Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Rusalka - A Lyric Fairy Tale in three acts Op.114
(1901) [156:00]
Rusalka: Kristine Opolais
Prince: Klaus Florian Vogt
Water Goblin: Günther Groissböck
Ježibaba: Janina Baechle
Foreign Princess: Nadia Krasteva
Gamekeeper: Ulrich Reß
Kitchen Boy: Tara Erraught
Wood Nymphs: Evgeniya Sotnikova, Angela Brower, Okka von der
Damerau
Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper
Bayerisches Staatsorchester/Tomáš Hanus
rec. Nationaltheater Munich, Germany, 20-26 October 2010
Direction: Martin Kušej
Sets: Martin Zehetgruber
Costumes: Heidi Hackl
Lighting: Reinhard Traub
Sung in Czech with subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish,
Chinese and Korean Picture: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Sound:
LPCM/DTS-HD 5.0
UNITEL CLASSICA 706504 BLU-RAY [156:00 + 36:00 (documentary)]
Having read Nick Barnard’s exhaustive review, which gives
chapter and verse of this opera production in the DVD format,
I will not go into any detail on the opera itself and will comment
on the production in the Blu-ray format I have viewed.
Dvořák’s Rusalka is for me one of the
great operas of the nineteenth century, or would be if it hadn’t
been composed in 1901! It belongs to the earlier century in
its musical style and is typical of the composer in his last
years. It contains much great music besides its one hit, “The
Song to the Moon”, that is trotted out to show off any
soprano worth her salt.
Plenty of invective has been hurled at this production and it
has also garnered some praise, though I can’t see why,
for the staging nearly ruins what Dvořák undoubtedly
intended the opera to depict. I can see him rolling in his grave
during the mounting of this production. That said, the singing
and orchestral playing throughout are fine. Kristine Opolais
is a superb Rusalka with the right kind of lyric voice and is
beautiful to watch, that is, if she weren’t singing to
a desk lamp instead of the moon and floundering around in a
fish tank! I would love to see her in a decent production of
the opera. All of the cast are good both in singing and acting,
the latter which requires some bizarre postures to say the least.
The presentation of the folk ballet in the second act is the
most preposterous of all with the dancers in white dancing with
skinned deer corpses and smearing blood on their costumes. Yes,
the best way to appreciate this production is with the video
turned off. In general, I have an aversion to “modernizing”
operas or plays, to say nothing of the utter distortion that
a production such as this perpetrates. Operas can be produced
with minimalist staging, as long as they symbolize what the
composer intended, and still be very effective. The Jenůfa
I recently reviewed for this website was such a case. This Rusalka,
I’m afraid, is just in bad taste.
I have not seen the DVDs of this production, but the picture
on this Blu-ray is brilliant and life-like. The characters fairly
jump off the screen and you feel you could touch them, not that
you would necessarily want to. The water imagery is vibrant
and the reflections are shimmering. The sound, too, is excellent
with a good balance between the singing and the orchestra. The
opera comes on one Blu-ray disc and two in DVD format, and also
includes the documentary on making of the opera by the Bayerische
Staatsoper general manager, Nikolaus Bachler; the stage director,
Martin Kušej (who was responsible for the production);
the costume designer, Heidi Hackl, and members of the cast.
They all seem to believe in the production more than I ever
could, though, they would have to - or at least claim to. Unlike
the DVDs, according to Nick Barnard’s review, my copy
of the Blu-ray did not include any liner notes, but only a sheet
with a listing of the numbers corresponding to the chapters
on the Blu-ray. In addition to the documentary, the Blu-ray
includes trailers of three other opera productions and a Vienna
Philharmonic concert of Beethoven with Christian Thielemann
conducting. As far as technical matters are concerned, the last
note of Act II seems to be cut short as it ends more abruptly
than the version on CD with which I am familiar. The very end
of the opera is also strangely presented with its water imagery
and children’s laughter in the background, and there is
no applause or current call. There is applause after each of
the first two acts.
My suggestion is to skip this Blu-ray and hope that something
better comes along, even though I would dearly miss Opolais’
performance. Vocally and as an actress she is at least the equal
of the best of former Rusalkas. Maybe she will do this role
again before long in a more traditional production. As far as
CD is concerned, I will be happy to stick with the Mackerras/Czech
Philharmonic version on Decca with Renée Fleming as the
Rusalka. I am also a real fan of Gabriela Beňačková,
who recorded the opera with Václav Neumann and the Czech
Philharmonic, but I have not heard that one or at least not
in recent memory. In both cases, though, the inimitable sound
of the Czech Philharmonic is a definite advantage. The Bayerisches
Staatsorchester under Czech conductor Tomáš Hanus
turns in an excellent performance, too, if without the idiomatic
lightness and warmth of the Czechs. Just listen to those mellow
horns on the Mackerras recording to hear the difference.
Leslie Wright
see review of DVD release by Nick
Barnard and Ian Lace
This Rusalka is a travesty as a production, though its
musical values are high.