Rusalka

ABOUT PERFORMANCE

Dvořák’s Rusalka is a true gem of Czech opera, one that has won over audiences worldwide. The composer’s ardent melodies, both tender and dramatically extreme, his masterful work with musical motifs and full-blooded orchestration, as well as Jaroslav Kvapil’s fairy-tale libretto, evoking Erben’s immensely forcible ballads, make Rusalka a work of fascinating beauty addressing audiences of all ages.

Rusalka is customary deemed a "mere" fairy-tale. To be sure, there is no doubt that the fantastic story and the characters of the nymphs, water goblin or the witch are of a fairy-tale nature, yet in its fairy-tale scenes Dvořák’s paramount operatic work bears an enciphered yet profound message about the fundamental order of powers, elements, energies and passions in the natural, therefore also human, world.

The opera is staged in the Czech original version and English subtitles are used in the performance.

CAST

Dana Burešová / Maria Kubelská (Rusalka), Aleš Briscein / Beter Berger / Richard Samek (Prince), Jiří Sulženko / František Zahradníček (Water Goblin) and others.

Soloists of the National Theatre and the State Opera
The National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra