Rusalka
To celebrate the opening of Glyndebourne Festival 2023 we're sharing a free stream of Dvořák's Rusalka.
The production stars Sally Matthews, who returns to Glyndebourne this summer in Dialogues des Carmélites.
Description
Water-nymph Rusalka is in love with a handsome Prince who comes each day to bathe in her forest pool. But if she wants to win him she must risk everything, giving up not only her immortality but also her voice.
Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Rusalka offers a poignant reimagining of the classic fairy tale. Rippled with silvery, watery beauty, Dvořák’s sublime score conjures a dappled world of shadowy half-light, of things unspoken and unseen. Rustic folk melodies meet courtly dances and magical love-music in this late Romantic masterpiece – an operatic fantasy that looks beyond the storybook world of happily ever-after to find truths that are powerfully and painfully human.
Sally Matthews takes the title role in this revival of Melly Still’s much-loved production, conducted by Robin Ticciati.
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Creative team
Conductor
Robin Ticciati
Director
Melly Still
Designer
Rae Smith
Movement Director
Rick Nodine
Lighting Designer
Paule Constable
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Leader Kevin Lin
The Glyndebourne Chorus
Chorus Master Aidan Oliver
Cast
First Wood Nymph
Vuvu Mpofu
Second Wood Nymph
Anna Pennisi
Third Wood Nymph
Alyona Abramova
Vodník, a water sprite
Alexander Roslavets
Rusalka
Sally Matthews
Ježibaba, a witch
Patricia Bardon
Hunter
Adam Marsden
Prince
Evan LeRoy Johnson
Gamekeeper
Colin Judson
Kitchen Girl
Alix Le Saux
Foreign Princess
Zoya Tsererina
Dancers
Jimmy Adams, William Bridgland, Christian From, Ryan Jones, Manuela Sarcone, Anne Gaelle Thiriot, Oihana Vesga
Assistant Conductor
Jonathan Bloxham
Music Preparation
Pedro Beriso
Ashok Gupta
Steven Maughan
Edward Reeve
Language Coach
Lucie Špičková
Assistant Director
Ian Rutherford
Staff Director
Morgan Richards
Associate Movement Director
Christian From
Supertitles
Ian Julier
Photos: Tristram Kenton. See more photos in our Rusalka Festival 2019 gallery
Synopsis
Act I
As wood nymphs dance by the lake, the moonlight wakens the water sprite, who tries to lure one of them into the depths. They mock him and run away.
His daughter Rusalka, sick at heart, tells him of her yearning to become human. He is shocked to learn that she loves a human being – a prince who comes to bathe in the lake. Her father tells her she must consult the witch, Ježibaba warning her that she will be doomed if claimed by a man.
Rusalka appeals to the moon to tell her lover she is waiting for him. She wakes Ježibaba and asks her to give her a human soul.
Ježibaba informs her that the ability to speak to humans will be denied her. If she fails to win love, she will be forever accursed; if he rejects her, her lover, too, will be eternally damned. Confident of her love, Rusalka agrees.
Hunters approach, among them the Prince, seeking Rusalka. He sends the others away, and sees Rusalka standing silently before him. Unable to answer him, she throws herself into his arms. He leads her away as the other water nymphs lament her leaving.
Act II
At the Prince’s castle, the Gamekeeper and Kitchen Girl discuss events. The Prince has brought a silent female back with him from the woods, and seems likely to marry her; the Gamekeeper hopes that they will be delivered from such sinister magic. Yet there is hope: the Prince is increasingly attracted to the Foreign Princess.
The servants disappear as the Prince enters with Rusalka. Though he is still drawn to her, he complains that she is devoid of passion. Watching them as she enters, the Foreign Princess vows to separate them. She asks why the Prince’s bride-to-be is so silent. As the Prince recalls his duties as a host and leaves with the Princess, he tells Rusalka to dress as befits the wedding ball.
As the ball begins, Rusalka looks on broken-hearted while the Prince dances with the Princess. Her father arrives to warn her that death awaits her back at the lake; she will return eternally damned. As the Prince embraces the Princess, Rusalka acknowledges that he has betrayed her. Rusalka suddenly throws herself into the Prince’s arms, but he rejects her. As Rusalka’s father drags her away, the Prince falls stupefied. The Foreign Princess laughs.
Act III
A moonlit night at the lake, where Rusalka sits sadly. Deserted by the Prince and banished by her companions, she longs for death. Ježibaba mocks her, relenting only so far as to tell her that if she kills the Prince herself, she can return to her former state. She gives Rusalka a knife, which the latter throws into the lake.
The Gamekeeper and Kitchen Girl arrive at the witch’s cottage, seeking a cure for the Prince’s illness, caused by the sorceress Rusalka. The witch sends them packing and Rusalka’s father angrily chases them away.
The dryads return to dance until Rusalka’s father’s tale of his daughter’s undoing causes them to flee.
The Prince enters, once more seeking Rusalka. She appears, warning him that now she can mean only death to him. The Prince asks her to kiss him, to bring him peace. Rusalka finally agrees. He dies. She asks for God’s mercy on his soul and sinks back into the lake.
Note: The characters are referred to by generic terms from Slavic mythology: ‘Rusalka’ means water nymph and ‘Vodnik’ water sprite, while ‘Ježibaba’ is a standard name for a witch.
Words: George Hall