Guglielmo Ratcliff is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, translated from the German play Wilhelm Ratcliff (1822) by Heinrich Heine. Mascagni had substantially finished the composition of Ratcliff before the success of his first opera, Cavalleria rusticana.
After the composition and performance of further operas L'amico Fritz in 1891 and I Rantzau in 1893, Ratcliff eventually premiered on 16 February 1895 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and has been revived a number of times since, including a concert performance in 2003 at the Alice Tully Hall in New York and a staged performance at Wexford Festival Opera in 2015, conducted by Francesco Cilluffo.[1][2]
Mascagni often wrote that Ratcliff was his best opera. However, it has not entered the standard operatic repertoire, in part because the title role is one of the most taxing tenor parts ever written. It is especially known for its act 3 Intermezzo, which features prominently in the Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull.[3] (Heine's play, which was never performed during his life, was also used as the basis for César Cui's 1869 opera of the same name and for Volkmar Andreae's 1914 opera Ratcliff.[4])
^Renata Vidal was originally scheduled to sing the role and sang it in subsequent performances in the opening run, but was indisposed on the opening night. See Venturi.
Count Douglas, Maria's betrothed, arrives at the Castle of Maria and her father MacGregor. He tells them how he was attacked by bandits near the castle but saved by an unknown knight. Maria faints, and then recovers. MacGregor tells Douglas about Gugliemo Ratcliff, whom Maria had rejected as a suitor. Ratcliff's revenge was to challenge her next two suitors to duels in which he killed them. Count Douglas then receives a message from Ratcliff delivered by his friend Lesley challenging him to a similar duel at Black Rock.
Act 2
In an inn frequented by thieves and swindlers, the innkeeper Tom, is holding his son, Willie on his knees. When he asks the child to recite the Pater Noster, he repeatedly stumbles on the line "And lead us not into temptation". Tom grows increasingly angry with the boy, tells him that he will end up like the clientele of the inn, and eventually sends him from the room. Ratcliff then tells Lesley how Maria's rejection of him led to his compulsion to kill any man who succeeded in winning her love. Ratcliff is disturbed by the appearance of strange figures who, unbeknownst to him, are the ghosts of Maria's dead suitors.
Act 3
Douglas arrives at Black Rock for his duel with Ratcliff. The two strange figures who have been following Ratcliff briefly appear and then disappear. When Ratcliff arrives, Douglas realises that he is the knight who had saved him from the bandits, and when he gets the better of Ratcliff in the duel refuses to kill him. Ratcliff is left lying on the ground where he is again visited by the ghostly figures.
Act 4
In her room, Maria is preparing for her wedding to Douglas. Her nurse, Margherita, tells Maria the story of her mother Elisa's death. Before she married MacGregor, Elisa had been in love with Edward, Guglielmo Ratcliff's father, but both married others. Edward and Elisa later realised their mistake and became lovers. When MacGregor found out, he murdered Edward, and Elisa died from grief. Gugliemo Ratcliff then bursts into Maria's room covered in blood from his unsuccessful duel with Douglas and begs Maria to run away with him. With her mother's story still on her mind and thinking that she might be making the same mistake, Maria at first feels pity for Guglielmo, but then asks him to leave. Her refusal drives Guglielmo mad. He kills both Maria and her father who rushes into the room after hearing her calls for help. Ratcliff then commits suicide. The opera ends with his dying words "O Maria, vengo a te! Son qui, soave Maria!" (Oh Maria, I'm coming to you. I'm here my sweet Maria!).
Allison, John (26 October 2015). "Koanga and Guglielmo Ratcliff, Wexford Festival, review: 'sultry and luscious'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
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Guglielmo Ratcliff is a tragic opera in four acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei translated from the German play Wilhelm Ratcliff 1822 by Heinrich Heine Mascagni had substantially finished the composition of Ratcliff before the success of his first opera Cavalleria rusticana After the composition and performance of further operas L amico Fritz in 1891 and I Rantzau in 1893 Ratcliff eventually premiered on 16 February 1895 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and has been revived a number of times since including a concert performance in 2003 at the Alice Tully Hall in New York and a staged performance at Wexford Festival Opera in 2015 conducted by Francesco Cilluffo 1 2 Mascagni often wrote that Ratcliff was his best opera However it has not entered the standard operatic repertoire in part because the title role is one of the most taxing tenor parts ever written It is especially known for its act 3 Intermezzo which features prominently in the Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull 3 Heine s play which was never performed during his life was also used as the basis for Cesar Cui s 1869 opera of the same name and for Volkmar Andreae s 1914 opera Ratcliff 4 Contents 1 Roles 2 Synopsis 2 1 Act 1 2 2 Act 2 2 3 Act 3 2 4 Act 4 3 References 4 External linksRoles EditRoles voice types premiere cast Role Voice type Premiere cast 16 February 1895 5 Conductor Pietro MascagniGuglielmo Ratcliff tenor Giovanni Battista De NegriMaria soprano Adelina StehleCount Douglas betrothed to Maria baritone Giuseppe PaciniMargherita Maria s nurse mezzo soprano Della Rogers a MacGregor a Scottish lord Maria s father bass Giuseppe De GraziaLesley Ratcliff s friend tenor Gaetano Matteo MazzantiTom an innkeeper bass Giovanni ScarneoWillie Tom s young son contralto Armida Parsi PettinellaRobin a thief bass Raffaele TerziDick a thief tenor Aristide MasieroBell a thief baritone G CalviJohn a thief bass Giuseppe RosciTaddie a thief tenor Giovanni Francesco FabbriA servant tenor A Degani Renata Vidal was originally scheduled to sing the role and sang it in subsequent performances in the opening run but was indisposed on the opening night See Venturi Synopsis EditPlace The North of Scotland Time Early 19th centuryAct 1 Edit Count Douglas Maria s betrothed arrives at the Castle of Maria and her father MacGregor He tells them how he was attacked by bandits near the castle but saved by an unknown knight Maria faints and then recovers MacGregor tells Douglas about Gugliemo Ratcliff whom Maria had rejected as a suitor Ratcliff s revenge was to challenge her next two suitors to duels in which he killed them Count Douglas then receives a message from Ratcliff delivered by his friend Lesley challenging him to a similar duel at Black Rock Act 2 Edit In an inn frequented by thieves and swindlers the innkeeper Tom is holding his son Willie on his knees When he asks the child to recite the Pater Noster he repeatedly stumbles on the line And lead us not into temptation Tom grows increasingly angry with the boy tells him that he will end up like the clientele of the inn and eventually sends him from the room Ratcliff then tells Lesley how Maria s rejection of him led to his compulsion to kill any man who succeeded in winning her love Ratcliff is disturbed by the appearance of strange figures who unbeknownst to him are the ghosts of Maria s dead suitors Act 3 Edit Douglas arrives at Black Rock for his duel with Ratcliff The two strange figures who have been following Ratcliff briefly appear and then disappear When Ratcliff arrives Douglas realises that he is the knight who had saved him from the bandits and when he gets the better of Ratcliff in the duel refuses to kill him Ratcliff is left lying on the ground where he is again visited by the ghostly figures Act 4 Edit In her room Maria is preparing for her wedding to Douglas Her nurse Margherita tells Maria the story of her mother Elisa s death Before she married MacGregor Elisa had been in love with Edward Guglielmo Ratcliff s father but both married others Edward and Elisa later realised their mistake and became lovers When MacGregor found out he murdered Edward and Elisa died from grief Gugliemo Ratcliff then bursts into Maria s room covered in blood from his unsuccessful duel with Douglas and begs Maria to run away with him With her mother s story still on her mind and thinking that she might be making the same mistake Maria at first feels pity for Guglielmo but then asks him to leave Her refusal drives Guglielmo mad He kills both Maria and her father who rushes into the room after hearing her calls for help Ratcliff then commits suicide The opera ends with his dying words O Maria vengo a te Son qui soave Maria Oh Maria I m coming to you I m here my sweet Maria References EditNotes Davis 2003 Allison 2015 Powrie amp Stilwell 2006 p 21 Boosey amp Hawkes Casaglia Sources Allison John 26 October 2015 Koanga and Guglielmo Ratcliff Wexford Festival review sultry and luscious The Daily Telegraph London Retrieved 31 October 2015 Boosey amp Hawkes Ratcliff 1914 opera by Volkmar Andreae Casaglia Gherardo 2005 Guglielmo Ratcliff 16 February 1895 L Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia in Italian Davis Peter G Review Guglielmo Ratcliff performed by Teatro Grattacielo Alice Tully Hall November 25 2003 New York 8 December 2003 Powrie Phil Stilwell Robynn Jeananne 2006 Changing Tunes The Use of Pre existing Music in Film Ashgate Publishing ISBN 0 7546 5137 1 Venturi Fulvio Guglielmo Ratcliff live performances mascagni org Archived from the original on 2008 09 25 External links EditGuglielmo Ratcliff Mascagni Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Complete libretto in Italian Portal Opera Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Guglielmo Ratcliff amp oldid 1113087238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
