Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

“The Queen Of Spades” Vs The Queen Of Spades Before Tchaikovsky could produce “The Queen Of Spades” into an engaging opera, several modifications had to be made to Pushkin’s short story. Pushkin’s story depicted a cold, callous, manipulative and greedy main character, Gherman. Tchaikovsky transformed Gherman into a likable lover whose cause is no longer greed. In Pushkin’s short story Lisa is simply Gherman’s gambling instrument unlike the opera where she is Gherman’s love interest. Tchaikovsky has also promoted Lisa to the Countess’s granddaughter, which, although sometimes overlooked, is crucial to the opera. Whether or not these changes are beneficial to the story is debatable. One of the most notable changes that Tchaikovsky made is the addition of a tragic conclusion to the story. The two leading characters take their own lives. When Lisa and Gherman’s meeting at the bridge is prematurely ended because of Gherman’s untimely departure, Lisa drowns herself in the icy waters below. Lisa killed herself because she perceived Gherman’s early departure as an indication