“Rusalka” by Antonín Dvořák

Premiere / date of written: 31 March 1901

Rusalka, Op. 114, is an opera ('lyric fairy tale') by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil (1868–1950) based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová. A Rusalka is a water sprite from Slavic mythology, usually inhabiting a lake or river. Rusalka is one of the most successful Czech operas, and represents a cornerstone of the repertoire of Czech opera houses.
The most popular excerpt from Rusalka is the "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") from act 1, which is often performed in concert and recorded separately. It has also been arranged for violin and used on film sound tracks.

Libretti

#	Language	Authors
1	Czech	Jaroslav Kvapil
2	English	David R. Beveridge

original libretto
line-by-line of the original libretto

Images

Audio recordings

Year	Cast	Conductor, Opera chorus and orchestra	Label, Comment	Buy
1952	Rusalka — Ludmila Červinková, The Prince — Beno Blachut, Vodník, The Water Sprite — Eduard Haken, Foreign Princess — Marie Podvalová, Ježibaba, The Witch — Marta Krásová 1st Wood Nymph — Maria Tauberova, 2nd Wood Nymph — Miloslava Fidlerova, 3rd Wood Nymph — Vera Krilova, The Gamekeeper — Jiri Joran, The Turnspit — Ludmila Hanzalikova, The Hunter — Premysl Koci	Jaroslav Krombholc Prague National Theatre Chorus and Orchestra	CD: Supraphon Cat: SU 3811-2
1976	Rusalka — Teresa Stratas, The Prince — Ivo Zidek, Vodník, The Water Sprite — Wilard White, Foreign Princess — Gwendolyn Killebrew, Ježibaba, The Witch — Gwendolyn Killebrew	Bohumil Gregor Netherlands Opera Orchestra and Chorus	Opera D'oro Bella Voce
1984	Rusalka — Gabriela Beňačková, The Prince — Wiesław Ochman, Vodník — Richard Novák, Foreign Princess — Věra Soukupová, Ježibaba — Anna Barová	Václav Neumann Czech Philharmonic & Prague Philharmonic Choir	CD: Supraphon (re-issue in 2003) Cat: SU 3178-2 633
1997	Rusalka — Ursula Furi-Bernhard, The Prince — Walter Coppola, Vodník — Marcel Rosca, Foreign Princess — Tiziana K. Sojat, Ježibaba — Nelly Boschkova	Alexander Rahbari Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra & Ivan Goran Kovačić Academic Choir	CD: Brilliant Classics Cat: 93968

Video recordings

Year	Cast	Conductor, Opera chorus and orchestra, Director	Label, Comment	Buy
1986	Rusalka — Eilene Hannan, The Prince — John Treleaven, Vodník, The Water Sprite — Rodney Macann, Foreign Princess — Phyllis Cannan, Ježibaba, The Witch — Ann Howard	Sir Mark Elder Orchestra and chorus of English National Opera David Pountney	DVD: Arthaus Musik (released 2006) Cat: 102 019 Sung In English

External links

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sheet Music — www.sheetmusicplus.com