The Queen of Spades

Opera

Music by P. I. Tchaikovsky
Libretto – M. I. Tchaikovsky
Stage director – Lev Mikhaylov
Stage designer – Nikolay Zolotarev
Conductor – Felix Korobov

Starring: Irene Arcadieva, Natalia Muradymova, Vyacheslav Osipov, Michael Urusov, Natalia Gorelik-Olenina, Irene Chistyakova, Leonid Boldin, Alexey Shishlyaev and others.

The subject of Pushkin’s "The Queen of Spades" interested Tchaikovsky not at once. However while the time passed this novel more and more captured his imagination. The scene of German’s fatal meeting with the countess especially exited Tchaikovsky. It’ s deep tenseness captured the composer stirring up the passionate desire to write an opera. The work began in Florence on the 19th of February, 1890. The opera was created, according the composer’s words, "with self-forgetfulness and delight" and was finished in the limiting short time — forty four days. The first night took place in Saint Petersburg in Mariinskiy theater in 1890 and it had the great success. Soon after the publication of his novel (1833) Pushkin wrote in his diary: "My "Queen of Spades" is in great favour. The players punt on three, seven, ace". The popularity of the novel was so great due to not only the entertaining story but to realistic reproduction of modes and customs of Saint Petersburg’s society at the beginning of XIX century.