Rusalka

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Will she become part of his world?

Rusalka, a young water nymph, falls in love with a prince. The witch gives her a potion that will render her human but take away her voice. Rusalka risks everything for love and ends up paying dearly.

The company premiere of Dvořák’s Rusalka will be directed by the acclaimed Sir David Pountney whose vision is of a Freudian fairy tale set in a psychiatric hospital in Vienna. Led by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, Ailyn Pérez sings the title role. Robert Watson performs as the Prince and Mary Elizabeth Williams is the Foreign Princess, both in their company debuts.

¿Conseguirá entrar ella en el mundo de él?

La joven ninfa Rusalka se enamora de un príncipe. La bruja le proporciona una poción que la convierte en humana pero que a cambio la vuelve muda. Rusalka arriesga todo por amor y termina pagando un alto precio.

Esta producción de Rusalka, la primera de la Ópera de Santa Fe, será dirigida por el aclamado Sir David Pountney, cuya visión de la ópera de Dvořák es la de un cuento de hadas de connotaciones freudianas ambientado en un hospital psiquiátrico de Viena. La dirección musical corre a cargo de Lidiya Yankovskaya, con la soprano Ailyn Pérez en el papel principal. Robert Watson cantará el papel del príncipe y Mary Elizabeth Williams el de la princesa extranjera en el que será el debut de ambos en la Ópera de Santa Fe.

Music By

Antonín Dvořák

Libretto By

Jaroslav Kvapil

Sung In

Czech

Instant Translation Screen

English and Spanish

Production Support Generously Provided By

Robert & Ellen Vladem

Additional artistic support provided by

National Endowment for the Arts

The performances of Lidiya Yankovskaya are supported by

The Marineau Family Foundation

The performances of Ailyn Pérez are supported by

Martha Allday

Original production support generously provided by

The Avenir Foundation, Inc.

Robert & Ellen Vladem

Production Illustration By

Benedetto Cristofani

Run Time

Approximately 2 hours 57 minutes; includes a 25-minute intermission

Please be advised

This production may contain depictions of violence.

Act I

A lake. Three wood nymphs are teasing old Vodník, the Spirit of the Lake, who pretends to catch them. His daughter Rusalka (the Czech word for water nymph) confesses to him that she has fallen in love with a human Prince who swims in the lake. She wants to become human so that he will be able to feel her embrace. Vodník is horrified, but he directs Rusalka to Ježibaba (Czech for witch), who can craft a potion for her. Rusalka beseeches the moon to shine upon her beloved. She wakes Ježibaba and relates her plight. Ježibaba warns her that becoming human will require many sacrifices. First, she will be mute. Second, if she loses the Prince’s love, she will be cursed; eventually luring him to his death. Rusalka is resolute, and Ježibaba prepares a potion. The Prince comes hunting the white doe, and he stops by the lake. He is enchanted by Rusalka’s beauty and bemused by her silence, and he takes her back to his castle. Her family mourns.

Un lago. Tres ninfas acuáticas están jugando con el viejo Vodník, un duende del lago que finge correr tras ellas para atraparlas. Su hija Rusalka (“ninfa acuática” en checo) le confiesa que se ha enamorado de un príncipe que suele nadar en el lago y que desea convertirse en humana para poder abrazarlo. Aunque Vodník está horrorizado, manda a Rusalka a visitar a Ježibaba (“bruja” en checo), la cual puede elaborar una poción para ayudarla. Rusalka suplica a la luna que brille sobre su amado. Se dirige a Ježibaba y, tras despertarla, le relata su inquietud. La bruja le advierte de que convertirla en humana conllevará muchos sacrificios. En primer lugar, se quedará muda. Posteriormente, si pierde el amor del príncipe, será maldecida y llegará a conducirle a su propia muerte. Pero Rusalka está decidida y Ježibaba le prepara la pócima. El príncipe aparece intentando cazar una cierva blanca. Se detiene junto al lago. Está hechizado por la belleza de Rusalka y desconcertado por su silencio. Decide llevarla consigo al castillo. La familia de Rusalka lamenta su pérdida.
Act II

The castle. Rusalka has been with the Prince for a week, and everyone wonders about the nameless, speechless bride-to-be. The Gamekeeper and the Kitchen Boy prepare the wedding celebration and speculate nervously: has this creature simply bewitched the Prince? Or will his own fickleness be his salvation? He has had his eye on a foreign Princess, and she seems intent on separating him from his pale companion. He sends Rusalka to her chambers to dress for the ball. The Foreign Princess vows to have him. At the wedding ball, the Prince is seen courting the Princess, and Rusalka runs out heartbroken. At the pond, her father appears, distressed by her sadness. She regains her speech to pour out her heart to him. He reminds her that when she returns home, she will bring the curse with her. The Prince and Princess come walking by the pond; he is feverish with words of love, and she is irritated by how confused he seems. Rusalka rushes into his arms, only to be dragged away by Vodník. The Foreign Princess goads him to follow the nymph into the abyss.

El castillo. Rusalka ha estado ya una semana con el príncipe y todo el mundo se pregunta cómo se llama la silenciosa prometida. El guardabosques y la ayudante de cocina preparan las celebraciones de la boda y se preguntan intrigados si esta criatura ha hechizado al príncipe. O quizás si la propia inconstancia del príncipe será su salvación. Él ha estado interesado en una princesa extranjera que parece decidida a separarlo de su pálida compañera. El príncipe manda a Rusalka a sus aposentos para que se vista para el baile. La princesa extranjera jura que el príncipe será suyo. Durante el baile nupcial se ve al príncipe cortejando a la princesa y Rusalka abandona el baile con el corazón roto en pedazos. En el estanque su padre reaparece conmovido por su tristeza. Rusalka recupera el habla y le cuenta todo lo que está sufriendo. Él le recuerda que si vuelve a casa traerá la maldición con ella. El príncipe y la princesa pasean junto al estanque. Él está enfervorizado y no para de hablar de amor y ella está molesta al ver lo confundido que parece estar él. Rusalka corre a sus brazos pero Vodník la aparta de él. La princesa extranjera incita al príncipe a seguir a la ninfa hacia el abismo.
Act III

The lake. Pale Rusalka sits above the lake and laments her fate: her lover’s infidelity has condemned her to wander as a will-o’-the-wisp. Ježibaba finds her and tells her that only human blood will wash away the curse. She hands her a dagger and bids her kill the Prince. Rusalka is aghast. She throws the knife into the water. Her sister-nymphs appear and rebuff her return. She sinks beneath the surface. The Gamekeeper and the Kitchen Boy, knees knocking with fright, approach the dwelling of Ježibaba. They have come to ask for advice for the Prince, who has fallen under the spell of the strange wood-girl he was to marry. Vodník appears, enraged, and announces that it was the Prince who betrayed Rusalka. He curses the human race, and the men flee. The Prince emerges from the woods, seeking Rusalka, half-crazed with remorse. She appears from the lake. He implores her to bring him peace. She tells him that a kiss from her now would kill him. He begs for it. She draws him into her arms, praying for mercy for his soul, and she slips back into the lake.

El lago. La pálida Rusalka está sentada al borde del lago y lamenta su destino: la infidelidad de su amado la ha condenado a vagar como un fuego fatuo. Ježibaba la encuentra y le revela que sólo la sangre humana deshará la maldición. Le entrega una daga y le instiga a matar al príncipe. Rusalka se horroriza y arroja la daga al agua. Sus hermanas ninfas aparecen y la rechazan. Rusalka se hunde en el estanque. El guardabosques y la ayudante de cocina se acercan temerosos a la morada de Ježibaba. Vienen a pedir consejo para el príncipe, que ha caído bajo el hechizo de una extraña doncella del bosque con la que se iba a casar. Vodník aparece enfurecido, revela que fue el príncipe el que traicionó a Rusalka y maldice a la raza humana. El príncipe, enloquecido por el remordimiento, emerge de la espesura del bosque buscando a Rusalka, que aparece en el lago. Le implora que le devuelva la paz y ella le revela que un beso suyo lo mataría. No obstante, él se lo suplica. Rusalka lo envuelve en sus brazos y, rezando por su alma, se adentra de nuevo en el lago.