Queen of Spades — Magic spell

Action by Asya Lazar Ardova

 

New soundtracks (3 ones)performed by Asya Ardova (piano) at the page ardSOUND of ardisonata.net:

1. “Queen of Spades — Magic Spell" (Linkin Park, Irish Dump of the 15^th century, Gretry, Halevy, P. Tchaikovsky),

2. “Queen of Spades — Magic Spell" (Linkin Park, Irish Dump of the 15^th century, Gretry, Halevy)

3. “Queen of Spades — Respawn Points"( P. Tchaikovsky and Linkin Park)

 

Arrangements by S. Heller, T. Dao and A. L. Ardova.

   Pictures: Shillingovsky (“Fortuna”), Svitalsky (to Pushkin), Linkin Park (cards), Toulouse-Lautrec (two old ladies), photos of Venice and Petersburg by A. L. Ardova.

 

  In 1679 the first casino was opened, and it happened in Venice. In 1833 the Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades” saw the world. Pushkin was the first to penetrate inside the psychology of a game, the cards game, where roles are predestined to be played like masks during the Venetian masquerade. And the subject is never changed, although unpredictable for performers involved in scenario. In 1890 Tchaikovsky created his own “Queen of Spades”, and it was also in Italy.

 

 

The playing card resembles water reflection. Both Petersburg and Venice are surrounded by the water that is the symbol of passing by reality, when every real action of flesh and blood turns to spectral reminiscence, which nobody wants to believe in. Rational and irrational, inexplicable and provocative action is sometimes transferred to simultaneously existing stages, where the laws of masks or cards acquire their immense power over the reason. The main passion is to be disguised, to start anew and to continue on the other stage escaping from the rational every now and then for to discover the other grounds for acting. 

 

 St.Petersburg is crammed full with walking people. Hermann confides the reason of his sulky mood to Tomsky. The lady he desires most passionately is unachievable for him, because of her wealthy state.

Yeletsky announces an engagement. Hermann gets petrified revealing his beloved to be Yeletsky’s bride. Everybody is seized with the premonition of calamity.

Tomsky narrates fashionable story from the high life. It’s about the Countess, having lost her fortune in cards, but having returned wealth by means of three magic cards. Mocking at Hermann Surin and Chekalinsky provoke him to learn the mystery of these three cards. Nevertheless, this is Liza to be Hermann’s only obsession. He swears to win her.

The ballad of three magic cards would not exist without one more enigmatic personage – Count Saint-Germain. Remember he was the adventures figure of unknown origin. Many superficial features were ascribed to him. One of them was eternal life. He is the one to impart the secret of fortune to Countess, when she was the Venus of Moscow, and he was the evil spirit she was afraid of. Saint-Germain was 300 years old when the young Countess met him first, Hermann appears as the incarnation of Saint-Germain.

 

Liza’s room. The young lady is in a blue mood. The girls are trying to amuse her, but in vain. She prefers solitude stained in melancholy dreams about Hermann. Quite of a sudden Hermann appears, outbursting his passion to his beloved. The old Countess interrupts their mutual confession. Three enigmatic cards stand out in his mind, but just for a while being muffled by the feeling of all-embracing love.

The ball, where Hermann is present deep in his ponderous thoughts. His meditations are again about Liza, who seems to love him fervently. However, these are money to be acquired for their marriage to come true. Surin and Chekalinsky remind of the three cards to him. Hermann is getting obsessed, but this time with the idea of wealth. The key from the secret door is given to him by Liza. The only thing left to do is to unlock the door and worm the cards’ mystery out of the Countess.

Countess’ bedroom. Hermann is creeping secretly along all in the dark. The Countess comes in, surrounded by the servants. Taking her seat in the arm-chair she banishes her servants-girls and starts remembering her green years. Hermann begs the Countess to take mercy on him and to name three enigmatic cards to him. The Countess is left soundless. Hermann is worked to insanity, threatening with his pistol to the old spinster. Liza enters the chamber and sees her beloved bending over the dead Countess. The mystery of three cards is gone together with the Countess.  Liza is waiting for Hermann. The hope for luck is warmed by his coming. However, Hermann is insane. Rejecting Liza he dashes to the gaming house.  

  The barracks.Hermann is reading Liza’s letter, where she invites him to the midnight rendezvous. Simultaneously he remembers the old Countess to have winked at him lying in the coffin. Steps are heard quite of a sudden. Somebody is knocking at the window. The apparition of the old Countess utters the names of three magic cards — the three, the seven, the ace.

Gambling den. Among the gamblers Yeletsky is present. Being abandoned by Liza he is  looking for vengeance. Hazard is sometimes geting dependent of just human feelings. Envy and jealousy are stronger than gambling sometimes, piercing one's mind. Hermann appears. Staking on the three and the seven he wins, staking the whole hat trick on the ace, which turns to be the queen of spades right in his hand. 

 

The Linkin Park musicians expounded their own attitude towards the cards realm. Gambling became more and more threatening nowadays. Dames, jacks, aces and kings imbibe forces and impart passions, which lead gamblers to psychological devastations. Chiefs and bosses, writing plots, thus making cards of your employees (people), be sure, that being deprived of individuality, masks and cards start acting as the vampires of yourself.

 

 

Once the Canadian scientist-psychologist Eric Berne proposed the theory of games we play every day, the so-called transactions between people. The Russian philosopher Lev Vygotsky expounded his theory of aesthetic pleasure, and the Greek theatre was chosen by him as the true example of emotional outburst. Penetrating into the principles of the ancient theatre Vygotsky found out that the dramatic hero should have been be acted as not to recall pity in spectator’s heart— the dramatic hero is akin to adventurer, or even gambler, only playing with fortune and winning it in spite of all. Either victory or defeat, it’s all the same, leads spectators to catharsis. The ancient theatre did not know pity, or semitones, thus approaching to a mere game, only filled with moralistic narration. Meanwhile both art and games are able to raise enjoyment on the occasion of passing inner details and turns.

 

 

 

Gambler is a man of extreme points; respawn points of the hazard’s power. Gambler is not just pragmatic, not just dreaming of richness. He is inclined to idée-fixe, embodied either in love passion, or mysterious spell, or even in attacks of piety as reaction to the previous zealous states, but all the same by the inner core. “I’m my own worst enemy… I’m suffocating. I’m given up!”— true are these words of Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), when the whole world is bound by invisible ropes of scenarios. Game creates some closed space, the world imprisoned inside the locked space. Unbridled passions organized so, as to search for hazard non-stop.

 

 

 

 

Returning to Berne, let’s watch the hierarchy of any game. The most skillful and cunning gamblers can’t match the profit of a leader, the user of the whole process and sometimes the author of a game.

The goal is always known only to the leader, so as the rules and the whole plot. As the true rules are concealed, gamblers consider the process to be spontaneous, while everything is determined in advance.

Meanwhile there should be stated the connection between the leader and the gamblers. This connection is realized through the instigator, who is not involved (or partially involved) into the gambling struggle, for the instigator is already warned in advance.

That’s why before the Queen of Spades, leader of the whole performance, starts acting, the game is burnt out by the Dame of Diamonds, true provoker of the future pique events. Sweet is the ding-dong of little bells (schellen in Swiss cards) and the inducing rhythm of tambourines (bubny in Russian cards), or the sparkling light of diamonds (in English patch) — but altogether forming the provoker’s score of magic spell…