Sergei Prokofiev’s Music for Mikhail Romm’s Film The Queen of Spades

Abstract

Among the artists-creators who have turned to the musical-theatrical or musical-cinematographic interpretation of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades and thereby risked to enter into a dialogue, or even into polemics with Piotr Tchaikovsky’s immortal opera, Sergei Prokofiev presents a striking example. His artistic tandem with cinema producer Mikhail Romm was formed in 1936, however, the film The Queen of Spades for various reasons turned out to be inaccessible to the viewing audience. The music to the film project, which failed to be realized, was almost completed by the composer and has for many years attracted conductors and film producers. Within the focus of the scholarly interest of the author of the present article is the story of the creation of the music for the film, as well as its analysis based on art studies. This work of the composer turns out to be simultaneously quite organic for the master’s legacy, possessing the traits of his style, and quite original, when compared to other works connected with Pushkin’s immortal novelette. Research experience has made it possible to compensate for the prior perceptions of Prokofiev as a cinematic composer, and also to make a certain contribution in the questions connected with the dialogue of the arts and, more broadly, with the cultural dialogue. Developing itself within the framework of musical Pushkiniana, the sought dialogue overcomes space and time, initiating the invisible connection between past, present and future.

Keywords: Sergei Prokofiev’s cinema music, Sergei Prokofiev’s musical style, Mikhail Romm’s The Queen of Spades, ballet The Three Cards, musical Pushkiniana