Dvorak: Rusalka, Op. 114

“Whatever reservations one might have about the production, the performance as a whole is remarkable. The cast has clearly bought into the producer's concept and they deliver a devastating ensemble performance. Kristine Opolais as Rusalka is vocally superb and acts magnificently..Tomáš Hanus draws some wonderful playing from the Bavarian State Orchestra and paces the musical-dramatic flow flawlessly.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 ****

“In Martin Kusej’s brilliantly executed, up-to-the-minute interpretation of Dvorák’s fairy tale, first seen in Munich a year ago, Rusalka is the victim of a psychopathic abductor (the water goblin), irretrievably damaged in body and mind...Opolais gives a harrowing performance, at the head of a strong cast” Financial Times, 17th September 2011 *****

“The grim modern tale is acted out with undeniable intensity. Kristine Opolais's Rusalka may not have the vocal beauty of some but she gives her all in a moving portrayal...Vogt is almost perfectly cast, capturing equally the poetic naivety and Wagnerian grandeur of Dvorak's music. There could be no more frightening Fritzl/Water Goblin than Günther Groissböck...The conductor, Tomáš Hanus, paces the score with energy” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“[Kusej imposes] on Dvorak's work a harrowingly contemporary sexual violence. This is in its way a riveting conception, although it eliminates every trace of romance from the opera...Opolais's Rusalka exudes all-out commitment. The young Latvian soprano moves, acts and sings beautifully...Singing with velvety tone of imposing breadth, Gunther Groissbock proves terrifyingly convincing in putting across Kusej's dissolute, sexually brutal view of the Water Goblin.” International Record Review, September 2011

“Some scenes are almost unwatchable…But it's superbly done and is notable for a brave, perhaps career-best performance from Kristine Opolais in the title role. Klaus Florian Vogt is her emotionally insensitive Prince; Gunther Groissböck her truly horrifying father. It's forcefully conducted by Tomáš Hanus, too.” The Guardian, 8th December 2011 ***

“Not for the faint-hearted, Martin Kusej’s 2010 Munich production...transposes Dvorák’s water nymphs and goblins to the living-nightmare contemporary world of Josef Fritzl...there’s no denying the power of the staging. The soprano Kristine Opolais is a revelation in the title role and the music outstanding under Tomas Hanus’s baton.” The Times, 13th August 2011 ****

“Whatever reservations one might have about the production, the performance as a whole is remarkable. The cast has clearly bought into the producer's concept and they deliver a devastating ensemble performance. Kristine Opolais as Rusalka is vocally superb and acts magnificently..Tomáš Hanus draws some wonderful playing from the Bavarian State Orchestra and paces the musical-dramatic flow flawlessly.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 ****

“In Martin Kusej’s brilliantly executed, up-to-the-minute interpretation of Dvorák’s fairy tale, first seen in Munich a year ago, Rusalka is the victim of a psychopathic abductor (the water goblin), irretrievably damaged in body and mind...Opolais gives a harrowing performance, at the head of a strong cast” Financial Times, 17th September 2011 *****

“The grim modern tale is acted out with undeniable intensity. Kristine Opolais's Rusalka may not have the vocal beauty of some but she gives her all in a moving portrayal...Vogt is almost perfectly cast, capturing equally the poetic naivety and Wagnerian grandeur of Dvorak's music. There could be no more frightening Fritzl/Water Goblin than Günther Groissböck...The conductor, Tomáš Hanus, paces the score with energy” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

“[Kusej imposes] on Dvorak's work a harrowingly contemporary sexual violence. This is in its way a riveting conception, although it eliminates every trace of romance from the opera...Opolais's Rusalka exudes all-out commitment. The young Latvian soprano moves, acts and sings beautifully...Singing with velvety tone of imposing breadth, Gunther Groissbock proves terrifyingly convincing in putting across Kusej's dissolute, sexually brutal view of the Water Goblin.” International Record Review, September 2011

“Some scenes are almost unwatchable…But it's superbly done and is notable for a brave, perhaps career-best performance from Kristine Opolais in the title role. Klaus Florian Vogt is her emotionally insensitive Prince; Gunther Groissböck her truly horrifying father. It's forcefully conducted by Tomáš Hanus, too.” The Guardian, 8th December 2011 ***

“Not for the faint-hearted, Martin Kusej’s 2010 Munich production...transposes Dvorák’s water nymphs and goblins to the living-nightmare contemporary world of Josef Fritzl...there’s no denying the power of the staging. The soprano Kristine Opolais is a revelation in the title role and the music outstanding under Tomas Hanus’s baton.” The Times, 13th August 2011 ****

“ENO's classic staging of Dvořák's dark fairy-tale receives a Freudian treatment in Pountney's evocative production. Elder conducts an excellent cast.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 ****

“The power-house regime of music director Mark Elder and stage director David Pountney at ENO created many imaginative productions, of which this Rusalka was among the finest. They set the fairytale opera in an Edwardian nursery full of toys, with the Watergnome as Rusalka's grandfather in a wheelchair and the watersprite first seen on a swing with her feet bound together, very much an Alice in Wonderland figure. The Witch is a wicked aunt, sinister in black as she pronounces her curses: when Rusalka chooses human form, she snarls: 'You'll be dumb for evermore!' The concept works well, with suggestions that it is all just a dream. Motivations, characterisation and storyline are clarified and the fantasy is intensified. In the title-role Eilene Hannan, with her clear, bright soprano, sings powerfully, and John Treleaven as the Prince shows no sign of strain, even if he does not cut a very romantic figure. Rodney Macann as the Watergnome tends to steal the show, his dark, incisive bass very characterful. Ann Howard is wonderfully menacing as the Witch, while the fluttering vibrato of Phyllis Cannan as the Foreign Princess adds to the exotic image (in Act 2, when most of the characters are dressed in white, she stands out in a crimson gown). The three Woodsprites are lively, and incidental characters are well taken.
Mark Elder draws warm incisive playing from the orchestra, adding to the dramatic impact and underpinning the moving final scene, when the Prince kisses Rusalka, knowing it will mean his death.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010