The Queen of Spades at Hungarian State Opera, Opera House

After composing Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky reached for Pushkin a second time, once again choosing a complex psychological drama of remarkable tension that featured a protagonist with a complicated personality; the story of the young officer who is addicted to playing cards, while not lacking a certain mystical aspect, is a true psychological thriller.

Hermann, an eccentric among the officers stationed in St. Petersburg, is courting a much richer girl above his station. Liza's grandmother and guardian is a mysterious countess referred to only as The Queen of Spades, because as an obsessive gambler, she knows the secret of the unlucky card. Hermann's focus of attention turns from Liza to finding out the nature of this secret, and the passion for gambling that overwhelms him as well unleashes a chain of tragic events...