“The Queen of Spades” is a tale of wildly romantic passion thwarted by a sinister obsession; in it playfulness, horror, intoxicated rapture and suicidal despair are capped off by a touch of the supernatural.

Donald Pippin’s Pocket Opera premieres Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece May 20 at the Napa Valley Opera House.

Pippin once said that there is “a whole category of operas where, if you don’t know the story on the way to the theater, you won’t know it on the way home, either.” His approach to opera, on the other hand, is to tell the story in the clearest manner possible so it really is possible to “know the plot of the opera on the way home.” Pippin brings the story to life with his nationally recognized English versions of opera libretti, in which he translates the spirit of the work rather than word by word with complete fidelity to the composer’s musical intentions.

For some operas, Pippin provides an introduction to the opera, its individual acts and scenes, which ground both the setting and the story. For others, his English version of the libretto carries the entire story and drama; no narrative or introduction is needed.

Pocket Opera performances are accompanied by the Pocket Philharmonic, a chamber orchestra of eight to 15 musicians led by Pippin from the piano.

Often described as Pocket Opera “theater of the mind and of the heart” Pocket Opera productions are staged with minimal costuming and without sets, using only the few practical props that are essential to convey the story. A few operas, for which staging would add little or nothing to the interpretation of the story, are performed concert style.

Using Pippin’s singable translations and narration, accomplished vocalists and small chamber orchestra, Pocket Opera provides affordable, accessible opera of the highest musicality for contemporary audiences.

‘The Queen of Spades’

Napa Valley Opera House

Sunday, May 20, 2 p.m.

Tickets: $30, $35

Box Office: 226-7372