''Pique Dame'' (''The Queen of Spades'') is an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

in two acts by

Franz von Suppé Franz von Suppé, born Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppé (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A c ...

to a

German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

very loosely based on

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

's 1834 short story "The Queen of Spades". The author of the libretto is S. Strasser (probably Suppé's second wife Sofie Strasser).Andreas Weigel
Fundstücke zur Beziehung zwischen Franz von Suppé und seiner zweiten Ehefrau Sofie Strasser. Eine Korrektur.
/ref> ''Pique Dame'' was a revised version of Suppé's 1862 operetta ''Die Kartenschlägerin'' ("The Fortune Teller") and premiered in June 1864 at the Thalia Theater in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. The work is primarily known today for its

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

which remains a popular concert piece.

Background and performance history

''Pique Dame'' is a revised version of Suppé's earlier (and unsuccessful) one-act operetta on the same subject, ''Die Kartenschlägerin'' ("The Fortune Teller") which had premiered in Vienna in 1862. Suppé expanded the earlier version to two acts and retitled it ''Pique Dame'', the French title of Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades", on which its libretto is very loosely based. The manuscript libretto is marked "S.S.". In ''Franz von Suppé: Werk und Leben'', Hans-Dieter Roser speculates that this may have referred to Sigmund Schlesinger (1832–1918), a Viennese writer known for his short comic plays.Roser, Hans-Dieter (2007). ''Franz von Suppé: Werk und Leben'', pp. 258, 278. Edition Steinbauer. In 2019 Andreas Weigel found out that the author of the libretto is S. Strasser (probably Suppé's second wife Sofie Strasser whom Suppé met in 1860). The new operetta premiered at the Thalia Theater in

in June 1864 with

Amalie Materna Amalie Materna () born Amalia, later Amalie Friedrich-Materna) (10 July 1844 St. Georgen in der Steiermark – 18 January 1918 Vienna) was an Austrian operatic dramatic soprano. While possessing a famously powerful voice, Materna also maintaine ...

singing the central role of Judith. The exact date of the premiere varies in the sources. According to Otto Schneidereit in ''Franz von Suppé: der Wiener aus Dalmatien'', it was 24 June, while Roser gives the date as 20 June. Following the Graz premiere which had been personally supervised by Suppé, ''Pique Dame'' opened at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

in Vienna in 1865. ''Pique Dame'' was fairly successful in its day but is now rarely performed whole. Its overture, published separately in 1867, is however a popular concert and recording piece. Traubner, Richard (2003)
''Operetta: A Theatrical History''
pp. 100–103. Routledge. Letellier, Robert Ignatius (2013)
''Franz von Suppé: Overtures and Preludes''
p. x. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Other music from ''Pique Dame'' was chosen by the Metropolitan Opera in 1931 for incorporation into its staging that year of ''

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...

''.

Recording

More recently, on 1 December 2006, ''Pique Dame'' was given a concert performance at the Cologne Philharmonie conducted by

Michail Jurowski Michail Vladimirovich Jurowski (; 25 December 1945 – 19 March 2022) was a Russian conductor who worked internationally, based in Germany for most of his career. He was particularly interested in the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, in concerts an ...

. This was broadcast on

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

radio later that month. Moreover, before the concert, the same singers and conductor made a studio recording which was released in 2009 on CD. This is, however, presented as being in "one act", and it lacks dialogue.Dreyssig, Alexander (5 January 2010)
"Suppé Franz von: Pique Dame" (review)
Klassik Heute. Retrieved 5 February 2014 .Kölner Philharmonie (2006)
Concert Program
Retrieved 8 February 2014

Roles

Synopsis

The story concerns the tribulations of the young lovers, Emil, an impoverished composer, and Hedwig, the daughter of a wealthy widow. Hedwig is in turn pursued by her guardian, Fabian Muker, who is also in love with her (and her fortune). Through the efforts of Judith, a fortune-teller and Emil's foster mother, all ends happily with Emil and Hedwig able to marry, and Hedwig's guardian revealed to be Emil's uncle.

Overture

According to Robert Letellier in his 2013 introduction to ''Franz von Suppé: Overtures and Preludes'', the enduring popularity the work's overture as a concert piece for orchestras stems from its "varied and vivid melodies", beautiful flute solo, and themes which "leap" between the higher and lower instruments of the orchestra. The original orchestral score for the overture has been adapted for

piano four hands Piano four hands (, , ) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is generally referred to as a ''piano duet, piano duo''.Bellingham, Jane"piano du ...

by Theodor Herbert (1822–1891) and for solo piano by Clemens Schultze-Biesantz (1876–1935). It was also adapted for the

mechanical organ A mechanical organ is an organ that is self-playing, rather than played by a musician. For example, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. Usually, mechanical organs are pi ...

by the

Aeolian Company The Aeolian Company was a musical-instrument making firm whose products included player organs, pianos, sheet music, records and phonographs. Founded in 1887, it was at one point the world's largest such firm. During the mid 20th century, it surp ...

who described the piece in their 1919 catalog:

At the beginning there is heard a mysterious theme, several times repeated, and this theme then turns out to be simply the accompaniment for a lyric melody which is now voiced above it and which proves to be an important musical factor in the overture, culminating in a big climax. After this a merry theme makes its appearance, its brisk, happy character supplying ideal contrast to the foregoing music. Another fine lyric theme and a gay melody are added, and a rushing brilliant coda brings the overture to a happy conclusion.

The ''Pique Dame'' overture was often heard in cinemas during the era of the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

when deluxe screenings were preceded by an overture or other concert piece played by a live orchestra. The film music director and composer

Hugo Riesenfeld Hugo Riesenfeld (January 26, 1879 – September 10, 1939) was an Austrian-American composer. As a film director, he began to write his own orchestral compositions for silent films in 1917, and co-created modern production techniques where film ...

listed it as one of the ten most frequently performed pieces of music in movie theaters of the era.

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

's 1914 film ''

Judith of Bethulia ''Judith of Bethulia'' (1914) is an American film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall, and produced and directed by D. W. Griffith, based on the play "Judith and the Holofernes" (1896) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, which itself was an ada ...

'' had a complete live sound track specified by Griffiths himself in which the ''Pique Dame'' overture, played in its entirety, opened the second reel. (The ''Judith'' sound track encompassed 11 pieces in all, beginning with music from Wallace's opera ''

Maritana ''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' b ...

'' and ending with Grieg's '' Peer Gynt Suite''.)

Recordings

The only known recording of the full opera is: *Suppé: ''Pique Dame'' – Anjara Ingrid Bartz (Judith);

Mojca Erdmann Mojca Erdmann (born 29 December 1975) is a German soprano who is particularly associated with the List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart operas. She created the role of Ariadne in Rihm's ''Dionysos (opera), Dionysos'' at the Salzburg F ...

(Hedwig ); Tom Erik Lie (Emil); Thomas Dewald (Fabian Muker); Anneli Pfeffer (Henriette); WDR Radio Orchestra and Chorus;

(conductor). Label: CPO 777 480-2Sheppard, John (February 2010)
"Review: Franz von Suppé: ''Pique Dame'' (CPO 777 480-2)"
MusicWeb International. Retrieved 5 February 2014. It was recorded in the Klaus-von-Bismark-Saal, Cologne, 21–29 November 2006, with the same cast, orchestra, and conductor who gave the live concert performance of the work at the Cologne Philharmonie on 1 December 2006. The spoken dialogue is omitted in the recording. The overture on its own appears in numerous orchestral recordings, including

Sir Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ran ...

conducting the

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

on EMI,

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-servi ...

conducting the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

and

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 ...

conducting the Hallé Orchestra. It also appears in ''Suppé: Overtures and Marches'' with

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

conducting the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

(released in 2013). One of the earliest recordings of the overture was in 1917 by the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

. An excerpt from this overture plays at the very end of a

M*A*S*H season 10 The tenth season of ''M*A*S*H'' aired Mondays at 9:00–9:30 PM E.T. on CBS from October 26, 1981 to April 12, 1982. Cast Episodes Notes References External links List of ''M*A*S*H'' season 10 episodesat the Internet Movie Database ...

episode entitled "Picture This."MUSIC OF M*A*S*H: CHARLES AND CLASSICAL MUSIC
/ref>

References

External links

Complete score of the overture to ''Pique Dame''
(published in Leipzig by C.F.W. Siegel, 1867) at the

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project uses MediaWiki software, and ...

Overture to ''Pique Dame'' played by the Filarmonica de Acapulco
on the orchestra's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Pique Dame (Suppe) Operas by Franz von Suppé Operas based on works by Aleksandr Pushkin German-language operettas 1864 operas Operas Works based on The Queen of Spades