Instantly absorbing and continually moving, Opera Australia’s (AO) new production of Rusalka, directed by Sarah Giles, showcases Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s tragic fairy tale spectacularly in all its visual, musical and thematic glory. Bringing together the forces of creatives, cast and pit into a superbly unified performance, the work exemplifies the magic and power opera can bestow.
Rusalka was the first live opera I saw — a dreamy, English National Opera production back in 1984 created by David Pountney and Stefanos Lazaridis that beguiled a young man. Converted to the art form, several productions later, including Opera Australia’s 2007 production directed by Olivia Fuchs starring Cheryl Barker and San Francisco Opera’s directed by David McVicar, Rusalka always signals a special encounter.
As Dvořák’s only opera of his output of nine that sees the light of day with any regularity, it’s a richly enchanting and satisfying work that touches on themes of sacrifice, unrequited love, transformation and the interaction between human and supernatural worlds. Risks and consequences of falling in love pervade Jaroslav Kvapil’s libretto, based on fairy tales by Czech folklorist Karel Jaromír Erben and compatriot Božena Němcová, outlining a dense but easily understood narrative that Giles brings crystal clarity to.
It tells the tale of the titular water nymph who falls in love with the human Prince and desires to become human. To do so, Rusalka must sacrifice her voice but their love is shattered by the Prince’s betrayal. Cursed, she returns to the water but suffers a purgatorial-like existence until, in the end, the Prince seeks forgiveness and dies in her embrace.
For its three-act entirety, the work is given superlative visual allure and stimulation by Giles’ nuanced choices and her creative team (sets by Charles Davis, costumes by Renée Mulder, lighting by Paul Jackson and video design by David Bergman).
Incorporating clever use of mirrors and reflections, Act 1 opens in an eerie underwater setting filling the stage that allows views up to a water lily strewn surface with their roots dangling in the depths. Rusalka is easily identifiable among the ghostly water nymphs as she spies the prince diving and swimming through the waters. Several transformations allow the underwater world to connect to the world above where entertaining, long, floppy-branched Wood Sprites cavort and the witch Ježibaba — depicted as a glossed up itinerant misfit pushing a shopping trolley — passes along a pier-like boardwalk.
At the palace setting in Act 2, rising behind the surface of the lake, the sharp austerity of nothing more than a stepped base and series of simple columns perhaps allude to the Prince’s hardened attitude. Just as dramatically, Act 3 turns the world around with a bird’s-eye view over the water lilies with Rusalka perched on steps over the centre, creating a saintly image that invokes much empathy for the wishful water nymph.
Internationally celebrated Australian soprano Nicole Car bejewels the title role superbly. In both lyrical and dramatic splendour with the top of the voice gleaming while the darker undercurrents of the lower voice stream effortlessly. Car gives Act 1’s iconic aria, “Song to the Moon”, a breathtaking performance, setting in motion a quivering vulnerability accompanied by courageous will. Thereon, a sublime display of rousing vocal power and heartfelt energy ensues against the agonised hopelessness Rusalka has finding happiness in neither her watery world nor that of the prince’s.
So much more than that of first-class singing, Car’s performance is complete with wonderful acting, spanning both comic and dramatic expression. Car’s navigation of a newly human existence with pitiful clumsiness while attempting to mimic the Duchess is unforgettable entertainment while her return to the lake where she share’s her despair with her father, the Water King (Vodník), concerning the Prince’s attention to the Duchess is adrenaline pumping heartache.
Gerard Schneider’s handsome Prince might have a wandering eye but a warmth of spirit emanates in a portrayed less misogynistic than previous encounters with the role. Rather than the Prince’s human behaviour reflecting an assault on nature, which Rusalka represents, Schneider’s Prince offers inquiry over domination with an appealing resonant lyrical tenor which can only be faulted for occasionally being swamped by the orchestra.
As wretched and sinister as he appears and boldly as he sings, Warwick Fyfe’s Water King is fuelled by a father’s love and protection in a performance that lays and honours the foundations of the story. Both gritty and polished in stentorian baritone might, Fyfe’s vocal prowess shines. With the opening act seeing him teased by the three Wood Sprites, you couldn’t help but draw similarities with Alberich being mocked by the three Rhine maidens for those familiar with Wagner’s Ring. Fyfe knows the role from experience.
Surrounded by a trio of colourful theatrical fantasies, mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms gives it all in combining a smug, straight-talking Ježibaba with a smorgasbord of smouldering vocal intricacies. Plush soprano Natalie Aroyan is a fabulously elegant presence as the Duchess, sleek as a cat with fine comic sensibility and showy gold puffed sleeves to match. As the Gamekeeper, OA stalwart Andrew Moran makes a smaller role a major highlight. Sian Sharp sings a treat as the Kitchen-Boy, Malcolm Ede is suitably rugged as the Huntsman and the OA Chorus are stellar both as ghostly water nymphs and exaggeratedly styled wedding guests
Within Dvořák’s lush orchestration — rich in symphonic and balletic beauty and engrossing perpetual motion — there’s an eddy of Wagner, a sense of Strauss and Humperdinck and a touch of Tchaikovsky among his influences. Conductor Johannes Fritzsch captures the darkness, the gossamer-like, the bombastic and mystery of the score with perfectly balanced intensity and the OA Orchestra never fails to impress with a special mention for the harp and woodwind brilliance.
Under the spell of its visually and thematically enticing intricacies, luscious orchestral tapestry and splendid vocal impact, you find it’s easy to understand seeing it just once might not enough for some besotted opera goers. And rather than seeing it as a tale of being careful what you wish for, Giles elevates it with the spirit of courage to explore what lies beyond the boundaries.
Paul Selar
Rusalka , Op. 114
Opera (‘lyric fairy tale’) by Antonín Dvořák
Libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil
Cast and Production Staff:
Rusalka: Nicole Car; The Prince: Gerard Schneider; The Water King; Warwick Fyfe; The Duchess: Natalie Aroyan; Ježibaba: Ashlyn Tymms; First Wood Sprite: Fiona Jopson; Second Wood Sprite: Jennifer Bonner;Third Wood Sprite; Helen Sherman; Gamekeeper: Andrew Moran; Kitchen-Boy: Sian Sharp; Huntsman: Malcolm Ede.
Opera Australia Orchestra. Opera Australia Chorus.
Conductor: Johannes Fritzsch. Director: Sarah Giles. Set Designer: Charles Davis. Costume Designer: Renée Mulder. Lighting Designer: Paul Jackson. Video Designer and Content Creator: David Bergman. Movement & Intimacy Coordinator: Dr Lyndall Grant.
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Until 11th August 2025
Top image: Scene from Rusalka. Photo by Carlita Sari.