The Stanislavsky Theatre, located in XIX century historical building just 750 metres (9-minute walk) from the Bolshoi, presents Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades — a masterpiece where St. Petersburg itself becomes one of the central characters. Today’s performances feature outstanding singers and musicians who have appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre and trained at the same world-renowned academies as Bolshoi artists, bringing Tchaikovsky’s powerful score to life with unparalleled artistry. Opera at the Stanislavsky Theatre is the great and affordable alternative to the Bolshoi.
In Alexander Titel’s production, the majestic colonnades of Sergey Barkhin’s stage design rise above the human figures, emphasizing the grandeur and tragic beauty of the city. This is the St. Petersburg imagined by Peter the Great — a city of dreams and nightmares, where reality and hallucination intertwine, and where people are consumed by overwhelming passions.
Tchaikovsky’s music, written in 1890, resonates with a sense of foreboding, almost as if prophesying the upheavals of the 20th century. At its heart, this opera is both a story of love and of fate: two men in love with one woman, one privileged and successful, the other an outsider doomed by obsession. And yet, the city itself — a ghostly, dazzling, and dangerous St. Petersburg — is the true stage for this tale of beauty and destruction.
A timeless story of passion, fate, and a city that is both beautiful and fatal — reborn on the Moscow stage.
Scene One
Amid the usual St. Petersburg foul weather, worsened by yet another flood of the Neva, the sun suddenly breaks through. The townspeople come out for a stroll.
Hermann’s acquaintances discuss his strange behavior: every evening he comes to the gambling house, yet never plays—only watches others. Hermann confides in Tomsky his secret: he is in love with an unknown woman.
Prince Yeletsky receives congratulations on his engagement. Enter the Countess and her granddaughter Liza. Yeletsky presents Liza as his fiancée. Hermann is unable to contain his agitation—she is the very woman he loves.
The glances of those drawn into the unfolding drama meet. They understand that they are bound together by invisible threads. A sense of dread foreboding seizes them all.
Liza and the Countess leave. Tomsky recounts how many years ago, in Paris, the Countess learned from Count Saint-Germain the secret of three cards that guarantee a sure win. But she must keep the secret: a prophecy foretold her death at the hands of a lover who would try to wrest it from her by force. Hermann’s companions jest, suggesting he become the old woman’s lover and thus secure his fortune.
A thunderstorm begins. Hermann is left alone amidst the raging elements. He swears he will win Liza.
Scene Two
Liza gathers her friends for a girls’ evening. Polina, the heart of the company, sings a melancholy romance. To dispel the somber mood, she then strikes up a lively dance. The governess, sent by the Countess, scolds the girls and sends them home.
Left alone, Liza reflects on the mysterious stranger. Suddenly Hermann appears before her. In her heart, duty struggles with the awakening passion.
Alarmed by the noise in Liza’s room, the Countess enters. When she departs, Liza allows Hermann to stay.
Scene Three
At a masquerade ball, Liza meets Hermann. She gives him a key to a secret door that leads to the Countess’s bedroom, and from there to her own chamber. The desire to uncover the secret of the three cards has now completely consumed Hermann’s mind.
Scene Four
Hermann slips into the Countess’s bedroom and hides there. Returning from the ball, the lady of the house laments the past and recalls Versailles.
Emerging from his hiding place, Hermann begs the Countess to reveal her secret. Receiving no answer, he threatens her with a pistol. The Countess collapses—dead.
Shattered, Liza orders Hermann to leave at once.
Scene Five
Hermann reads a letter from Liza. She refuses to believe in his guilt and promises to wait for him. In a fevered delirium, he recalls the Countess’s funeral. It seems to him that she winked at him from the coffin. He sees her ghost and hears the names of the three cards: three, seven, ace.
Scene Six
Liza waits for Hermann on the embankment. From his incoherent words she realizes that he is indeed guilty of the Countess’s death. In despair, Liza throws herself into the river.
Scene Seven
Hermann arrives at the gambling house. Betting on the three and the seven, he wins twice in succession. In the third game, his opponent is Prince Yeletsky. Hermann prepares to stake everything on the ace, but in his hand lies the Queen of Spades. Having lost all, he takes his own life.