Prior to 1991 Ukrainian master composer Yevhen Stankovych's works were regularly censored or banned by Soviet authorities. The ballet The Agony: Rasputin (originally titled Prometheus) was one such work. This suite from the ballet highlights Stankovych's uniquely pronounced affinity with the vernacular, blending folk motifs with orchestral colors in multilayered polyphony. Rasputin was first performed with its original music and libretto in 1989 in Skopje, Macedonia.