deceived her concerning his marital status. Act 3 Waiting to meet Pyotr at the inn, Grunya bemoans her fate. Upon arriving, Pyotr reads her change of mood as she spurns him, and guesses that only Vasya could have clued her in. When she goes off with Vasya, Yeryomka suggests to Pyotr that a visit to a witch-friend of his will solve his problems. Pyotr agrees to see her. Act 4 Out in the streets, Shrovetide merry-making is in full swing, with singing of songs and selling of food. Pyotr, drunk and brooding, comes upon the scene with Yeryomka. (The witch has told Pyotr that his future portends a wedding, hence his concern with being married still to Dasha.) When Vasya shows up with Grunya, Pyotr tries to kill him, but merely humiliates himself. After more Shrovetide revelers draw the crowd away, Pyotr comes once again under Yeryomka's influence: the latter proposes a plan: Dasha will be told that Pyotr has become ill out at the "wolf's gully." This conversation is overheard by Vasya, who runs off to warn her. Act 5 Out in the ravine, near a weakly lighted hut, amidst noises of a nocturnal snowstorm, Pyotr imagines voices of the previous few hours. Yeryomka enters, with Dasha, who has fallen for the ruse. When Pyotr rushes at Dasha with a knife, she runs into the hut; he follows her into it and kills her. The sound of approaching sleighbells frightens Yeryomka away: Vasya could not find Dasha to warn her, and so he, along with Il'ya and her parents, have driven to the site of the planned murder, only to come upon Pyotr, who is condemned by his father. (Note: in the original play, Pyotr gives up the idea of murder and reconciles his marriage.) See also Judith (1863) Rogneda (1865) References Notes Sources Bernandt, G.B. Словарь опер впервые поставленных или изданных в дореволюционной России и в СССР, 1736-1959 [Dictionary of Operas First Performed or Published in Pre-Revolutionary Russia and in the USSR, 1836-1959] (Москва: Советский композитор, 1962), pp. 63–64. Serov, Alexander. Вражья сила: опера в пяти действиях. Аранжированно для пения с фортепиано с полной оркестровой партитуры Георгием Дютш. [The Power of the Fiend: opera in five acts. Arranged for voice and piano from the full orchestral score by Georgy Diutsh.] В Москве: А. Гутхейл. Taruskin, Richard. Opera and Drama in Russia As Preached and Practiced in the 1860s.