Dvorak's Rusalka
Dvorak's fairy-tale opera from the Royal Opera House, starring Asmik Grigorian and David Butt Philip as the water spirit Rusalka and her human prince. Semyon Bychkov conducts.
Dvorak's fairytale opera from the Royal Opera House starring Asmik Grigorian and David Butt Philip as the water spirit Rusalka and her human Prince. Semyon Bychkov conducts. Rusalka falls for the Prince when he swims in her woodland lake, and rejecting the advice of her father, the water goblin Vodn铆k, she accepts the local witch Je啪ibaba's offer to turn her into a human - at the price of losing the power of speech. At first the Prince seems enchanted by Rusalka; but when he takes her home to his court, things start to go wrong... Dvorak was inspired by the Czech fairytale forest setting to compose some of his most beautiful music, including Rusalka's famous Song to the Moon in Act 1 and one of the greatest final scenes in all opera: can Rusalka and the Prince find redemption at last in each other's love?
Presented by Martin Handley with commentator Sarah Lenton.
Rusalka ..... Asmik Grigorian (soprano)
Prince ..... David Butt Philip (tenor)
Vodn铆k ..... Aleksei Isaev (baritone)
Je啪ibaba ..... Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)
Duchess ..... Emma Bell (soprano)
Huntsman ..... Josef Jeongmeen Ahn (baritone)
Forester ..... Ross Ramgobin (baritone)
Kitchen boy ..... Hongni Wu (mezzo-soprano)
Wood spirits ..... Vuvu Mpofu (soprano), Gabriel臈 Kup拧yt臈 and Anne Marie Stanley (mezzo-sopranos)
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor Semyon Bychkov
