Rusalka (opera)
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| Operas by Antonín Dvořák |
|---|
King and Charcoal Burner (1871-87) |
Rusalka is an opera by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil (1868-1950) based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová; a Rusalka is a water sprite of Slavic mythology, usually inhabiting a lake or river.
Kvapil's libretto, based on Erben's and Božena Němcová's work, was written before he had any contact with the composer. The plot contains elements which also appear in The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen and in Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. The libretto was completed by 1899, when Kvapil began looking for interested composers. His composer friends were engaged on other projects, but mentioned that Dvořák was looking for a project. The composer, always interested in Erben's stories, read the libretto and composed his opera quite rapidly, with the first draft begun on 22 April 1900 and completed by the end of November.
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[edit] Performance history
The opera was first performed in Prague on 31 March 1901, with Růžena Maturová as the first Rusalka. It became an enormous success in Czech lands, though less so elsewhere.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, March 31, 1901 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Rusalka | soprano | Růžena Maturová |
| The prince | tenor | |
| Vodník, the water goblin | bass | |
| The foreign princess | soprano or mezzo-soprano | |
| Ježibaba, a witch | mezzo-soprano | |
| First wood sprite | soprano | |
| Second wood sprite | soprano | |
| Third wood sprite | mezzo-soprano | |
| Gamekeeper | baritone | |
| Turnspit/Kitchen boy | soprano | |
| Hunter | baritone |
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act 1
A meadow by the edge of a lake
Three wood-sprites tease the Water-Goblin, ruler of the lake. Rusalka, the Water-Goblin's daughter, tells her father she has fallen in love with a human Prince who comes to swim in the lake, and she wants to become human to embrace him. He tells her it is a bad idea but nonetheless steers her to a witch, Ježibaba, for assistance. Rusalka sings her Song to the Moon, asking it to tell the Prince of her love. Ježibaba tells Rusalka that if she becomes human and is betrayed by the prince, both she and the prince will be eternally damned, and that Rusalka will lose the power of speech when human. Rusalka agrees to the terms and drinks a potion. The Prince, hunting a white doe, finds Rusalka, embraces her, and leads her away, as her father and sisters lament.
[edit] Act 2
The garden of the Prince's castle
A Gamekeeper and his nephew, the Kitchen-Boy, note that the Prince is to be married to a mute and nameless bride, suspecting witchcraft and doubting it will last, as the prince is already lavishing attentions on a Foreign Princess who is a wedding guest. The Foreign Princess, jealous, curses the couple. The prince rejects Rusalka. The Water-Goblin takes Rusalka back to his pond. The Foreign Princess, having successfully won the Prince's affection, now scorns it.
[edit] Act 3
A meadow by the edge of a lake
Rusalka asks Ježibaba for a solution to her woes and is told she can save herself if she kills the Prince with the dagger she is given. Rusalka rejects this, throwing the dagger into the lake. Rusalka becomes a bludička, a spirit of death living in the depths of the lake, emerging only to lure humans to their deaths. The Gamekeeper and the Kitchen Boy consult Ježibaba about the Prince, whom they say has been betrayed by Rusalka. The Water-Goblin says that the Prince betrayed Rusalka. The wood-sprites mourn Rusalka's plight. The Prince, searching for his white doe, comes to the lake, senses Rusalka, and calls for her. He asks her to kiss him, even knowing her kiss means death and damnation. They kiss and he dies; and the Water-Goblin comments that "All sacrifices are futile". Rusalka thanks the Prince for letting her experience human love, commends his soul to God, and returns to her place in the depths of the lake as a demon of death.
[edit] Orchestration
Scored for a standard late Romantic orchestra: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon. 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba. Percussion, harp and strings.
[edit] Selected recordings
A recording available on DVD stars Eilene Hannan as Rusalka, John Treleaven as the Prince, Rodney Macann as Rusalka's father and Ann Howard as the witch, performed in English by the English National Opera. There is also a recording with Renee Fleming in a performance on DVD with the Opéra de Paris.
[edit] Rusalka's "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém")
"Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém" has long been touted as the signature aria of Renée Fleming, the famous American lyrical soprano. Her personal interpretation include augmenting the 'chorus' of the aria and the final notes of the aria.
Anna Netrebko performs "Song to the Moon" in her CD released by Deutsche Grammophon, "Anna Netrebko: Opera Arias." Its success has made it a staple in her repertoire. She also features the aria in her DVD of music video style performances, also through Deutsche Grammophon, "Anna Netrebko: The Woman, The Voice."
Sarah Brightman has also performed an interpretation of this song on her album La Luna. The name of the song on there is the title track. Katherine Jenkins, the Welsh crossover mezzo soprano performs the English version of the Song To The Moon on her Album "Second Nature".
"Song to the Moon" also appears on Joshua Bell's Voice of the Violin CD released by Sony in 2006. The piece is transcribed for violin and orchestra.
