Comprising four dramatic scenes—*The Covetous Knight*, *Mozart and Salieri*, *The Stone Guest*, and *A Feast in Time of Plague*—the *Little Tragedies* focus on gripping tales of destructive passions. Greed and lust, envy and a craving for immortality take possession of Pushkin’s characters. They do not merely experience passion; they affirm it as the supreme value of existence, serving and...