Antonín
Dvořák* enjoys a well-deserved reputation today as one of the great
"natural" composers. His exceptionally successful career owed as
much to his outstanding gift for melody as to his ability to overcome his
lack of musical upbringing and, through sheer hard work, to make up for
a relatively meager formal education. This great reputation is based,
almost exclusively, on five symphonies, three concerti, much chamber music,
songs and a few choral works. Opera and Dvořák are not frequently
heard in the same breath! It would be stretching the truth too much
to suggest that Dvořák always considered himself an opera composer, yet
it is a fact that opera was his great love. In fact, he wrote ten
operas (about half of these should properly be considered operetta) and
several other stage works. Back home in his beloved Bohemia (after
several long stays in the United States and elsewhere), he devoted all
his composition time to Czech subjects: almost all of it opera. Indeed,
just two months before his death, he said "As long as God gives me health,
I want to devote all my powers to the creation of opera. I do not
write opera from a desire for glory but because I consider it the most
beneficial for the people. This music is listened to by the broad
masses, whereas when I compose a symphony I might have to wait years to
get it performed." In the 19th century of Europe, opera had a following
not only as musical theater does today, but also a share of the audiences
that today might prefer to attend a rock concert. In any case, he
lacked the discernment of good and bad librettos which Verdi possessed
and many of his operas therefore do not have the dramatic interest to be
of much interest today. The one clear exception is his sole representative
in the opera repertoires of today: Rusalka. Not only did he
work with a good libretto, but he was still at the peak of his musical
abilities. The result is a wonderful opera which is almost neglected
outside the Czech Republic, where it is accorded the highest honor.
Dvořák had been born in 1841 in rural Bohemia (the western half of what is now the Czech Republic), about twenty miles from Prague. Unlike so many other composers, he came from very humble origins and, but for some very lucky circumstances, he might never have made it as a composer and most probably would have spent his life, like his father, butchering meat and serving the region's famous beer. In fact, although separated by a generation and about 400 miles, his background was remarkably similar to that of one of the greatest opera composers: Giuseppe Verdi. Of further interest is that only 70 miles S.E. and just one generation later could be found at the local liquor store a boy who would become perhaps the greatest opera conductor ever: Gustav Mahler. Indeed, among the best-known 19th century composers, these three are the only ones with peasant origins, although each of their fathers had managed to become innkeepers (strictly speaking Mahler's father sold slivovice – plum brandy – from his own distillery) . Like Verdi and Mahler, Dvořák was sent off to a larger town to broaden his horizons. In Dvořák's case, this was primarily for him to learn German since, even more than Verdi's Lombardy, Bohemia was controlled by Austria, so that the ability to speak German was very important. He proved to be a passable linguist but his teacher discovered his true talent: music. As with the others, the next major step in his career took him to the capital city, in his case Prague. Lest any fans of that other great opera composer, and contemporary of Verdi, Richard Wagner, feel that he has been ignored, let us note that his birthplace was just 110 miles N.W. of Dvořák's and that his music was one of the greatest influencers of Dvořák's, especially the early operas. He didn't share the same humble origins as the others, however.
Although he did fairly well at the Organ school, Dvořák graduated into as much obscurity as he had known before. The next ten years were a struggle for him – he scraped (literally) a meager living as a violinist/violist in a theater orchestra, and spent his scant free time studying scores. It was during this period of playing in the pit, that his love of opera really developed. Recognition for Dvořák came slowly. By the time he was forty, he had a modest reputation, at least in central Europe. A few years later he started on his international career, first with several visits to England, where he was very popular. Compared with a century before when Mozart journeyed to London, Dvořák was able to ride in one of his beloved trains in comparable comfort.
However great his musical talents and love of opera, he was very much dependent on finding a good libretto in Czech, not always an easy task, as noted above. Fortunately, this time, he was offered an excellent libretto – Rusalka – by the young poet Jaroslav Kvapil (1868-1950) very much in the Czech tradition. Although the story was inspired chiefly by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, which Kvapil read while on vacation in Denmark, we should not lose sight of the fact that Andersen himself was not necessarily the originator of his collection of fairy tales. In fact, there is a similar slavic folk tale whose setting is more like that of Rusalka. Other influences in the story are of French and German origin. Perhaps the most obvious difference from the Andersen story is the setting: for a nation without ocean, it is not surprising that we find our protagonists in glades and ponds of the Bohemian forests. You could be forgiven therefore for characterizing Rusalka as "The Little Mermaid in the Woods". Note however that Rusalka does not end happily like the Disney version (Ariel marries Prince Eric and they live happily ever after), or even neutrally like the Andersen version (Mermaid refuses to kill Prince who then marries foreign princess while mermaid becomes a kind of fairy). In fact, in keeping with the traditions of great opera, we expect at least one of our heros and heroines to die tragically, preferably both, and in each other's arms! For details of the ending and indeed the whole story of Rusalka, see synopsis and table of equivalent characters.
In the style of Wagner, the composer has given each character a musical representation or leitmotif (sometimes more than one), although here these themes are not slavishly repeated at every possible entrance or exit. The first few bars (cello) of the short overture introduce one of the Watersprite (Vodnik) themes. This is immediately followed (upper strings and woodwinds) with a lovely flowing melody representative of Rusalka herself. Later we hear the hunting horn call which represents the Prince (and is also sung by his companion the hunter). Following the overture, the proximity of Ježibaba's (the witch) cottage is depicted by introducing the witch theme (high woodwinds), quickly followed by the "Ho-ho-ho" music of the dryads. Apart from the exquisite music for the heroine, and the rather heroic, but also passionate, Prince music, the scoring for the witch scenes really stands out – especially the spell music which follows soon after Rusalka's lovely Oh silv'ry silent Moon. Note particularly the sumptuous tones of the bass clarinet in both of these passages. Another character who is wonderfully represented is Vodnik (bass) who, in keeping more perhaps in the Slavic tradition than the Italian, is given some beautiful arias - particularly one in Act II where he sings together with the chorus. The score was begun in April 1900 and completed by the year's end. The first performance on 31st March 1901 in Prague was a great success and established Rusalka immediately as its creator's most popular opera – and one which deserves to see the light of day outside Central Europe rather more than it does – look out for revivals to mark the 100th anniversary!
Table of equivalent characters:
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Index of
On-line SPM Program Notes
© This page copyright 1999 by Robin Hillyard and Symphony Pro Musica.
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