Pique Dame (Overture) - F. von Suppé

The operetta ‘Pique Dame’ (‘The Queen of Spades’) was a revised version of Franz von Suppé's 1862 operetta ‘Die Kartenschlägerin’ (‘The Fortune Teller’) and premiered in June 1864 at the Thalia Theater in Graz. Although the work was fairly successful in its day, it is now rarely performed. Some of its music was later incorporated into Suppé's ‘Boccacio’ when it was revived at the Metropolitan Opera in 1931, and the overture, published on its own in 1867, remains a popular concert and recording piece. Dutch arranger Jos van de Braak transcribed the overture of ‘Pique Dame’ for a Symphonic Band.