William Ratcliff (Вилльям Ратклифф or Вильям Ратклиф in Cyrillic; Vill'jam Ratkliff or Vil'jam Ratklif in transliteration) is an opera in three acts, composed by César Cui during 1861–1868; it was premiered on 14 February 1869 (Old Style) at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg under the conductorship of Eduard Nápravník. Although it was revived in Moscow in 1900 under Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, it never became part of the standard operatic repertoire either in Russia or in the West. Nevertheless, this opera has considerable significance in the history of Russian art music, not only for the fact that it was the first opera by a member of The Five to reach the stage, but also for musical features that suggest experimentation and interrelationships among The Five. Libretto The subject for the opera was suggested to the composer by Mily Balakirev, who also orchestrated certain passages of the opera, as did Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto of the opera was adapted by the composer from Vasily Zhukovsky's Russian verse translation of the like-named tragedy by Heinrich Heine, with some additional verses by Viktor Krylov, who had already written the libretti for Cui's operas Prisoner of the Caucasus and The Mandarin's Son. (The same play has been used for other operas, most notably Pietro Mascagni's Guglielmo Ratcliff, which premiered over a quarter century later.) The action takes place in Scotland, during the 17th century (Heine's original was set in Scotland of his own time). Characters and setting Principal roles: MacGregor, a wealthy Scottish lord (bass) Mary (Maria), his daughter (soprano) Margaret, her wet-nurse (mezzo-soprano) Earl Douglas, Maria's fiancé (tenor) William Ratcliff (baritone) Minor roles: Lesley, Ratcliff's friend (tenor) Robin, a vagrant (bass) Tom, a vagrant (baritone) Betsy, a servant at the tavern (soprano) Servants, wedding guests, swindlers, robbers (chorus) Synopsis The plot is fairly bloody, and follows the conventions of the German Schicksalsdrama, or "drama of fate" of the early 19th century. Many relevant motives and events actually occur before the curtain rises and have to be rendered in long narratives, leaving the action on stage significantly static for much of the time. The primary departures from Heine's original drama include the wedding choruses in Act I and the replacement of the intimate "Pater Noster" episode in the tavern scene of Act II, Tableau 1 with a comic ensemble scene. Pre-curtain events: In years past MacGregor's wife Betty fell in love with Edward Ratcliff, the