The lyrical fairy tale "Rusalka" was premiered in Prague in 1901. The touching and idyllic musical work by Antonín Dvořák transports the opera-goer into a colorful, atmospheric-melancholic dream world of timeless beauty and elegance. The vocal soloists find grateful tasks through the catchy and cantabile melodies - Dvořák also finally achieved his breakthrough in the stage dramatic field with his most successful opera.
The story of an attempted incarnation fails, even though the mermaid Rusalka is able to take on human form and follow her beloved prince into his kingdom. However, in order to obtain a soul, she must bear the consequence mentioned by the witch Ježibaba: the transformed woman must remain mute. From now on, the prince experiences Rusalka as a stranger and soon succumbs to the seduction of another woman.
Nature and human coexistence remain incompatible: as prophesied by Aquarius, Rusalka cannot experience the longingly awaited earthly happiness of love - nor is the prince’s romantic desire for an idealized, free-spirited world of nature fulfilled.