Rusalka
Lyric fairy tale in three acts
Libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil
in Czech language with English and German surtitles
Libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil
in Czech language with English and German surtitles
In this magical forest, the longing for transformation pulls from both sides - with occasionally radical consequences: The mermaid Rusalka longs to become human in order to be able to love the prince in the light of day. For this however, she must give up the form of her body and her voice. The prince, however, who could have everything his heart desires in the human world, seems to have been guided to Rusalka's mysterious pond in the middle of the night by an inner need for something specific. Many versions of this story (H.C. Andersen, Melusine, Disney's Arielle amongst others) have been interpreted by queer readings as a portrait of living a secretive life and the pain that comes with it. Following this line of thinking, director Bastian Kraft places drag and burlesque performers alongside the hybrid forest and water creatures that tell of parallel worlds at night in Antonín Dvořák's spectral yet beautiful opera Rusalka. Through their imaginative and fluid performance of gender, which speaks of freedom, they counteract a world thoroughly obsessed with fixed role models. In Rusalka's case, however, the trenches of being different cannot be bridged without a voice (and without a common language of desire): A foreign princess acts as the long arm of the norm and finally poisons the love between prince and mermaid turned human. In an empathetic examination of the permeability of boundaries and the chances of transformation, Bastian Kraft explores in his operatic debut how a world could be in which difference no longer means incompatibility. The musical direction is in the hands of the Ukrainian star conductor Oksana Lyniv.
#StgtRusalka
World premiere
1901 in Prague
Premiere of this production
4. June 2022
1901 in Prague
Premiere of this production
4. June 2022
Recommended age
from grade 8
from grade 8
There will be an introduction 45 minutes before the performance at foyer I. floor.
Jun 2022
Rusalka
Cast
Rusalka
Cast
Rusalka
Cast
Rusalka
Cast
Rusalka
Cast
Rusalka
Cast
Musical Direction Oksana Lyniv
Direction Bastian Kraft
Stage Design Peter Baur
Costumes Jelena Miletić
Videodesign Sophie Lux
Lighting Gerrit Jurda
Chorus Manuel Pujol
Dramaturgy Franz-Erdmann Meyer-Herder
Direction Bastian Kraft
Stage Design Peter Baur
Costumes Jelena Miletić
Videodesign Sophie Lux
Lighting Gerrit Jurda
Chorus Manuel Pujol
Dramaturgy Franz-Erdmann Meyer-Herder
Prince David Junghoon Kim
Foreign princess Allison Cook
Rusalka Esther Dierkes, Reflektra
Aquarius Goran Jurić
Wassermann Alexander Cameltoe
Ježibaba Katia Ledoux, Judy LaDivina
Heger Torsten Hofmann
Kitchen boy Alexandra Urquiola
1. Elve Natasha Te Rupe Wilson, Vava Vilde
2. Elve Catriona Smith, Lola Rose
3. Elve Leia Lensing, Purrja
Huter Ángel Macías
Mitglieder des Staatsopernchores, Staatsorchester Stuttgart
Foreign princess Allison Cook
Rusalka Esther Dierkes, Reflektra
Aquarius Goran Jurić
Wassermann Alexander Cameltoe
Ježibaba Katia Ledoux, Judy LaDivina
Heger Torsten Hofmann
Kitchen boy Alexandra Urquiola
1. Elve Natasha Te Rupe Wilson, Vava Vilde
2. Elve Catriona Smith, Lola Rose
3. Elve Leia Lensing, Purrja
Huter Ángel Macías
Mitglieder des Staatsopernchores, Staatsorchester Stuttgart
Jul 2022