There are five acts in the opera based on an 1820 poem by Alexander Pushkinhave, in which Mariya Matveyevna Stepanova created the lead soprano role before she died in 1823.
Mariya Matveyevna Stepanova (Russian:   ) (1811 or 1816  1903) was a Russian opera singer who created the leading soprano roles in "A Life for the Tsar", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", and "Dmitry Donskoy". 
Ruslan and Lyudmila (Russian:    , "Ruslan i Lyudmila") is an opera in five acts (eight tableaux) composed by Mikhail Glinka between 1837 and 1842. 
 The opera is based on the 1820 poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. 
