Rusalka by Dvořák, L 22 apr 2017, Alates (2017/2017), Juhatatud Tomáš Pilař, Dirigent Norbert Baxa, Jiří Štrunc, Velké divadlo, Pilsen, Czech Republic

"I can't die, I can't live." Antonín Dvořák wrote two fairy-tale operas. A merry fairy tale Devil and Káča and a lyrical Rusalka. Both are among his most played works. Rusalka does not need to be introduced to the audience in detail, because most of them know this lyrical tale about the water fairy, who longs for the prince's love. Rusalka, however, is not just a fairy tale, the work asks the audience even more questions about the meaning of life, about human and supernatural beings and their mutual existence. Dvořák composed Rusalka on the libretto of the poet Jaroslav Kvapil according to Hans Christian Andersen at the very peak of his creative powers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the spirit of Art Nouveau and Impressionism adds a unique charm to the work. Rusalčina's aria about the "moon in the deep sky" is one of the most famous Czech opera arias.