Hermann

Hermann (Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades). Tenor. A Russian officer, he has fallen in love, but the lady turns out to be Prince Yeletsky's fiancée, Lisa. When young, Lisa's grandmother, the old Countess, lived in Paris and gambled heavily, being known as the Queen of Spades. After she lost her husband's fortune, a Count gave her the secret of three winning cards. These she told her husband and a lover, but a ghost warned her not to reveal them to anyone else. Hermann is determined to secure the secret, so he can win and be worthy of Lisa. He hides in the Countess's quarters and when she is alone he demands the secret. Terrified of him, she collapses and dies. Lisa sends him away and drowns herself. The Countess's ghost tells Hermann the three cards - 3, 7 and Ace. He gambles on them, winning on the first two, but when he bets everything on the third card and turns it over, it is not the Ace but the Queen of Spades - the Countess has tricked him. He kills himself. Aria: Ya imeni yeyo ne znayu (‘I don't even know her name’); Chto nasha zhizn? Ingra! (‘What is our life? A game!’). Created (1890) by Nikolay Figner (whose wife, pregnant, created Lisa).