Last updated: Apr. 28, 1997
Vil'jam
Ratklif
William Ratcliff
an opera in three acts
Composed by Cesar Cui
Libretto by Viktor Krylov, after Pleshcheev's translation of
Heine's drama
Date of composition: 1861-1868
First Performed: 1869
Click here
to hear my MIDI arrangement of the orchestral Introduction to the opera.
Cast of Characters
- MacGregor, a rich Scottish lord: bass
- Maria, his daughter: soprano
- Margaret, her wet-nurse: mezzo-soprano
- The Earl Douglas, Maria's fiance: tenor
- William Ratcliff: baritone
- Lesley, his friend: tenor
- Robin, a vagrant: bass
- Tom, a vagrant: baritone
- Betsy, a servant at a tavern: soprano
Servants, wedding guests, swindlers, robbers
Setting: Action in northern Scotland in the 17th century
Synopsis
Maria has lost two suitors to the murderous hand of William Ratcliff,
whom she fears but really loves. Her latest groom, Douglas, succeeds at
defeating and wounding Ratcliff. But Ratcliff finds Maria, kills her
father, her, and then he himself dies.
[Melnikov as William Ratcliff in the first production (1869)]
Author: Lyle Neff, lneff@indiana.edu
Last Updated: July 1996