BWW Preview: Guggenheim's Works & Process Looks Inside the Met's New RUSALKA

"RUSALKA is an operatic fairytale with a strong message about the consequences of over-reaching--an appropriate, cautionary tale for our times," said Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera's General Manager, introducing a panel at the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process series that included director Mary Zimmerman and conductor Mark Elder. The new production opens at the Met on February 2--"and that's not an 'alternative fact,'" said Gelb--starring soprano Kristine Opolais as Rusalka, tenor Brandon Jovanovich as the Prince, mezzo Jamie Barton as Jezibaba (the witch), and bass-baritone Eric Owens as the Water Gnome (Rusalka's father).

The opera was written by Antonin Dvorak, probably most famous for his Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" ("one of the most famous pieces written by anybody," said the conductor) but who longed to be remembered for his lyric dramas. He wrote 10 of them, but it was only his next-to-last attempt, RUSALKA, that has entered the standard repertory--and it took the Met until 1993 to "discover" it, even though it was written in 1900 and had its premiere in Prague the next year. (It was performed by Opera Orchestra of New York in 1987, where the title role was taken by Gabriela Benackova, who also starred in the Met premiere.)

Part of the opera's neglect is likely due to its language, which the assembled panelists admitted is difficult to master. The velvet-voiced Barton described it as "very consonant driven" and expressed her gratitude for the two Czech language coaches working with the cast, in this, her role debut. Elder admitted that, while it has a beauty of its own, "[Czech] is an incredible challenge" because "the sound sits in a different part of your face, throat and mouth" and is very different from any of the languages that are mainstream in opera, even Russian, where the vowel sounds are "allied to Italian."

"The score is second to none," Owens, who's singing his role for the second time, told the audience. "It's always a privilege to be a vessel for such music." Though there won't be many in the audience fluent enough in Czech to judge their grasp of the language, the musical performances of Barton and Owens at the Guggenheim preview raised high expectations for the production.

If you've seen the Disney animated film THE LITTLE MERMAID, you have an idea of what the opera's about, except that much of this one is "grimmer than Grimm" [as the conductor described other works by the composer inspired by the same author]. The creative team and musicians have worked hard to get some of the darkness (with its influences from Wagner) out of the story, but, make no mistake, this opera it not exactly fun and games.

Unlike her Disney counterpart, Ariel, the heroine of this tale doesn't have a name: "Rusalka" means "water nymph" (the equivalent of "mermaid")--though in this tale of forbidden desire, she's not fish-like at all. According to the director, it tells of a "creature of the water" who falls in love with a prince, makes a deal with a witch to have a body that the prince can feel and, in exchange, surrenders her voice. Part of the bargain is that if he betrays her, she will be cursed and not only be unable to return to her former self, but will die, as will the prince. The betrayal happens but Rusalka renegotiates the bargain and, while the prince dies, she is allowed to return to her watery life, though as an outcast.

It is based on a work by a Czech writer, Karel Erben, who wrote songs, nursery rhymes and poems that drew on folklore. A similar source was an inspiration to the 18th century German writer, Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, who wrote "Undine" and the famed Dane, Hans Christian Andersen, author of "The Little Mermaid."

Despite the popularity of the source materials throughout the last centuries, and even though Dvorak composed glorious music for singers and orchestra, RUSALKA seems an odd choice of a subject for an opera. Why? Because, despite having the work's most famous piece of music, "Song to the Moon" ("Mesícku na nebi hlubokém") elsewhere in the piece, the title character spends much of the evening without a single note to sing.

In other words, she must keep herself the center of attention while not raising her voice in song. Opolais has proven herself a mesmerizing presence on stage at the Met in Puccini's LA BOHEME and, particularly, MADAMA BUTTERFLY--but she had wonderful music to sing all the way through these works. It will be interesting to see what she does here, although, fear not, because Rusalka was Opolais' breakthrough role--and one she relishes. And her rendition of "Song to the Moon," sung at the Guggenheim presentation, was absolutely ravishing.

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To see the complete panel discussion and opera excerpts from Opolais, Barton and Owens at the Guggenheim, click here.

RUSALKA will be seen at the Met through March 2. For more details, visit the Met's website. The February 25 matinee performance will be seen in movie theatres across America and worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series.