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Rusalka (opera)
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For an opera of the same name by Alexander Dargomyzhsky, see Rusalka
(Dargomyzhsky).
Antonín Dvořák
Operas[hide]
Alfred (1870)
King
and Charcoal Burner (1874)
The Stubborn Lovers (1874)
Vanda (1875)
The
Cunning Peasant (1877)
Dimitrij (1882)
The Jacobin (1887)
The Devil and
Kate (1898)
Rusalka (1901)
Armida (1904)
v
t
e
Rusalka
(pronounced [ruˈsalka] ( listen)), Op. 114, is an opera ('lyric fairy tale') by
Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil[1]
(1868–1950) based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová.
Rusalka is one of the most successful Czech operas, and represents a cornerstone
of the repertoire of Czech opera houses.[1] A Rusalka is a water sprite from
Slavic mythology, usually inhabiting a lake or river.
Dvořák had played viola
for many years in pit orchestras in Prague (Estates Theatre from 1857 until 1859
while a student, then from 1862 until 1871 at the Provisional Theatre). He thus
had direct experience of a wide range of operas by Mozart, Weber, Rossini,
Lortzing, Verdi, Wagner and Smetana. Rusalka was the ninth opera Dvořák
composed.[2]
For many years unfamiliarity with Dvořák’s operas outside
Czechoslovakia helped reinforce a perception that composition of operas was a
marginal activity, and that despite the beauty of its melodies and orchestral
timbres Rusalka was not a central part of his output or of international lyric
theatre. In recent years it has been performed more regularly by major opera
companies.[2]
The most popular excerpt from Rusalka is the "Song to the Moon"
("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") from act 1 which is often performed in concert and
recorded separately. It has also been arranged for violin and used on film sound
tracks.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Performance history
3
Roles
4 Synopsis
4.1 Act 1
4.2 Act 2
4.3 Act 3
5
Instrumentation
6 Recordings
7 References
8 External
links
Background[edit]
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,[1] and has been
described as a "sad, modern fairy tale", in a similar vein to his previous play,
Princessa Pampeliška.[3] The libretto was completed by 1899, when Kvapil began
looking for composers interested in setting his text. His composer friends were
engaged with other works, 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.[4] Coming after his four symphonic poems
inspired by the folk-ballads of Erben of 1896–97, Rusalka may be viewed as the
culmination of Dvořák’s exploration of a "wide variety of drama-creating musical
techniques".[2]
Růžena Maturová as the first Rusalka
Dvořák's
music is generally through-composed, and uses motifs for Rusalka, her damnation,
the water sprite and the forest.[5] His word-setting is expressive while
allowing for nationally inflected passages, and Grove judges the work shows the
composer at the height of his maturity.[4] He uses established theatrical
devices – dance sections, comedy (Gamekeeper and Turnspit) and pictorial musical
depiction of nature (forest and lake).[2] Rodney Milnes (who provided the
translation for an ENO production) admired the "wealth of melodic patterns that
are dramatic in themselves and its shimmering orchestration".[6] One writer
considered the final section of the opera – the duet for the Prince and Rusalka
– as "[twelve] or so of the most glorious minutes in all opera" in their
"majestic, almost hymnic solemnity"[2] while another described the opera as a
"vivid, profoundly disturbing drama".[6]
Performance history[edit]
Rusalka
was first performed in Prague on 31 March 1901, with Růžena Maturová as the
first Rusalka. It became an enormous success in Czech lands, and soon gained
success also abroad.[7]
The first performance outside Czechoslovakia took
place in Ljubljana.[5] The opera was given in Vienna by a Czech company in 1910;
in German translation it was given in Stuttgart in 1935. The UK stage premiere
was at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1959; an 1983 production by English National
Opera was filmed and revived several times.[4]
Roles[edit]
Poster
for the premiere of Rusalka in Prague, 31 March 1901
RoleVoice typePremiere
cast, 31 March 1901
(Conductor: Karel Kovařovic)
Rusalka, a water
nymphsopranoRůžena Maturová
The princetenorBohumil Pták
Vodník, the water
goblinbassVáclav Kliment
The foreign princesssopranoMarie
Kubátová
Ježibaba, a witchmezzo-sopranoRůžena Vykoukalová-Bradáčová
First
wood spritesopranoAmalie Bobková
Second wood spritesopranoElla
Tvrdková
Third wood spritecontraltoHelena Towarnická
GamekeepertenorAdolf
Krössing
Turnspit/Kitchen boysopranoVilemína
Hájková
HunterbaritoneFrantišek Šír
Chorus: Wood nymphs, guests at the
castle, entourage of the Prince.
Synopsis[edit]
Act 1[edit]
Song to
the Moon (Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém)
Menu
0:00
Performed in German
by Czech soprano Emmy Destinn in 1915
Problems playing this file? See
media help.
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 hunt around
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, she will lose the power of speech and
moreover that, if she is betrayed by the prince, both of them will be eternally
damned. 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.
Act 2[edit]
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 won the Prince's affection, now scorns it.
Act 3[edit]
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, who, they say, has been betrayed by Rusalka. The Water-Goblin
says that it was actually the Prince that 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.
Instrumentation[edit]
Rusalka
is scored for 2 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 2 clarinets, 1 bass
clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, percussion, harp
and strings.
Recordings[edit]
YearCast
(Rusalka, The Prince,
Vodník
– the Goblin,
The Foreign Princess, Ježibaba – the Witch)Conductor,
Opera
House and OrchestraLabel
1952Ludmila Červinková,
Beno Blachut,
Eduard
Haken,
Marie Podvalová,
Marta KrásováJaroslav Krombholc,
Prague
National Theatre Chorus and OrchestraCD: Supraphon
Cat: SU
3811-2[8]
1961Milada Šubrtová,
Ivo Žídek,
Eduard Haken,
Alena
Miková,
Marie OvcácikováZdeněk Chalabala,
Prague National Theatre Chorus
and OrchestraLP: Supraphon
Cat: SU 50440 3[9]
1984Gabriela
Beňačková,
Wiesław Ochman,
Richard Novák,
Věra Soukupová,
Anna
BarováVáclav Neumann,
Czech Philharmonic & Prague Philharmonic ChoirCD:
Supraphon (re-issue in 2003)
Cat: SU 3178-2 633[10]
1986Eilene
Hannan,
John Treleaven,
Rodney Macann,
Phyllis Cannan,
Ann
HowardMark Elder,
Orchestra and chorus of English National Opera,
(Sung In
English; director David Pountney)DVD: Arthaus Musik (released 2006)
Cat: 102
019
1997Ursula Furi-Bernhard,
Walter Coppola,
Marcel Rosca,
Tiziana
K. Sojat,
Nelly BoschkovaAlexander Rahbari,
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra
& Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic ChoirAudio CD: Brilliant Classics
Cat:
93968[11]
1998Renée Fleming,
Ben Heppner,
Franz Hawlata,
Eva
Urbanová,
Dolora ZajickCharles Mackerras,
Czech Philharmonic & Kühn
Mixed ChoirAudio CD: Decca
Cat: 000289 460 5682 0[12]
2002Renée
Fleming,
Sergei Larin,
Franz Hawlata
Eva Urbanová,
Larissa
DiadkovaJames Conlon,
Orchestra and chorus of the Opéra de ParisDVD: Arthaus
Musik (re-issue in 2009),
Cat: 107 031
2007Cheryl Barker,
Rosario la
Spina,
Bruce Martin,
Elizabeth Whitehouse,
Anne-Marie OwensRichard
Hickox,
Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Opera Australia ChorusAudio
CD: Chandos,
Cat: CHAN 10449(3)[13]
2008Camilla Nylund,
Piotr
Beczała,
Alan Held
Emily Magee,
Birgit RemmertFranz
Welser-Möst,
Cleveland OrchestraCD: Orfeo,
Cat: C792113D[14]
2009Ana
María Martínez,
Brandon Jovanovich,
Mischa Schelomianski,
Tatiana
Pavlovskaya,
Larissa DiadkovaJiří Bělohlávek,
London Philharmonic
Orchestra and the Glydebourne ChorusAudio CD: Glyndebourne Festival
Opera
Cat: GFOCD 007-09
[15]
References[edit]
Notes
^ Jump
up to: a b c Šíp, Ladislav; (transl. Kohoutová, Joy) (2005). "Beloved National
Opera by Dvořák". Rusalka (Prague National Theatre Orchestra, cond. Jaroslav
Krombholc) (CD). Prague: Supraphon. pp. 8–15. SU 3811-2.
^ Jump up to: a b c
d e Loppert M. Catching up with Rusalka. Essay in programme book, Glyndebourne
Festival Opera 2009, p86.
Jump up ^ Lemariová M.: "Rusalka – its dramatic
conception and philosophy" (summary). In: Antonín Dvořák Dramatik / Antonín
Dvořák the Dramatist, ed Jitka Brabcová and Jarmil Burghauser. Theatre
Institute, Prague, 1994.
^ Jump up to: a b c Smaczny J. "Rusalka". In: The
New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.
^ Jump
up to: a b Vrkocová L. Antonín Dvořák and his Rusalka. Booklet notes for
Supraphon LPs 50440 3, 1963.
^ Jump up to: a b Milnes R. A centenary love
letter – Rodney Milnes celebrates Dvořák. Opera, July 2004, pp. 780–85.
Jump
up ^ Burghauser, Jarmil (2006). Antonín Dvořák. Prague: Koniasch Latin Press. p.
102. ISBN 80-86791-26-2. (Czech)
Jump up ^ Review in Classical Recordings
Quarterly, Spring 2007, Vol 48, p96.
Jump up ^ Review in Classical Recordings
Quarterly, Autumn 2005, Vol 42, p63.
Jump up ^ "On-line catalogue entry
Neumann CD". Supraphon. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
Jump up ^ "Brilliant
Classics – Dvorák: Rusalka". Brilliant Classics. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
Jump up ^ "On-line catalogue entry Mackerras CD". Decca Classics. Retrieved
7 November 2010.
Jump up ^ "On-line catalogue entry Hickox CD". Chandos
Records. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
Jump up ^ CD review. Diapason, Vol 598,
January 2012.
Jump up ^ As announced on Glyndebourne Opera's website
Retrieved 6 November 2010
Sources
Cheek, Timothy. Rusalka, a Performance
Guide with Translations and Pronunciation, Lanham: Scarecrow, 2009. ISBN
978-0-8108-8305-5
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related
to Rusalka (opera).
Rusalka (opera): Free scores at the International
Music Score Library Project
Czech (and Spanish) libretto
English (and
German) libretto
"Song to the Moon", Czech lyrics with phonetic IPA
transcription
[show]
v
t
e
Antonín
Dvořák
OperasAlfred
King and Charcoal Burner
The Stubborn
Lovers
Vanda
The Cunning Peasant
Dimitrij
The Jacobin
The Devil
and Kate
Rusalka
Armida
SymphoniesSymphony No. 1 in C minor
(The Bells of Zlonice)
Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major
Symphony No. 3 in E♭
major
Symphony No. 4 in D minor
Symphony No. 5 in F major
Symphony No.
6 in D major
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major
Symphony No. 9 in E minor (From the New
World)
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
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