The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades (??????? ???? in Russian, Pikovaya dama in transliteration) is an opera in three acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story by the poet Aleksandr Pushkin. First performance: Maryinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg, 19 December,1890.

Noted arias

• "I don't even know her name" (Herman)
• "But why these tears" (Lisa)
• "Forgive me, adorable creature" (Herman)
• "I love you beyond measure" (Yeletsky)
• "I am worn out by grief" (Lisa)
• "If pretty girls could fly like birds" (Tomsky)