TRAILER | RUSALKA Dvořák – Dutch National Opera

More than anything in the world, Rusalka, a mysterious and elusive water nymph, yearns to become human to win the heart of a young prince. But this metamorphosis comes at a price: she will lose her voice and be damned forever should their love story fail. To what lengths would you go to find happiness?

A lyrical fairy tale inspired by The Little Mermaid and nourished by Czech ballads, Rusalka is an opera of great depth. Already established for his symphonic music, Dvořák here reveals himself to be an opera composer of great lyrical intensity and beauty. Its highlight is often considered to be the wistful, haunting ‘Song to the Moon’, in which Rusalka asks the moon to reveal her love to the prince. For their new production for Dutch National Opera, directors Philipp Stölzl and Philipp M. Krenn present a young woman on the outskirts of society. At the cinema, she fantasises about living in the golden heyday of Hollywood, by the side of a handsome movie star. Conductor Joana Mallwitz leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, soprano Johanni van Oostrum sings the role of Rusalka. Czech tenor Pavel Černoch sings the role of the prince, and American mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis makes her debut as the witch Ježibaba. A timeless tale of dreams, desire and disappointment.

CAST

The Prince
Pavel Černoch

The Foreign Princess
Annette Dasch

Rusalka
Johanni van Oostrum

Ježibaba
Raehann Bryce-Davis

Vodník Water Goblin
Maxim Kuzmin-Karavaev

Kitchen boy
Karin Strobos

Gamekeeper
Erik Slik

Hunter
Georgiy Derbas-Richter

Wood Nymphs
Inna Demenkova
Elenora Hu
Maya Gour

Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Chorus
Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Music
Antonín Dvořák

Text
Jaroslav Kvapil

Conductor
Joana Mallwitz

Director
Philipp Stölzl
Philipp M. Krenn

Sets
Heike Vollmer
Philipp Stölzl

Costumes
Anke Winckler

Lighting
Philipp Stölzl

Choreography
Juanjo Arqués

Dramaturgy
Simon Berger

OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme. Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.

[fabiangro]

Creatives: "How boring and traditional do you want the staging to be?"
Opera die-hards: "Yes"

[MegaJanuary]

I loved the staging and am longing for the DVD

[jaydoggy]

Once again the closed captioning seems to be glitching, I don't know if that's because of youtube or because of the original input: but the entire dialogue suddenly shows up on screen for five seconds and disappears, making the vid unwatchable and without captions. And side note: this is a fairy tale. Although the stage looks really, really cool and I absolutely admire the work put into this: I don't think this blend works, personally. I feel like this production would be amazing for a new show. I encourage this director to work with new composers/playwrites to make a brand new masterpiece, because they have the capability. Reinventing something that was already reinvented has become a cliche on its own, and it seems like a traditional staging is the daring new thing.

[MrAristaeus]

Some of the objections expressed in the comments are of course valid and I agree in part with some of them, but I can’t agree with boycotting an entire performance either on the basis of a trailer (it simply isn’t enough information to dismiss an entire production) or because you have misgivings (even profound ones) about production concepts.

We must do everything in our power to support opera and the theatres and companies (and media channels) that put on these productions for us if we want opera to continue to thrive.

We must engage with productions and concepts, whatever misgivings we may have, in their entirety even if (and most especially if) ultimately, it is to voice a profound disagreement with these concepts. The creative artists, managerial teams, and technical staff at the very least deserve that level of respect and engagement.

If you care about opera as an Art Form, within reason, one should watch these productions even if that’s through gritted teeth. We must guard against entrenched opinions or closed mindedness.

[diekje]

Sorry Dutch National Opera but you have to stop trying… It’s not working. If you want to do something refreshing, do a traditionally staged opera for once

[tanikN]

Чёт Русалка на Татьяну Доронину похожа :)))

[pedrodebreix]

I mean, if you're going to mischaracterize a story, at least do something smart instead of turning a high fantasy work into a cheap Hollywood drama

[otyliaostrowska-jouie]

It is not an opera. I do not know what it is but it is horrible

[alfredr.]

Thanks for the trailer. I am going to avoid this nonsense