what is to become of him. 'I will show him what it means to get in my way!' he retorts and he offers to show Dimitry to them. The condemned soldier has been brought to the palace as a further twist in Prince Paul's elaborate revenge. Dimitry is brought in blindfolded in front of the Prince and the dancing girls and, asked where he imagines he is, he admits that his nose tells him he is not in the citadel, but in an elegant salon with pretty women. His blindfold is removed and, gallant and cheerful to the end, he bids the ladies a merry farewell. The Prince has arranged yet one further twist. He has had the sledges carrying the General's wedding party to Warsaw waylaid and Vera brought to him with the promise that Dimitry may yet be saved. He seeks to continue the dialogue that Dimitry had interrupted at the Court Ball, but Vera adopts a haughty stance, puts him onto the defensive, and taunts him with an enigmatic 'O-1a-la'. Sadistically Prince Paul extracts from Vera an acknowledgement of her concern for Dimitry, before finally telling her that Dimitry will not, after all, suffer the ultimate penalty. He is not to die, but he is to be humiliated. Firstly he will be made to suffer by being forced to serve supper to Vera and himself. Using her wiles to the full, Vera points out to Prince Paul how, since the incident, Dimitry has become a source of fascination to every woman at court. 'And now you want to make him even more interesting!' she says. 'Wouldn't it be better if you were the hero in this story? As this thought gives him pause, Vera asks that, for once in his life, the Prince should not give the orders. For just ten minutes he should allow her to do so. Paul agrees, whereupon Vera orders Dimitry to be brought before her. Then she orders the Prince to invite Dimitry to take supper with them and, finally, she orders that, just as previously Prince Paul had commanded the General to marry her, he should now order Dimitry to do so. Paul does, and Dimitry accepts without hesitation. 'Now you are the hero of the story,' Vera tells Prince Paul. MUSICAL NUMBERS: Act I 1. Man is Master of His Fate - Merrington 2. Love, the Minstrel - Vera 3. Mama! Mama! - Countess, Annuschka, Hannuschka, Petruschka 4. I Love You Best Of All - Ippolith and Girls 5. The Last waltz - Merrington and Vera Act II 6. The Laggard Lovers - Ippolith, Girls and Officers 7. The Mirror Song - Vera 8. I Must Not Tell You So - Babuschka and Ippolith 9. When Life and Love Are Calling - Vera and Merrington Act III 10. O-la-la! - Vera Original Musical Numbers 1. Es lebe der Herr General! – (Long Live the General) 2. Bei Lied und Wein - (To Song and Wine) 3. Rosen, die wir nicht erreichten – (Roses Out of Reach) 4. Mama, Mama! Wir wollen einen Mann! – (Mama, Mama, We Want a Man)
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