Rusalka Tickets

Rusalka is a famous opera, composed by the iconic Antonin Dvorak, one of the greatest composers of the nineteenth century. His first opera was Alfred, premiered in 1870, with this opera being his ninth opera. It is also his second last opera, right before Armida. It premiered in 1901, to much critical and commercial acclaim. It is an opera to catch live, via Rusalka tickets. Antonin Dvorak's second opera was King and Charcoal burner, premiered in 1874, followed closely by The Stubborn Lovers, released the same year. In 1875, his fourth opera, Vanda, premiered, followed The Cunning Peasant in 1877. In 1882, Dimitru came out, followed five years later by The Jacobin and then The Devil and Kate in 1898.

Rusalka is regarded today as one of the operas composed by Antonin Dvorak. Its Czech libretto was the work of Jaroslav Kvapil, a famous poet, and is based upon the tales of Bozena Nemcova and Karel Jaromir Erben. Today, this is one of the most popular operas from the Czech Republic. It is named after a water sprite that inhabited rivers and lakes in Slavic mythology and fairy tales. Before composing operas, Antonin Dvorak had played the viola while a student and then a musician, for the Estates Theatre and the Provisional Theatre's orchestras. He had experience performing operas by the likes of Smetana, Mozart, Rossini, Weber, Verdi, Lortzing and Wagner.

Not only is Rusalka one of the greatest operas to come out of the Czech Republic, it is also one of the most beautiful and melodious compositions in the history of operas. One song and part of the opera, Song to the Moon, is performed regularly and has also been recorded alone. It has also been heavily used in movie soundtracks. The libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil was written well before he met Antonin Dvorak and was similar to Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and Friedrich de la Motte Fourque's Undine. Described as a sad and modern fairy tale, it was much similar to Jaroslav Kvapil's Princessa Pampeliska, a play.

He completed the libretto in 1899 and then began looking for a composer to work on it. One thing led to another and then he met Antonin Dvorak, who was already a fan of his stories. He composed it right after finishing his famous four symphonic poems, based upon Erben's folk ballads. The opera also tells the story of Rusalka, through motifs, including her damnation, describing the life of a water sprite and the forest she lived in. Regarded as on of Dvorak's best works, it is also one of the most fantastic operas to date. It makes use of theatre like styles and includes comedy, dance sections and even uses music to depict the forest and the lake.

This is also an opera that is filled with melodic patterns and complete with amazing orchestration. It has been praised by many, with the Prince and Rusalka duet described as the 'most glorious minutes in all opera'. The opera has been praised as majestic and solemn, as well as described as a 'vivid, profoundly disturbing drama'. The very first performance of the opera took place in Prague, with Ruzena Maturova acting the parts of Rusalka. It was instantly a hit in the Czech Republic, going on to gain fame all over Europe and then spreading to the US.

Outside the Czech Republic, the first performance of the opera was in Ljubljana. It was also performed in 1910 in Vienna and then in 1935 in Stuttgart. In the UK, it was first performed in 1959 at Sadler's Wells Theatre. It has been revived several times since then in the UK, such as the English National Opera's 1983 production.

Antonin Dvorak is an iconic Czech composer, known for works inspired by folk music and folk tales. His works, described as folk influenced symphonies, have risen to much prominence today. As a musician, he began playing music at a young age, composing his first piece while twenty years old. At a young age, he attracted the attention of Johannes Brahms, as well as that of Eduard Haslick. He rose to fame in the UK for his cantata, Stabat Mater, as well as conducting in Russia. He was also a professor at the Prague Conservatory. He also became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, located in New York City. He went on to become a composer many dub the 'most versatile composer of his time'. His operas are worth catching live, after purchasing Rusalka tickets.