This new production of Dvorak's Rusalka comes to the Teatro Real in a new situation for its audience: after the big scandal due to lack of observance of social distancing in the cheapest zones in the Ballo last month, the theatre had to re-adapt to the maximum capacity allowed, around a 65% of the seating plan. On the other hand, and with the numbers of covid cases dropping or at least staying stable, Madrid is the main operatic scene still performing, with Teatro Real staging this Rusalka and Teatro de la Zarzuela performing the hit La del Manojo de Rosas by Pablo Sorozábal, always hanging the sold out sign.
This masterpiece returns to the Teatro Real stage after a long pause of 96 years. In 1924, the Czechoslovak National Opera premiered on its stage, going on tour. However, the last time it was seen in Madrid was in 1975, when Teatro de la Zarzuela invited the Narodni Divadlo Prague company, with Nadezhda Kniplova as the princess and Gabriela Benackova in the title role.
Its 21st Century return comes in a new production by Christof Loy, who is also returning to Madrid after his successful staging of Strauss' Capriccio last year in this stage. In his own vision, Loy turns Rusalka into a ballet dancer, and the humans' and nymphs' world becomes the lobby of an elegant theatre, with some statues decorating the big entrance and a ticket office. This Rusalka has a leg injured, and at the beginning she rests on the bed while her three sisters dance and play throughout the lobby. There is also a rock present, the mermaid rock, on one side of the stage. So, Loy's perspective is theatre inside the theatre, the powerful attraction which artists, beautiful ballerinas have in the audience, like the mermaids used to have on the people in fairy tales. Also, human passions also happen in a theatre: love, envy, rivalry... as Loy has said, Rusalka needs to know the human world because of love, but that feeling would end up badly, when she discovers the complex relations between men and women.
In this version, Jezibaba, who works in the box office, will restore Rusalka's health by healing her injured leg, so she will be able to dance again. In the second act, a painted set at the bottom, seen from the big door opened, reveals that we are after a performance, and the painting suggest it is the Prague Opera. The ballet is an orgiastic dance between guests and servants, in which their frenetic passions are let go. The final act feature the sea rocks, a dead deer, and the big door opened, showing a clouded sky, but with some sun rays lighting, to which Rusalka seems to ascend to heaven after the Prince's death, instead to descend to the lake.
It premiered successfully on last tuesday, November 12, but I attended the dress rehearsal on November 10, so my impressions are complete different from the actual performances.
Ivor Bolton has done a great job with the orchestra, making it to sound beautifully, sometimes lento, but not boring, and most of the times shining and agile, recreating the evocative, descriptive and magic sounds of Dvorak's score. Strings gave a remarkable rendition, and seconnd and third acts reached a high level theatrical dramatism. During the premiere, which I didn't attend, the orchestra stopped the music during Act 3, due to an indisposition, related with technical problems with the nymphs scene, but after some minutes of silence, the orchestra reprised the work until the end. The Chorus, unseen in this case, gave a fantastic rendition, specially its female section in third act, melancholic and imposing when repudiating and regretting her sister's lack at the same time.
Asmik Grigorian has succeeded with her fragile, tender and at the same time strong-willing Rusalka, with a beautiful, dramatic voice which in the dress rehearsal seemed to have sung reservedly during the first act but in the remaining two she gained such power, dark tone and volume that her rendition was simply memorable, and quite tragic. In addition, her good acting and beauty contributes to her portrait of this enrapturing young mermaid, even she could dance some ballet, astonishing the audience.
If Rusalka is injured on stage, the tenor Eric Cutler is in real life. Suffering from injuries in his Achilles tendon, he had to have it operated, and as a result he sung using crutches to move during the show. His Prince is sung with his heroic-toned voice, not always sounding nicely but he reached a great high note at the end of Act One. During the remaining acts, his rendition got better and better, both singing and acting, and as well as Grigorian, his final act was sung with convincing dramatism and beauty.
Karita Mattila returns to Madrid after her iconic Katia Kabanova in 2008, edited in DVD, but now as the Princess. Her voice is past her prime, specially in the highest notes, but still able to steal the show, with a nice middle register, her low notes, but above all her amazing performance as Rusalka's rival, showing her authority and viper-like, femme fatale profile, revealing to be even a higher primadonna than Grigorian during the second act.
Katarina Dalayman, a great Brünnhilde in the 2000s, appears now as Jezibaba, in her Madrid debut. Her singing is good, and as actress she conveyed the grotesqueness, evil of her character, resuting in a great interpretation, but she seemed to have reserved her voice, leaving unclear if it was because of rehearsal or if this low-register demanding role is not suitable for her, even remaining a remarkable singer.
Bass Maxim Kuzmin-Karavaev was the big surprise of the night with his powerful, impressive and beautifully sung Vodnik. His portrayal is not of a monster, a creature from the deep waters, but a worried, moving father.
The rest of the supporting cast sung at a very good level, to mention specially baritones Manel Esteve as one of the servants and Sebastià Peris, who sung nicely the hunter. Among the nymphs, mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly revealed to have an interesting, big-volumed voice and beautiful high notes.
Christof Loy has outdone himself with this Rusalka, fitting his theatre-world vision with the enchanting fairy tale original set. Grigorian has conquered Madrid with his seductive performance, and Dvorak's masterpiece, has triumphed in a Madrid which fights for go on with its operatic life, something to be treasured in these challenging times, specially in an Europe with most of opera houses closed right now.
My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any spelling mistake.
Most of the photographs are from the internet and belong to its authors. My use of them is only cultural. If someone is uncomfortable with their use, just notify it to me.
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