Rusalka by Antonín Dvorák
This production has now finished
Supported by a syndicate of individuals
Sung in Czech with English supertitles
Interview with Director Melly Still during rehearsals at Glyndebourne:
Partly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's poignant fable, The Little Mermaid, Dvorák's operatic masterpiece tells of a water nymph who longs to become human in order to win the love of a handsome prince, only to find herself betrayed by him and condemned to an eternal existence as a will-o'-the-wisp, luring more men to a watery grave.
With its Bohemian forest setting and fairy-tale cast of characters – wood nymphs, a water goblin, two faithful castle servants and the all powerful (if terrifyingly unpredictable) witch, Ježibaba – the whole opera is suffused with a magical aura of poetry, romance and lyricism that flows right through from Rusalka's radiant "Song to the Moon" in Act One to the enraptured closing duet in which the doomed lovers sink together beneath the moonlit waters of the lake.
Rivalled only by Smetana's The Bartered Bride as the world's most popular Czech opera, Rusalka now follows it into the Glyndebourne repertoire, in the securely idiomatic hands of Czech maestro Jirí Belohlávek (reunited with the London Philharmonic Orchestra after their inspiring performances of Tristan und Isolde in 2007). British director Melly Still, (who recently staged the acclaimed production of Coram Boy at the National Theatre), makes her Glyndebourne debut.
Performed by arrangement with Dilia, Praha and Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd.
Listen to the podcast featuring interviews with Melly Still, Director, and singers Ana María Martínez, and Brandon Jovanovich about this production.
Performance schedule
Key
* = Pre-performance talk available in the in the Ebert Room.
Creative team
Conductor Jirí Belohlávek
Director Melly Still
Designer Rae Smith
Lighting Designer Paule Constable
Movement Director Rick Nodine
Chorus Master Thomas Blunt
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The Glyndebourne Chorus
Cast includes
Rusalka Ana María Martínez
Prince Brandon Jovanovich
Foreign Princess Tatiana Pavlovskaya
Vodnik Mischa Schelomianski
Ježibaba Larissa Diadkova
1st Nymph Natasha Jouhl
2nd Nymph Barbara Senator
3rd Nymph Élodie Méchain
Kitchen Boy Diana Axentii
Gamekeeper Alasdair Elliott
Study Morning
Sunday 5 July, Ebert Room
Pre-Performance Talks
Sunday 12 July
Sun 26 July