Rusalka at The National Theatre

Dvo?ák’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 Dvo?ák’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.