Rusalka is a tragic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Antonín Dvorák (see Dvorák, Antonín). Its Czech libretto (text), by the Czech writer Jaroslav Kvapil, is based mainly on the fairy tales “Undine” by the German novelist Friedrich de La Motte Fouque and “The Little Mermaid” by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Rusalka was first staged in Prague, now in the Czech Republic, on March 31, 1901.
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The opera tells the story of the water sprite Rusalka, who falls in love with a prince. Aided by the witch Jezibaba, Rusalka becomes human to marry the prince. But she must meet two conditions to remain human: first, she must remain silent, and second, she and the prince must stay faithful to each other. Because Rusalka is not allowed to talk, the prince soon becomes weary of her and seeks other women. This means that she must die, and the prince, regretting what he has done, joins her in death. The opera is seldom performed today, but one of Rusalka’s arias, “Song to the Moon,” is a popular concert piece.
Another opera called Rusalka, based on a different folk story, was written by the Russian composer Alexander Dargomyzhsky. The libretto, by the composer, was based on a dramatic poem (1832) by the Russian author Alexander Pushkin. It was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1856.
