Franz von Suppé - Overture "Pique Dame" (1862)

Franz von Suppé or Francesco Suppé Demelli (18 April 1819 – 21 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A composer and conductor of the Romantic period, he is notable for his four dozen operettas. Please support my channels: https://ko-fi.com/bartjebartmans Overture "Pique Dame" (1862) Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Charles Dutoit Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) is an operetta in two acts by Franz von Suppé to a German-language libretto very loosely based on Alexander Pushkin's 1834 short story "The Queen of Spades". The author of the libretto is S. Strasser (probably Suppé's second wife Sofie Strasser). Pique Dame was a revised version of Suppé's 1862 operetta Die Kartenschlägerin ("The Fortune Teller") and premiered in June 1864 at the Thalia Theater in Graz. The work is primarily known today for its overture which remains a popular concert piece. The original orchestral score for the overture has been adapted for piano four hands by Theodor Herbert (1822–1891) and for solo piano by Clemens Schultze-Biesantz (1876–1935). It was also adapted for the mechanical organ by the Aeolian Company who described the piece in their 1919 catalog: "At the beginning there is heard a mysterious theme, several times repeated, and this theme then turns out to be simply the accompaniment for a lyric melody which is now voiced above it, and which proves to be an important musical factor in the overture, culminating in a big climax. After this a merry theme makes its appearance, its brisk, happy character supplying ideal contrast to the foregoing music. Another fine lyric theme and a gay melody are added, and a rushing brilliant coda brings the overture to a happy conclusion". The Pique Dame overture was often heard in cinemas during the era of the silent film when deluxe screenings were preceded by an overture or other concert piece played by a live orchestra. The film music director and composer Hugo Riesenfeld listed it as one of the ten most frequently performed pieces of music in movie theaters of the era. D. W. Griffith's 1914 film Judith of Bethulia had a complete live soundtrack specified by Griffiths himself in which the Pique Dame overture, played in its entirety, opened the second reel. (The Judith soundtrack encompassed 11 pieces in all, beginning with music from Wallace's opera Maritana and ending with Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite.)