Rusalka and Smetana's The Bartered Bride are the two most famous operas in Czechoslovakia, but not well known elsewhere in the world.
(Few appreciate Dvorak wrote 10 operas.)
Renee Fleming, the American superstar diva, has brought Rusalka to some international public attention over 25 years by her fine interpretations of the opera's Song to the Moon.
Her fine performance in this DVD directs more deserved attention to the lovelorn water nymph that has become the singer's favourite leading role.
This HD production by the Met, with a strong supporting cast, was recorded live in New York last year.
The opera is based on a tale about a water nymph (half woman and half fish) doomed by her love for a human prince.
Its very sad ending makes it inherently a psychological drama.
Rusalka's father the Water Gnome senses the danger.
The Water Spirit and the witch Jezibaba are involved trying to preserve the nymph, whose inability to communicate with or respond to the Prince suggests a kind of sexual frigidity.
To complicate matters the arrival of a Foreign Princess comes into the plot as the ''other woman''.
Conductor of the Met Orchestra and Chorus Yannick Nezet-Seguin applauds in the informative booklet: ''Anything sung by Renee Fleming becomes the most gorgeous music. The creamy tone of her voice and her peerless control of the musical line bring out the exquisite lyrical writing of Dvorak's music, and the various shadings she is able to create with her voice express the character's complexity perfectly.''
Verdict: Passionate but shocking tale, excellent voices.
