CD, стоящие на полке рядом : Classics (Opera)      

Rusalka, opera, B. 203 (Op. 114) (Русалка)

Синопсис (mymb-ru)

О произведении (ru,wiki)

Libretto (en,dh)

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Kuhn Mixed Chorus

After Antonin Dvorak had conquered the musical world - he was considered the greatest Czech composer in Bohemia, the greatest composer after Brahms in Austria and Germany, the successor of Mendelssohn in England, and the greatest composer in the world in the United States - he returned to Bohemia to write the national operas of his people. He started with Kate and The Devil (1899) and ended with Armida (1904), but between them composed the great Czech national opera, Rusalka. Written in a single burst of inspiration between April 21 and November 27, 1901, to a text by Jaroslav Kvapil based on Hans Christian Andersen, Rusalka is a Bohemian "Little Mermaid." Telling the sad story of a water sprite who longs for human love, Rusalka is a three-act opera set in its first and last acts in the lakes of Bohemia, with a central act depicting an interrupted wedding feast. Although it hews basically to the composer's distinctive mix of nationalism, lyricism, and Brahmsian classical thinking, the influence of Wagner is readily apparent in the use of leitmotif musical character identifiers, and more generally in the derivation of the story from ancient and fantastic legend. Its melodies are based on the cadences of the Czech language; its harmonies are lushly late Romantic, sometimes almost Impressionistic but always sweetly and sensuously Czech; its cavatinas, arias, and set pieces are derived from the folk ballads of Czech poetry; and its lyricism is deep, passionate, and all-suffusing. Dvorak's Rusalka rivals the operas of Smetana and Janacek as the supreme expression of what it means to be Czech in music.

All Music Guide

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I just reviewed Renee Fleming's new Bel Canto album and it got me thinking about her Rusalka. I have loved this opera for years, and in London we have been relatively priveleged to have not only ENO's fabled 1983 production (much revived and also videoed) but, more recently, a pair of concerts at Covent Garden.

I was present for one of these which featured Fleming and Mackerras and also Hawlata from this recording. Much feted when it was first released, I can scarcely imagine a better case being made for this unjustly neglected masterpiece. It is a treasure trove of beautiful music, if a long winded one. Rusalka's theme and her Song to the Moon may be the most recognisable, but Dvorak's genius produces so much more. The Wood nymphs' act 3 interlude, the Polonaise and subsequent scene where the Water Goblin's plaints are woven into the wedding chorus, and the highly charged exchange for Rusalka and Jezibaba at the beginning of act 3 - let alone the lovely aria that precedes it - these are all absolutely first class.

Noone knows Czech opera better than Mackerras, and he brings his usual incisiveness to this score, finding the edgy string tone required as Rusalka discovers the bitter taste of growing up. He indulges, but never wallows, in the big romantic melodies and builds the long final act to a great climax. The orchestra plays like a dream.

Fleming, apparently part Czech of extraction, appears to take to the language very well (a Czech speaker would know better than me). The title role is a big, big sing and she shirks none of the task, bringing her familiar dynamic range and sensitivity. she rides the climaxes powerfully - and there are some big ones, especially towards the end - and conveys an aching sense of loss in the last act lament. Absolutely stunning and, I'm pleased to report, a fair representation of her performance in the flesh.

The supporting cast has less to do, though the high lying role of the prince has crippled a fair few tenors I have heard. Heppner is heroic, forceful and romantic, and I can't imagine a better interpreter for this part today. Ditto Dolora Zajick, who has the wry humour and the chilling glint to make the character of the witch come gloriously to life. Hawlata sounds careworn but pleasingly resonant as the Water Goblin and Urbanova, in the challenging cameo of the Foreign Princess, makes her presence felt with a dangerous cutting edge to the tone (she is also a very striking presence on stage - more so than I'd expected).

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