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The action takes place in St Petersburg<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

PART I

Scene 1

Hermann returns to the officers’ quarters. Two officers, Chekalinsky and Surin, discuss his strange behaviour; he obsessively watches others gamble at cards but never joins in himself. Hermann confides to his friend Count Tomsky that he has fallen in love with a girl whose identity he does not know. Chekalinsky and Surin congratulate Prince Yeletsky on his recent engagement to Lisa, who has just appeared with her elderly grandmother, the Countess. Hermann is in despair: Lisa is the object of his secret love. When Lisa and the Countess leave with Yeletsky, Tomsky explains how the old woman acquired her nickname of the ‘Queen of Spades’. In her youth in Paris, she lost heavily at cards. To restore her fortune,

an admirer revealed to the Countess a winning formula of three cards at the price of her seduction. She subsequently confided the secret to her husband and one of her lovers, but then an apparition warned her she would die at the hands of a third man if she revealed the secret again. As a thunderstorm breaks, Hermann vows he will win Lisa from Yeletsky.

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Scene 2

In the home of the Countess, Lisa and her friend Pauline entertain a group of friends. Lisa is preoccupied by thoughts of Hermann. When the others try to raise her spirits, the Governess enters and reproaches them for making too much noise and disturbing the Countess. After the guests depart, Lisa reflects on her ambivalent feelings for Yeletsky and her growing interest in Hermann. Lisa is startled when Hermann appears from the shadows. He begins to plead with her, but is interrupted by the Countess and hides. The Countess orders Lisa to bed. After the Countess leaves, Hermann emerges from hiding and recalls Tomsky’s account of the prophecy regarding the ‘third man’. He declares his love for Lisa, who yields to

him.

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Scene 3

A ball is in progress. Yeletsky asks Lisa why she is so downcast. Hermann receives a letter from Lisa: he is to meet her after the entertainment is over. He is more than ever resolved to discover the secret of the cards and elope with Lisa. Everyone is invited to watch The Faithful Shepherdess, a pastorale about Chloe (performed by Masha) and her rival lovers Daphnis (Pauline) and Plutus (Tomsky). At its conclusion, Lisa slips Hermann a key to the Countess’s house: the following day he is to come to her room where everything will be settled. But Hermann insists he will come that night. The Master of Ceremonies announces the arrival of the Empress and everyone makes ready to receive her.

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PART II

Scene 4

Hermann steals into the Countess’s bedroom. He ponders on the strange link between him and the old woman. As midnight strikes, footsteps announce the arrival of the Countess and Lisa. Hermann conceals himself. Lisa passes on to her own room and the Countess, now ready for bed, recollects her youthful days

in Paris. Hermann emerges from his hiding place. He pleads with the Countess to reveal the secret of the cards. When he is met by silence, he draws a revolver and threatens her. The old woman dies of fright. Lisa returns having been drawn by the noise. She is horrified to discover that her grandmother is dead and recognizes that Hermann has been using her to get at the secret of the cards.

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Scene 5

Alone, Hermann is reading a forgiving letter from Lisa. He relives the Countess’s funeral, recalling how, when he saw the Countess’s body in the open coffin, the corpse winked at him. Suddenly, the Countess’s ghost appears. She has come against her will, enjoins him to marry Lisa and then reveals the secret of the

three cards: three, seven, ace.

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Scene 6

In spite of what has happened, Lisa still loves Hermann and has asked that he meet her. As she waits for him, she becomes increasingly distraught, his non-appearance only serving to confirm her worst suspicions about him. As midnight strikes, he enters and at first calms her misgivings. But now that he possesses the secret of the cards, he only wants to visit the gambling table. Lisa, convinced that he is her grandmother’s murderer, believes Hermann to have lost his mind. In despair, she kills herself.

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Scene 7

In the gambling house, the assembled players are in high spirits. Tomsky entertains everyone with a song. Hermann arrives, intent on playing for very high stakes. Adhering to the Countess’s winning formula, he places an unheard-of bet of 40,000 roubles on a three and wins; he then stakes his winnings on a seven and once again wins. Playing for a third time, he stakes everything on an ace; but when he picks up his card it is the queen of spades. At this point the Countess’s ghost appears once more to Hermann. Insane, he kills himself.

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