HGO excels with unsentimental 'Rusalka'

Houston Grand Opera scores one of its greatest triumphs of recent seasons with its revelatory production of Dvorak's enchanting "Rusalka."

Magical transformations abound - and we're not refering just to the lyric fairy tale's plot about a lovesick water nymph who risks becoming human in hopes of winning the love of a prince she adores. More crucial is the production's musical and theatrical alchemy, transforming a somewhat underrated work into one that plainly deserves to be ranked among the very finest romantic operas.

Gifted soprano Ana María Martínez, a favorite of Houston audiences, attains a new level of artistry with her splendidly sung, movingly acted performance in the title role - a marvelous part with unique aspects and particular challenges, all of which Martínez brings off beautifully.

Rising star tenor Brian Jagde makes an impressive Houston debut as Rusalka's ardent (yet unfortunately fickle) Prince, his soaring voice matched by a commanding presence.

Harry Bicket conducts Dvorak's lovely score with spirit and sensitivity, and the orchestra's expert playing unleashes all the music's colors, whether vibrant or delicate.

Making everything come together beautifully is director Melly Still's production, originally created for Glyndebourne Opera Festival and carefully re-created here by revival director Donna Stirrup, again with invaluable contributions from movement director Rick Nodine.

This evocative and affecting staging captures the tale's otherworldly atmosphere, making great use of Rae Smith's striking production design and ingenious costumes. The stylized treatment creates some memorable stage pictures - and the ingenious touches are never arbitrary, always suiting the content and enhancing its impact.

A particularly shrewd choice is the use of dance throughout, as in the corps of black-clad dancers who represent the water, swirling around characters and carrying them when they swim. Every stage action is particularly well-synchronized and well-suited to the music.

Martínez makes a wonderful Rusalka, her yearning and heartache passionately expressed in her singing and every other aspect of the performance. Her rich full soprano, with its dark timbre, conveys all the wistful vulnerability of this uniquely sympathetic heroine. The substantial stretch at the opera's center, when the heroine cannot sing because she has sacrificed her voice to become human, might be considered a liability for an opera. Yet Martínez's pantomime in her silent scenes is of such a high order of artistry - the gestures, moves and expressions so poignant - that we never lose the connection with the character and her feelings. And when, having lost her Prince to the predatory Foreign Princess, Rusalka regains her voice late in Act 2, the effect is all the more dramatic.

Jagde exudes dynamism in his voice and manner as the heroic but all too human Prince, convincing in his rhapsodic ardor for Rusalka and also in his bewilderment at her silence and seemingly distant behavior.

Returning to the role he sang in HGO's 1991 "Rusalka," Richard Paul Fink is more forceful than ever as water goblin Vodnik, Rusalka's bossy father, forever issuing his dire prophesies for the heroine. He brings a raw elemental power to the role, a genuinely amphibious aura not quite human.

Jill Grove's commanding Jezibaba is a hoot, the blustery babushka of a witch who effects Rusalka's fateful transformation at a terrible price. She snaps and snarls each note and syllable, investing every one with sass, bite and wry humor.

Maida Hundeling sings the Foreign Princess with cool command and composure; her poise and self-importance making it all too clear this meanie will steal the Prince from poor Rusalka. Just how much we don't like her proves how effective she is in the role.

This serious-minded, heartfelt yet unsentimental treatment reveals "Rusalka" as a sophisticated fairy tale for grown-ups who know better than to expect a happy ending, but may hope at least for a transformative experience - which is what Rusalka and her Prince get.

As the story demonstrates, it's bad news for a mortal to fall for a water nymph. But I cannot imagine anyone in attendance not falling in love with "Rusalka."