Organization

Singer

Soprano

Dušica Bijelić

Rusalka

Tenor

Michael Siemon

Prince

Katja Starke

Princess

Mezzo-soprano

Joanna Motulewicz

Jezibaba

Baritone

Frank Dolphin Wong

The Hunter

Conductor

Anne Hinrichsen

Costume designer

Irina Spreckelmeyer

Set designer

Video designer

Sascha Vredenburg

Dramaturge

Jón Philipp von Linden

CONCEPTUAL COLLABORATION

Yvonne Gebauer

Choreographer

Yu Hsuan Cheng

Bass

Moon Soo Park

Vodnik

Nohad Becker

Veronika Lee

First Nymph

Marta Wryk

Second Nymph

Bella Adamova

Third Nymph

The Gamekeeper

Cornelie Isenbürger

The Turnspit

Stage director

Nick Westbrock

Regiekonzept

Jörg Oliver Weinöhl

Theater Bielefeld

German

Bielefeld

Germany

Stadttheater

Rusalka Dvořák,A

Public

Approved

The water caresses the body of the swimming prince so tenderly that it magically draws him to the lake again and again. What he does not suspect: The mermaid Rusalka is hidden in the loving waves, who longs to be able to really love the prince in her arms. Her longing becomes so great that she disregards the fatherly warnings of Aquarius, gives up her immortality and leaves the world of the elementals behind. A witch gives her human form and soul, but her voice remains inaudible to humans. When the prince finds the silent beauty, he falls in love straight away. But shortly before the marriage, the initial fascination fades. In the midst of the exuberant wedding party, she appears to him as a cold, silent foreign body, so that he easily succumbs to the seduction arts of a strange princess. This infidelity seals Rusalkas and his fate. Cast out by the human and water world, Rusalka has to eke out an existence as a will-o'-the-wisp until she has brought her fickle lover's death to death.

Whether they are called Undine, Melusine or the little mermaid - the female aquatic beings already known from folk tales, whose love for one person often led to misfortune, enchanted romance. The same goes for the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, who created his most successful opera from this theme. Deviating from the predominant narrative style, in his late work he describes the story from the point of view of the elemental spirits. Rusalka's famous song to the moon reveals her deep connection with the sphere of nature, from which she tries to break away, in a simple folk song. In contrast, there is a colorful, symphonically dense orchestral composition that not only brings nature to life, but also gives expression to Rusalka's feelings where she is condemned to silence.

English

Rusalka by Dvořák, From (2021/2022), Directed by Nick Westbrock,, Conductor Anne Hinrichsen, Stadttheater, Bielefeld, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues