Description
EuroArts: Dvořák — Rusalka — La Monnaie, Ádám Fischer, Stefan Herheim (2 DVDs)
Brand new! Factory packaged! As pictured! Buy with confidence!
Product Details:
- Product Type: DVD (2-disc set)
- Brand / Label: EuroArts (with VRT Canvas / De Munt – La Monnaie)
- Composer: Antonín Dvořák
- Work: Rusalka (Opera fairytale in three acts, Op. 114)
- Libretto: Jaroslav Kvapil, after Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's Undine
- Stage Director: Stefan Herheim
- Music Director: Ádám Fischer
- Orchestra: La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
- Principal Cast: Myrtò Papatanasiu (Rusalka), Pavel Černoch (Prince), Annalena Persson (Foreign Princess), Willard White (Vodník), Renée Morloc (Ježibaba)
- Recording: Live from De Munt / La Monnaie, March 2012
- Release Year: 2014 (this edition)
- UPC: 880242599285
- Catalogue Number: 2059928
- Genre: Classical / Opera
Product Features
- Format: 2 DVDs
- Running time: approx. 152 minutes + 10 min Behind-the-Scenes Introduction
- Sung in: Czech
- Subtitles: English, German, French, Dutch, Korean
- TV format: NTSC, 16:9
- Sound: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1
- Region: All (worldwide)
- Includes Behind-the-Scenes Introduction
- Made in Austria
- Condition: Brand New, Factory Sealed
Overview
Rusalka is the opera people half-know without realising it — the source of the "Song to the Moon," one of the most beautiful arias Dvořák ever wrote. The story is a darker cousin of The Little Mermaid: a water nymph longs to become human to win a prince's love, trades away her voice, and binds herself to a curse if that love fails. This 2-DVD set captures Stefan Herheim's acclaimed La Monnaie staging, conducted by Ádám Fischer.
Herheim doesn't play it as a children's fairytale. His production treats the underwater world and its creatures as something closer to the unconscious — a study of male fantasy and female archetype, where the enchanting surface keeps cracking open into something unsettling. The fairytale elements take on a frightening realism, and the result is a Rusalka that disturbs as much as it charms.
Myrtò Papatanasiu sings the title role, with Pavel Černoch as the Prince and the veteran bass Willard White as the water spirit Vodník. Filmed live at La Monnaie in March 2012, with a behind-the-scenes introduction included.
For collectors of Dvořák, Czech opera, and anyone following Herheim's much-discussed work in the European houses.
Interesting Facts
- Rusalka was Dvořák's ninth opera and his most successful, premiered in Prague in 1901; it remains the most performed Czech opera worldwide.
- The "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") from Act I is the opera's most famous excerpt and a staple of soprano recitals.
- Kvapil's libretto draws on Fouqué's Undine, Hans Christian Andersen's mermaid tale, and Czech folk legend, blending several water-nymph traditions.
- Stefan Herheim is among the most debated opera directors of his generation, known for psychologically layered, visually elaborate stagings.
- Bass Willard White, who sings Vodník here, has had a six-decade international career spanning opera and concert work.
- This production is a co-production of VRT Canvas and De Munt / La Monnaie, the Brussels opera house.
Track Listing
Rusalka is structured in three acts. The booklet's exact scene/chapter timings aren't legible in the photos provided — send a clear image of the track list and I'll add precise timings.
Publishers
A production of VRT Canvas with De Munt / La Monnaie. © 2012 VRT Canvas, De Munt / La Monnaie; artwork & editorial © 2014 EuroArts Music International. Made in Austria.
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