Enchantment emanates from every moment of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s evanescent production of Antonin Dvorak’s “Rusalka.”
The opera tells the story of a water nymph, Rusalka, who has fallen in love with a handsome human prince, who often bathes in her forest lake. She longs to become human and with the aid of a witch, she achieves that goal, but to do so she must forfeit her voice. If it sounds like the tale of The Little Mermaid, you’re right, but Disney didn’t write this ending.
The power in this musical drama, presented at Lyric for the very first time, comes from Dvorak’s ethereal music and the artists who sing it. In the title role is the glorious-voiced Ana Maria Martinez. The luminous Puerto Rican-born soprano not only sings with charisma and clarity, but also demonstrates stunning acting abilities as she performs in silence for almost an entire act. Her pantomime, as she struggles to walk on unsteady legs or opens her mouth in piteous, soundless cries, is as nimble as a ballerina’s and done without toe shoes. As in a ballet or a film score, the music also tells you what she is feeling.
The standout aria from “Rusalka” is the achingly beautiful “Song to the Moon,” which Martinez performs cradled in the embrace of forest branches early in the production. This is the first “Rusalka” I have ever seen; Renee Fleming’s recording of that aria is currently one of the opera world’s greatest hits.
Don’t despair, however; Martinez’s voice does return and she has two more splendid arias before the night is over.
The prince of her longing is sung impressively by handsome American tenor Brandon Jovanovich, but his character is less sympathetic. He betrays Rusalka with a foreign princess, sung well by Russian soprano Ekaterina Gubanova in her Lyric debut. His dalliance breaks Rusalka’s heart and she returns to the forest. As a human, however, she can no longer live in the dark pool and is doomed to wander homeless forever.
Her father, water goblin Vodnik, is sung by powerful American bass-baritone Eric Owens, who had the title role in Lyric’s production of “Hercules” during the 2010-2011 season. He warns her that the world of humans is treacherous, and near the end of the second act, his touching musical lament as he observes his daughter’s sad fate eerily employs harmonies from her “Song to the Moon.” It is a brilliant moment among an evening full of light and shadow.
The cast is uniformly strong. In the first act, three wood nymphs (Lauren Snouffer, J’nai Bridgesand Cynthia Hanna) sing in glowing harmony. Wood nymphs, and there are plenty, are no swans, however. They cavort, rather than dance, and for some unknown reason, director Sir David McVicar allows them nary a graceful movement.
The witch is sung by American mezzo-soprano Jill Grove, with a comic edge which relieves some of the intensity of the production. She was the hilarious witch in “Hansel and Gretel” during Lyric’s 2012-13 season, and clearly enjoyed playing such a character again.
American bass-baritone Philip Horst is the gamekeeper and pairs with the kitchen boy, a trouser role sung by Argentine-born mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack. Both have fine voices and their kitchen scene is laugh-out-loud funny. The hunter is sung ably by American baritone Anthony Clark Evans, a first-year member of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center.
Ten excellent dancers light up the party scene, and the sets by John MacFarlane are full of variety—the shimmering forest with its gigantic moon, the madcap palace kitchen with gigantic slabs of meat hanging from the rafters, the ornate party room with countless deer heads on the walls, and again the forest, where the moon no longer shines.
The Lyric Opera Orchestra is under the baton of music director Sir Andrew Davis and the musicians play Dvorak’s diaphanous score with precision and passion. The composer’s orchestration is a filagree of sound, transparent and enchanted. This is a first for Chicago and it is well worth seeing.
“Rusalka” runs through March 16 at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, For tickets, call 312-332-2244 or visit Lyric’s website. The opera is sung in Czech with English super-titles. Opera parking is available on the southwest corner of Madison and Wacker for $15.
Photo by Todd Rosenberg.
