenowski. In 1889, the Artistic Director in Petersburg approached Tchaikovsky, who, after initially taking a detached interest in the subject, discovered features in his brother's libretto that deviated from Pushkin's psychologizing narrative style, but rather accommodated his own sensitive mood and emotional creative will. Last but not least, the fatalistic understanding of fate of the two main characters and their failed pursuit of happiness reflect elements of the composer's biography.
Nikolai Figner (German), Iwan Melnikow (Tomski), Leonid Jakowlew (Yelezki), Marija Slawina (Countess), Medea Figner (Lisa) and Marija Dolina sang the main roles of the successful premiere on December 19, 1890 in the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg (Polina). Eduard Nápravník was the musical director . Directed by Josef Paleček. The intermezzo was choreographed by Marius Petipa . The stage sets created u. a. Wassili Wassiljew , Genrich Lewot, Konstantin Iwanow and Iwan Andrejew. The production was spectacular and established the enduring Russian tradition of splendid performances of this opera.
literature
- Alja Rachmanowa : Tschaikowsij, Schicksal und Schaffen , Vienna 1972, p. 395.
- Attila Csampai and Dietmar Holland : Opernführer , Hamburg 1990, p. 749.
- Peter Tschaikowski: Works (complete edition), additional volumes (estate and theoretical works) Vol. 10 a (letters 1889–1891), Muzgiz / Muzyka publishing house, Moscow.
Web links
- The Queen of Spades, Op.68 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- La dama di Picche. Libretto (Italian), Milan 1905. Digitized in the Internet Archive
- Work information and libretto as full text (Russian) on operalib.eu
- Plot and libretto from de at Opera-Guide target page due to URL change currently not available
- Discography of The Queen of Spades at Operadis
- The Queen of Spades at Tchaikovsky Research (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Alexei Purin: Pikowaja dama. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 6: Works. Spontini - Zumsteeg. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1997, ISBN 3-492-02421-1 , pp. 346-350.