Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Rusalka

Rusalka Week Water Spirits on “The Lost Chord”

What precautions have you taken against Rusalka Week? None, you say? (Crosses self)

There are innumerable pieces of music written about water spirits – sirens, naiads, lorelei, undines, mermaids, and melusinas. This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll sample just a couple of these for Rusalka Week. Rusalka Week begins on Pentecost, 50 days after Easter (i.e. today).

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka is a spirit that dwells at the bottom of a river or a lake. She lures unsuspecting men with her song, invariably resulting in a watery doom. Rusalki are never more dangerous than in early June, when the spirits roam free. Those who die in the week leading up to Pentecost are especially prone to becoming rusalki.

Rusalka Week plays a role in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, “May Night,” drawn from Nikolai Gogol’s collection, “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka.” Alexander Dargomizhsky’s opera, “Rusalka,” is based on a dramatic poem by Pushkin. And the best known of the bunch, Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” was inspired by Czech fairy tales of Karel Jaromir Erben and Bozena Nemcova.

But we won’t be listening to any of these. (We’ve treated Rimsky and Dargomizhsky in the past.) Instead, we’ll have a flute sonata from 1882 by Carl Reinecke that bears the subtitle “Undine,” an allusion to a novella by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, very popular among the Romantics. Fouqué’s “Undine” tells the tale of a water spirit who marries a knight in order to gain a soul.

Then we’ll hear the complete ballet, “Les Sirènes,” from 1946, by Lord Berners. Berners, notorious for his sense of the absurd (a horse was a regular guest at his indoor tea parties) was a talented composer, writer, and painter. “Les Sirènes,” after a scenario by Frederick Ashton, features mermaids combing their hair and singing on rocks at a seaside resort, while on shore, sirens of another sort behave coquettishly.

I hope you’ll join me – you shouldn’t be out wandering during Rusalka Week anyway – for “Come on in, the Water’s Fine,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

IMAGE: “Rusalka” by Anna Vinogradova

June 5, 2022
Water Spirits in Music Rusalka Week

There have been innumerable pieces of music written about water spirits – sirens, naiads, lorelei, undines, mermaids and melusinas. This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll sample just a couple of these for Rusalka Week.

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka is a spirit that dwells at the bottom of a river or lake. She lures unsuspecting men with her song, invariably resulting in a watery doom. Rusalki are never more dangerous than in early June, when the spirits roam free.

Rusalka Week plays a role in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, “May Night,” drawn from Gogol’s collection, “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka.” Alexander Dargomizhsky’s opera, “Rusalka,” is based on a dramatic poem by Pushkin. And the best known of the bunch, Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” was inspired by Czech fairy tales of Karel Jaromir Erben and Bozena Nemcova.

Of course, we won’t be listening to any of these. (We’ve treated Rimsky and Dargomizhsky in the past.) Instead, we’ll have a flute sonata from 1882, by Carl Reinecke, which bears the subtitle “Undine,” an allusion to a novella by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which was very popular among the Romantics. Fouqué’s “Undine” tells the tale of a water spirit who marries a knight in order to gain a soul.

Then we’ll hear the complete ballet, “Les Sirènes,” from 1946, by Lord Berners. Berners, notorious for his sense of the absurd (a horse was a regular guest at his indoor tea parties) was a talented composer, writer and painter. “Les Sirènes,” after a scenario by Frederick Ashton, features mermaids combing their hair and singing on rocks at a seaside resort, where sirens of another sort behave coquettishly on shore.

I hope you’ll join me – you shouldn’t be out wandering during Rusalka Week anyway – for “Come on in, the Water’s Fine,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

I notice Dargomizhky’s “Rusalka” will be performed at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, as part of a Russian Opera Workshop, August 1-3. More information here:

http://www.russianoperaworkshop.com/

(Painting by Anna Vinogradova)

June 4, 2017
Surviving Rusalka Week with Slavic Opera

What precautions have you taken against Rusalka Week? None, you say? (Crosses self.)

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka is a spirit that dwells at the bottom of a river or lake. She lures unsuspecting men with her song, invariably resulting in a watery doom. Rusalki are never more dangerous than in early June, when the spirits roam free.

There have been innumerable pieces of music written about water spirits – sirens, naiads, lorelei, undines, mermaids and melusinas. One of the best known of the bunch is Dvořák’s “Rusalka,” inspired by Czech fairy tales of Karel Jaromir Erben and Božena Němcová. Here is its most famous aria, the “Song to the Moon,” sung by Lucia Popp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPTh_q7GYs

Alexander Dargomizhsky, one of the pioneers of Russian nationalism in music, also composed an opera called “Rusalka.” His was based on a dramatic poem by Pushkin. Chaliapin recorded selections, but the complete opera is as rare as hen’s teeth.

Rusalka Week is the backdrop for Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, “May Night,” drawn from Gogol’s collection, “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka.” The Nikolai Golovanov recording from 1948 is still the one to beat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6PjqmjQ6qk

Of course, it being YouTube, you will have to search for plot synopses and libretti yourself. You should have plenty of time to do so. You shouldn’t be out wandering at night during Rusalka Week anyway.

June 6, 2016
Water Spirits in Music Rusalka Week Special

There have been innumerable pieces of music written about water spirits – sirens, naiads, lorelei, undines, mermaids and melusinas. This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll sample just a couple of these for Rusalka Week.

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka is a spirit that dwells at the bottom of a river or lake. She lures unsuspecting men with her song, invariably resulting in a watery doom. Rusalki are never more dangerous than in early June, when the spirits roam free.

Rusalka Week plays a role in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, “May Night,” drawn from Gogol’s collection, “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka.” Alexander Dargomizhsky’s opera, “Rusalka,” is based on a dramatic poem by Pushkin. And the best known of the bunch, Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” was inspired by Czech fairy tales of Karel Jaromir Erben and Bozena Nemcova.

Of course, we won’t be listening to any of these. (We’ve treated Rimsky and Dargomizhsky in the past.) Instead, we’ll have a flute sonata from 1882, by Carl Reinecke, which bears the subtitle “Undine,” an allusion to a novella by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which was very popular among the Romantics. Fouqué’s Undine tells the tale of a water spirit who marries a knight in order to gain a soul.

Then we’ll hear the complete ballet, “Les Sirènes,” from 1946, by Lord Berners. Berners, notorious for his sense of the absurd (a horse was a regular guest at his indoor tea parties) was a talented composer, writer and painter. “Les Sirènes,” on a scenario devised by Frederick Ashton, features mermaids combing their hair and singing on rocks at a seaside resort, where sirens of another sort behave coquettishly on shore.

That’s “Come on in, the Water’s Fine.” PLEASE NOTE: Due to the egregious length of the Sunday opera (Wagner’s “Parsifal,” beginning at 3 p.m. ET), “The Lost Chord” will begin one hour later than usual, at 11. The repeat will air Thursday at the same time.

You don’t want to be out walking during Rusalka Week anyway, so why don’t you stay indoors and enjoy the show? Or listen to it later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.

May 31, 2014

Tag Cloud

RECENT POSTS