Rusalka at the Theater an der Wien

About the Event

Seize this opportunity at the beautiful Theater an der Wien in Vienna to experience the breathtaking opear performance of Dvořák's Rusalka.

Antonín Dvořák

Antonin Dvorak is considered to be one of the most well‐known and prominent Czechs in the world, as his musical work gained international recognition already during his lifetime. He was born in 1841 in a small Czech village into a butcher’s family. At the age of 6, Dvorak started taking violin lessons and it immediately became obvious that the boy had exceptional talent in music. Later in life, he was learning to master piano and organ as well as simultaneously working in a slaughterhouse. After Dvorak turned 16, he was admitted to the Organ School in Prague that trained future professional composers. After graduating, he stayed in Prague, joined Karel Komzak’s orchestra and started actively composing his own music. However, he struggled to make ends meet and always had to work on the side by playing music in churches and giving private music lessons.
Finally, 1874 became a turning point in his life when he won a financial grant from an Austrian Prize competition for his 15 submitted works. This allowed him to quit the orchestra and devote himself fully to composing. During this period, he wrote his Slavonic Dances, Moravian Duets and Violin Concerto, which brought him sweeping success. In 1892 he was invited to teach at the New York National Conservatory, where he stayed until 1895 before returning home. He started teaching at the Prague conservatory and later became its director. Until his death in 1904, he had been a successful and well‐loved composer, both in his homeland and around the whole world.

Rusalka

‘Dvorak composed his most successful opera, 'Rusalka', in 1900. The libretto was written by the Czech poet Jaroslav Kvapil.

Act 1: Rusalka, a Water‐Nymph, tells her father the Water‐Gnome, ruler of the lake, that she has fallen in love with a human Prince, and she wants to become human for him. Her father warns her against the idea, but nonetheless sends her to the witch, Ježibaba, for help in achieving her desire.

Rusalka sings to the moon, asking it to tell the Prince of her love. Ježibaba tells Rusalka that she will lose the power of speech and immortality if she becomes human. Additionally, if she does not find love with the Prince, he will die and she will be eternally damned. Rusalka accepts the terms and drinks the potion that will make her human.

The Prince finds Rusalka while hunting a white doe. He embraces her, and leads her away, to the sound of her father and sisters’ lament.

Act 2: A Gamekeeper and a kitchen servant gossip in the castle garden. The Prince is to be married to a mute bride, who has no name. They suspect witchcraft and doubt the marriage will take place, as the Prince is already distracted by a Foreign Princess.

The Foreign Princess sows doubt between the Prince and Rusalka. The Prince rejects Rusalka and her father appears to drag her back to the lake.

Though she has now won the Prince's affections, the Foreign Princess is disgusted by the Prince's fickleness and betrayal and she scorns him..

Act 3: 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, and 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 servant come to the lake to consult Ježibaba about the Prince, who is sick. They believe he has been cursed by Rusalka. The Water‐Gnome chases them away, cursing the whole human race.

The Prince 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, begging God’s mercy. 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 spirit of death.
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Cast / Production

Rusalka — Maria Bengtsson
Prinz — Ladislav Elgr
Wassermann — Günther Groissböck
Jezibaba — Natascha Petrinsky
Fremde Fürstin — Kate Aldrich
Heger — Markus Butter
Küchenjunge — Juliette Mars
Jäger — Johannes Bamberger
Erste Waldnymphe — Ilona Revolskaya
Zweite Waldnymphe — Mirella Hagen
Dritte Waldnymphe — Tatiana Kuryatnikova