Rusalka (opera)

Rusalka
Opera by Antonín Dvořák
Poster for the premiere
Librettist	Jaroslav Kvapil
Language	Czech
Based on	fairy tales by Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová
Premiere	31 March 1901 (1901-03-31) Prague

Rusalka (pronounced [ˈrusalka] ^ⓘ), Op. 114, is an opera ('lyric fairy tale') by Antonín Dvořák. His ninth opera (1900–1901),^[1] it became his most successful, frequenting the standard repertoire worldwide. Jaroslav Kvapil wrote the libretto^[2] on Karel Jaromír Erben's and Božena Němcová's fairy tales. The rusalka is a water sprite from Slavic mythology; it usually inhabits a lake or river.

For many years unfamiliarity with Dvořák's operas outside the Czech lands helped reinforce a perception that composition of operas was a marginal activity, and that despite the beauty of its melodies and orchestral timbres Rusalka was not a central part of his output or of international lyric theatre. In recent years it has been performed more regularly by major opera companies.^[1] In the five seasons from 2008 to 2013 it was performed by opera companies worldwide far more than all of Dvořák's other operas combined.^[3]

The most popular excerpt from Rusalka is the soprano aria, the "Song to the Moon" ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") for the title character in act 1, which is often performed in concert and recorded separately. It has also been arranged for violin and used on film soundtracks.