You know how actors say, “What I really want to do is direct”? Well, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was renowned for his symphonies, concertos and chamber music, but what he really wanted to do was… write operas. And he did. Ten of them, in fact. But none made a large enough dent in the classical consciousness to grant Dvorak his goal of being thought of as an opera composer.
Why’s that? Well, you can find several clues in Minnesota Opera’s revival of Dvorak’s “Rusalka,” which opened Saturday night at St. Paul’s Ordway Music Theater. But you can also be reminded that the man knew how to write a tune and shape an orchestration. You’ll also find ample evidence that — when you combine strong singing and acting with an imaginative design — even a not-so-great opera can be well worthwhile.
Not that there isn’t some greatness in “Rusalka.” It features one of the most transportingly beautiful arias in all of opera, the title character’s “Song to the Moon,” as well as some heart-melting music as the opera reaches its inevitably sad conclusion. But Dvorak took on an inexperienced librettist in Jaroslav Kvapil, and “Rusalka” suffers from a threadbare plot with minimal dramatic tension and nary a twist to be found.
The story might remind you of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” in that it’s about a creature of the water (a nymph, in this case) who longs to be human because she’s fallen for a prince who visits the lake. She gets her wish, but with the unfortunate side effect of not being able to speak or sing (a questionable choice for an opera) and the catch that, if she chooses to go back to life underwater, it will mean almost certain death for her beloved.
Throw in the fact that the first act closes just as their relationship is beginning and the second act opens after the flame has fizzled and you have a love story minus the love.
But director Eric Simonson clearly sees these obstacles and finds impressive ways to work around them. This is the same production that he directed for Minnesota Opera in 2008 — that is, the same scenic and costume design — but there’s far more movement this time, choreographer Heidi Spesard-Noble inserting many an engaging dance interlude, some incorporating lifts and spins that would have fit in fine next door at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
And the minor characters are far more colorful than last time, Ben Wager a commanding presence as a wise water gnome with a richly textured bass voice and Marianne Cornetti lending layers of compassion and eccentricity to the spell-spinning witch.
Yet it would all be for naught if there weren’t a strong title character at the center, and Kelly Kaduce provides that as a dreadlocked Rusalka with a sweet, soaring soprano voice and expressive physicality, one who makes every aria absorbing.
Even though Dvorak and Kvapil short-circuit her prince’s character development, AJ Glueckert — stepping in on short notice for the ailing Khachatur Badalyan — brought complexity and a delicate touch to the role.
And the projections created by Wendall K. Harrington are marvelous, plunging us beneath the waves, deep into the forest and skyward toward that glowing moon that inspires the opera’s most memorable moment. Coming on the heels of Minnesota Opera’s projection-driven “Magic Flute,” it makes one wonder if set designers will become an endangered species.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at robhubbard@pioneerpress.com.
What: Minnesota Opera’s “Rusalka”
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul
Tickets: $200-$25, available at 612-333-6669 or mnopera.org
Capsule: Design and dance enliven a flawed but sometimes beautiful opera.
