THE GAMBLER.(broadcast of March 31, 2001)

BROADCAST OF MARCH 31, 2001 SPONSORED BY TEXACO OVER THE TEXACO-METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK, 1:30 P.M. Music by Sergei Prokofiev Libretto by the composer, based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella

THE STORY

ACT I. Roulettenberg, a fictitious spa somewhere in Central Europe, 1865. In the Garden of the Grand Hotel, outside the casino, Alexei, age twenty-five, tutor to the General's family, encounters Pauline, the General's stepdaughter, with whom he is in love. He tells her he followed her instructions to pawn her jewelry and gamble with the proceeds -- but lost. The General, a middle-aged man smitten with Blanche, a much younger opportunist, enters with her, the coldly shrewd Marquis and an Englishman, Mr. Astley. Questioned about his losses, Alexei claims the money was his own, from the salary he had saved. When the others suggest that a person in his modest position ought not to gamble, Alexei irritably replies that life is too short to save money gradually. The General has just received a telegram from "Babulenka," Pauline's Grandma in Moscow, and goes off with the others to send a reply; they are all waiting for the old lady to die and leave them her money so they can gamble with it.

Pauline returns, annoyed that she now cannot repay her debts to the insidious Marquis. Alexei insists on his infatuation with her, but she senses cold greed beyond his hysteria. Their conversation is interrupted by the General, who has just borrowed money from the Marquis and gives Alexei a large bill to get changed. Pauline capriciously dares Alexei -- if he really loves her enough to do anything she asks -- to go and flirt with a German Baroness sitting in the park, thereby annoying her husband. He does so, creating a stir and causing the Baron and Baroness to leave.

ACT II. In the lobby of the Grand Hotel, the General reprimands Alexei for his behavior. When the young man shows no sign of contrition, the General fires him. Alexei sticks to the view that he should be allowed to act as he wishes without interference. When Alexei leaves for a moment, the General tries unsuccessfully to enlist the help of the Marquis in dealing with him to prevent a scandal. As the two older men move off, Alexei returns, reflecting that everything is Pauline's fault: it was she who put him up to addressing the Baroness. Astley greets Alexei, and they discuss the cause of the General's apprehension: he is afraid any scandal might jeopardize his hopes of winning Blanche. At some point, it seems, Blanche tried to borrow money from the Baron, causing the Baroness to complain. Since the Baron and Baroness are important people, the General wants to avoid further offending them. As the two men talk, Blanche passes through in search of the General. Astley goes on to explain that the General cannot propose to Blanche until he gets his inheritance from Grandma. Alexei takes the cynical view that since Pauline too will have an inheritance, she will then fall prey to the rapacious Marquis.

Astley takes his leave as the Marquis appears, bent on controlling Alexei's behavior at the behest of the General. Finding the young man resistant, the Marquis wonders aloud how best to get around him, then produces a note from Pauline telling Alexei to stop acting like a schoolboy. Alexei calls the Marquis a usurer and a parasite, accusing him of making Pauline write the note. As Alexei leaves angrily, Blanche and the General appear, asking whether the Marquis had any success in dealing with Alexei. The Marquis pretends he did, then turns to his chief topic of interest, Grandmas imminent demise: how soon do they expect news of her?

No sooner has the General predicted her death that very night than Grandma's voice is heard: she has arrived at the hotel, the picture of health. Though she greets Pauline with a certain affection, she quickly sees through the poses of the others. She announces she is over her illness and wants to recuperate at the spa, where she also looks forward to gambling. Blanche suspects the General of false promises, while the Marquis hopes his usual deceit and hypocrisy will be sufficient to deal with the old lady.