Andreae, Volkmar

Ratcliff (1914)

Opera in three acts

Libretto after the tragedy by Heinrich Heine (E)

Scoring
S,M,3T,3Bar,3B; chorus large orchestra.
Abbreviations (PDF).

Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for all countries except Germany, Italy, Portugal, Danzig, and the former territories of the USSR.

World Premiere
5/25/1914
Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein Festival, Duisburg
Company: unknown

Roles

MACGREGOR, a Scottish nobleman	Baritone
MARIA, his daughter	Soprano
GRAF DOUGLAS, her fiance	Tenor
WILLIAM RATCLIFF	Tenor
LESLEY, his friend	Baritone
MARGARETE, Maria's fostermother	Mezzo-Soprano
TOM, landlord of a thieves refuge	Baritone
WILLIE, his son	Spoken role
ROBIN	Bass
DICK	Bass
BILL	Bass
JOHN	Spoken role
TADDIE	Spoken role
A SERVANT	Tenor

Time and Place
The North of Scotland, 1820

Synopsis

At the MacGregor family castle, the daughter of the house, Maria, is to be married to Count Douglas: her father blesses the pair. The pathologically jealous William Ratcliff, however, is preparing to kill Douglas in a duel – his previous victims already include two hapless men betrothed to Maria on earlier occasions. In the event it is Ratcliff who is the more seriously (though not fatally) injured during the encounter. Margarete, Maria's nurse, fills her in on some family history: Ratcliff's father had loved Maria's mother, but was killed by MacGregor himself causing her mother to die thereafter of grief. Meanwhile Ratcliff himself has become ever more crazed and violent: haunted by the vision of the men he has previously murdered, he now attacks and kills Maria, then her father, and lastly himself.

Moods
Dramatic, Poetic, Romantic, Tragic

Subjects
History, Relationships, Literary