Rusalka used and abused
From the man who envisaged the Flying Dutchman as an asylum seeker in a 2010 production of Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer for De Nederlandse Opera, cutting-edge opera director Martin Kusej reworks Dvorák's dark fairy-tale Rusalka into a case of child abuse, where an innocent wood nymph and her sisters are victims of a Josef Fritzl-like Water Goblin. Evidently then, this production for the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in 2010 is not one for the traditionalists. For anyone a bit more open minded to the greater potential of opera, this is an incredibly imaginative interpretation that gets right to the dark heart of the work, and it's sung magnificently by all the principal performers.
In the context in which it is presented, lines like "I'd like to leave her to escape from the depths/I want to become a human being/And live in the golden sunshine" take on an entirely new meaning when they...
Gorgeous, should be produced more
I have the Fleming DVD as well. This is far superior, despite the sensationalism of the production. Kristine Opalais is the big diference as Rusalka. She is an incredible actress as well as singer. This is a truly gorgeous, exciting opera certainly equivalent to the great operas like Jenufa, Onegin, etc. that are done more often. It will be performed in Feb. by undergraduate students at Stetson University School of Music, Deland Florida in English.
Silly
This is one of my very favorite operas... I returned this production. It is arrogant and insulting. I think the audience has enough intelligence to understand the story at many levels, not just one.
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