Gambler, The

Opera in four acts by Sergey Prokofiev (libretto by the composer, after the story by Fyodor Dostoevsky), composed 1915-17, revised in 1928, and first produced in Brussels, Belgium, on 29 April 1929. It had been planned for performance in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1917, but was cancelled at the outbreak of the Revolution. The orchestral suite Portraits, Op. 49, in four movements, was first performed in Paris, France, on 12 March 1932. In the story, Alexey, in love with Pauline, ruins himself for her sake. He takes to gambling and makes a fortune, but she rejects him.