Antonin Dvorak’s next to last opera draws its substance from the underwater wonderland of little mermaids, Undines and Melusines: the water nymph Rusalka falls hopelessly in love with a prince and, although she is willing to sacrifice her voice to acquire the human form she needs in order to stay with him, the disparity between them proves to be too great. Jaroslav Kvapil’s libretto inspired Dvorak to compose a masterpiece, a compelling opera full of poignant lyricism and dramatic twists. Ádám Fisher and Stefan Herheim masterfully presented this ‘lyrical fairytale’ at La Monnaie in 2008. In this widely acclaimed interpretation, the fairytale elements sometimes assume frighteningly realistic dimensions so that one might see this enchanting production as a psychoanalytical study of male fantasies and female archetypes.

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