RUSALKA
Antonín DvořákFour Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Performance time is approximately three hours and 30 minutes, including two intermissions.
#COCRusalka
What makes Rusalka so special?
The mermaid Rusalka leaves behind her watery home to be with her prince charming. Will he stay true to her sacrifice?
Based on The Little Mermaid’s original tale, this romantic opera stars Met sensation Sondra Radvanovsky.
Gorgeous sets, costumes, and choreography make this production a fairytale spectacle reminiscent of ballets Ondine and Giselle and films like The Shape of Water.
“Powerful… thoughtfully conceived and brilliantly executed.”
—The Chicago Tribune
Sung in Czech with English SURTITLESTM
Download the 2019 Fall House Program.
Conductor Johannes Debus
Director David McVicar
Set Designer John Macfarlane
Costume Designer Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer David Finn
Choreographer Andrew George
Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst
Rusalka Sondra Radvanovsky
Vodník Štefan Kocán
Ježibaba Elena Manistina
Prince Pavel Cernoch
Foreign Princess Keri Alkema
First Wood Nymph Anna-Sophie Neher
Second Wood Nymph Jamie Groote
Third Wood Nymph Lauren Segal
Gamekeeper Matthew Cairns
Turnspit Lauren Eberwein
Hunter Vartan Gabrielian
Lyric Opera of Chicago production
With the COC Orchestra & Chorus
THE STORY
To pursue her beloved prince charming, the mermaid Rusalka trades her voice for human form. But if he doesn’t stay true to her sacrifice, there will be fatal consequences. Can love overcome a curse?
FULL SYNOPSIS
ACT 1
Three Wood Nymphs tease the mermaid Rusalka’s father, Vodnik, while she is lost in thought.
Rusalka confesses that she has fallen in love with a human prince, and that she wants to meet him on his land – a land of sun, away from their dark watery home.
Vodnik warns how dangerous it is to leave her family home, and that the choice cannot be undone. Undeterred, Rusalka expresses deep love for the Prince in her famous “Song to the Moon” aria.
She meets with the witch Ježibaba, who can exchange Rusalka’s voice for a human body and soul. The witch warns her: Rusalka will not be able to speak to the Prince, and if he ever betrays her with affection for another, they will both be cursed to eternal damnation.
Rusalka is confident that her love can overcome all dangers and agrees to the trade. Once the transformation is complete, the Prince arrives with his hunters in search of a white doe. Instead, he finds Rusalka – and immediately falls in love with this beautiful, mysteriously silent girl.
ACT II
Already trouble is afoot. Everyone in the realm is skeptical of this silent, nameless woman the Prince has found by the lake. And since she’s unable to express her love to the Prince, Rusalka becomes increasingly agitated and anxious.
Frustrated by her silence, the Prince’s eye wanders to another Foreign Princess, who quickly realizes the tension between the two.
Vodnik is dismayed by his daughter’s fate and Rusalka laments that she has made a terrible mistake. She feels caught between the land and the water, between being a woman and a mermaid – and between life or death.
The Foreign Princess is shocked at how easily the Prince has switched loyalties from Rusalka to herself; she curses them both.
ACT III
Rusalka yearns for her watery home and past life. She returns to the witch Ježibaba, who tells her there is only one way to escape her fate: she must kill the Prince for his betrayal. Rusalka is shocked, but Ježibaba tells her that humans always end up spilling each other’s blood.
Servants of the Prince arrive, looking for help – he has grown ill, longing for the absent Rusalka.
The three Wood Nymphs try to lighten the mood, but Vodnik warns them that the time for games is over.
The Prince arrives, once again looking for his beloved ‘white doe’: Rusalka. Their love rekindles, but the Prince’s betrayal means they’re still doomed by the curse. Rusalka warns him that a kiss between them will be fatal. Despite her protestations, the Prince insists on dying to atone for his sins. They kiss.
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(Top to bottom, left to right): Sondra Radvanovsky as Rusalka; Sondra Radvanovsky (center) as Rusalka; Štefan Kocán as Vodnik; (standing center, left to right) Jamie Groote as Second Wood Nymph, Lauren Segal as Third Wood Nymph and Anna-Sophie Neher as First Wood Nymph, in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Rusalka (2019), photos: Michael Cooper
Trailer | Dvořák's Rusalka, October 2019
'The Little Mermaid' meets grand, gorgeous opera in Dvořák's Rusalka. This dark fairytale spectacle features gorgeous sets, costumes, and choreography - and stars opera sensation Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role.
"Song to the Moon" | Sondra Radvanovsky, October 2019
Sondra Radvanovsky (Rusalka) sings the famous "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") aria from Act I of Dvořák's Rusalka. The COC Orchestra is conducted by Johannes Debus.
Johannes Debus Deconstructs Rusalka's "Song to the Moon", October 2019
With Rusalka, Dvořák takes us to another world – full of mermaids, nymphs, and water spirits. Join COC Music Director Johannes Debus as he breaks down the opera's most popular aria, Rusalka's Act I "Song to the Moon".
Andrew George on Choreographing Rusalka, October 2019
We sat down with choreographer Andrew George to explore the dance sequences in our new production of Dvořák's Rusalka.
Dark Fairytales | Sondra Radvanovsky on Rusalka, August 2019
"It is, for me, extra special because my father was Czech." For opera star Sondra Radvanovsky, singing the role of Rusalka is about connecting with her Czech heritage.
TRAILER | Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Rusalka, February 2014
Watch the Lyric Opera of Chicago production 2014.
Dvǒrák’s Rusalka. Renée Fleming (Rusalka), Ben Heppner (Prince), Franz Hawlata (Vodnik), Dolora Zajick (Ježibaba). Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, 1998. Decca
Your Guide to Dvořák's Rusalka
A mermaid longs for love and enters a dubious bargain with a sea witch, not realizing the ultimate cost. This classic myth exists in numerous versions, with many regional adaptations, including Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and Friederich de la Motte Fouqué’s Undine.
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Sung in Czech with English SURTITLESTM
Download the 2019 Fall House Program.
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAMS
Conductor Johannes Debus
Director David McVicar
Set Designer John Macfarlane
Costume Designer Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer David Finn
Choreographer Andrew George
Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst
Rusalka Sondra Radvanovsky
Vodník Štefan Kocán
Ježibaba Elena Manistina
Prince Pavel Cernoch
Foreign Princess Keri Alkema
First Wood Nymph Anna-Sophie Neher
Second Wood Nymph Jamie Groote
Third Wood Nymph Lauren Segal
Gamekeeper Matthew Cairns
Turnspit Lauren Eberwein
Hunter Vartan GabrielianLyric Opera of Chicago production
With the COC Orchestra & Chorus
-
THE STORY
To pursue her beloved prince charming, the mermaid Rusalka trades her voice for human form. But if he doesn’t stay true to her sacrifice, there will be fatal consequences. Can love overcome a curse?
FULL SYNOPSIS
ACT 1
Three Wood Nymphs tease the mermaid Rusalka’s father, Vodnik, while she is lost in thought.
Rusalka confesses that she has fallen in love with a human prince, and that she wants to meet him on his land – a land of sun, away from their dark watery home.
Vodnik warns how dangerous it is to leave her family home, and that the choice cannot be undone. Undeterred, Rusalka expresses deep love for the Prince in her famous “Song to the Moon” aria.
She meets with the witch Ježibaba, who can exchange Rusalka’s voice for a human body and soul. The witch warns her: Rusalka will not be able to speak to the Prince, and if he ever betrays her with affection for another, they will both be cursed to eternal damnation.
Rusalka is confident that her love can overcome all dangers and agrees to the trade. Once the transformation is complete, the Prince arrives with his hunters in search of a white doe. Instead, he finds Rusalka – and immediately falls in love with this beautiful, mysteriously silent girl.
ACT II
Already trouble is afoot. Everyone in the realm is skeptical of this silent, nameless woman the Prince has found by the lake. And since she’s unable to express her love to the Prince, Rusalka becomes increasingly agitated and anxious.
Frustrated by her silence, the Prince’s eye wanders to another Foreign Princess, who quickly realizes the tension between the two.
Vodnik is dismayed by his daughter’s fate and Rusalka laments that she has made a terrible mistake. She feels caught between the land and the water, between being a woman and a mermaid – and between life or death.
The Foreign Princess is shocked at how easily the Prince has switched loyalties from Rusalka to herself; she curses them both.
ACT III
Rusalka yearns for her watery home and past life. She returns to the witch Ježibaba, who tells her there is only one way to escape her fate: she must kill the Prince for his betrayal. Rusalka is shocked, but Ježibaba tells her that humans always end up spilling each other’s blood.
Servants of the Prince arrive, looking for help – he has grown ill, longing for the absent Rusalka.
The three Wood Nymphs try to lighten the mood, but Vodnik warns them that the time for games is over.
The Prince arrives, once again looking for his beloved ‘white doe’: Rusalka. Their love rekindles, but the Prince’s betrayal means they’re still doomed by the curse. Rusalka warns him that a kiss between them will be fatal. Despite her protestations, the Prince insists on dying to atone for his sins. They kiss.
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test dessc
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(Top to bottom, left to right): Sondra Radvanovsky as Rusalka; Sondra Radvanovsky (center) as Rusalka; Štefan Kocán as Vodnik; (standing center, left to right) Jamie Groote as Second Wood Nymph, Lauren Segal as Third Wood Nymph and Anna-Sophie Neher as First Wood Nymph, in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Rusalka (2019), photos: Michael Cooper -
Trailer | Dvořák's Rusalka, October 2019
'The Little Mermaid' meets grand, gorgeous opera in Dvořák's Rusalka. This dark fairytale spectacle features gorgeous sets, costumes, and choreography - and stars opera sensation Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role.
"Song to the Moon" | Sondra Radvanovsky, October 2019
Sondra Radvanovsky (Rusalka) sings the famous "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") aria from Act I of Dvořák's Rusalka. The COC Orchestra is conducted by Johannes Debus.
Johannes Debus Deconstructs Rusalka's "Song to the Moon", October 2019
With Rusalka, Dvořák takes us to another world – full of mermaids, nymphs, and water spirits. Join COC Music Director Johannes Debus as he breaks down the opera's most popular aria, Rusalka's Act I "Song to the Moon".
Andrew George on Choreographing Rusalka, October 2019
We sat down with choreographer Andrew George to explore the dance sequences in our new production of Dvořák's Rusalka.
Dark Fairytales | Sondra Radvanovsky on Rusalka, August 2019
"It is, for me, extra special because my father was Czech." For opera star Sondra Radvanovsky, singing the role of Rusalka is about connecting with her Czech heritage.
TRAILER | Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Rusalka, February 2014
Watch the Lyric Opera of Chicago production 2014.
-
Dvǒrák’s Rusalka. Renée Fleming (Rusalka), Ben Heppner (Prince), Franz Hawlata (Vodnik), Dolora Zajick (Ježibaba). Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, 1998. Decca
-
Your Guide to Dvořák's Rusalka
A mermaid longs for love and enters a dubious bargain with a sea witch, not realizing the ultimate cost. This classic myth exists in numerous versions, with many regional adaptations, including Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and Friederich de la Motte Fouqué’s Undine.
2019/2020 season creative: BT/A
