Pittsburgh Opera begins its 84th Season with Dvořák’s Rusalka, “Opera’s Little Mermaid"

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July 28, 2022
Chris Cox, Director of Marketing and Communications
412-281-0912 ext. 217
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Pittsburgh Opera begins its 84th Season with Dvořák’s Rusalka, “Opera’s Little Mermaid”, Sept. 17-25

Rusalka the water sprite gives the witch Ježibaba her voice in exchange for being made human. Photo by Dan Norman.

Pittsburgh Opera’s first production of its 2022–23 season is Dvořák’s Rusalka, “Opera’s Little Mermaid”, September 17-25 at the Benedum Center.

Rusalka is the Czech version of the popular fairy tale The Little Mermaid. While it has many similarities to the familiar animated movie, they are not exactly the same. First of all, her name is not Ariel, it’s Rusalka. Secondly, Rusalka is not a mermaid per se, but a water sprite, also called a water nymph. However, like the Little Mermaid, Rusalka falls in love with a human Prince. She has a witch turn her into a human in exchange for her voice. Rusalka must win and keep the Prince’s love, or else there will be disastrous consequences for them both.

Will a jealous Princess ruin Rusalka’s plan? Will Rusalka’s father be able to bail her out if things go awry? Will true love triumph?

Rusalka premiered in 1901 and has become one of the most beloved lyric fairy tales of all time. These are the first-ever performances of Rusalka in Pittsburgh Opera’s 84-year history.

Music Director Antony Walker conducts; Kristine McIntyre directs.

PERFORMANCE LOCATION/DATES/TIMES/LENGTH/LANGUAGE

Where: Benedum Center, downtown Pittsburgh

When:

Sat., September 17, 2022 * 8:00 PM
Tues., September 20, 2022 * 7:00 PM
Fri., September 23, 2022 * 7:30 PM
Sun., September 25, 2022 * 2:00 PM

Run Time: 2 hours and 50 minutes with two intermissions

Language: Sung in Czech with English supertitles projected above the stage

MEDIA EVENTS

Photo Call (Tuesday, Sept. 6, 12:30 PM) - location TBA

Full Dress Rehearsal (Thursday, Sept. 15, 7:00 PM) - Benedum Center

Email Chris Cox for details

TICKETS AND GROUP DISCOUNTS

Single tickets go on sale August 15th. As part of Pittsburgh Opera’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2022–23 season start at just $15. In addition, tickets for kids and teens ages 6–18 are half price.

For tickets call 412-456-6666, visit the Box Office at Theater Square, or online at pittsburghopera.org/tickets or CulturalDistrict.org.

Tickets as part of a subscription package are available at pittsburghopera.org/subscribe.

Pittsburgh Opera patrons can purchase their tickets with confidence, even with continuing uncertainty over the direction of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pittsburgh Opera is continuing its no-hassle refund policy for all 2022–23 operas. Pittsburgh Opera will offer full refunds for any patrons who notify us that they need to cancel their tickets at least one hour prior to their performance start time.

Pittsburgh Opera is committed to making opera accessible to all groups by providing great discounts and special benefits to group ticketholders. A group at Pittsburgh Opera can be as few as 6 people! In addition, college and university students, faculty, and staff are eligible for our Cheap Seats program – see pittsburghopera.org/CheapSeats for details. For more information about group ticket services and discounts, contact Wendy Parkulo at (412) 281-0912, ext. 213 or via email.

FUN FACTS

Fun facts about Rusalka

This is not just the first time that Pittsburgh Opera will perform Rusalka, but also the first time Pittsburgh Opera will sing an opera entirely in Czech. As always, English supertitles will be projected above the stage.
Jaroslav Kvapil wrote Rusalka’s libretto based on the Czech folktale written by Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová; it is similar-to-but-not-the-same-as Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 story The Little Mermaid.
Rusalka contains the beautiful and famous ‘Song to the Moon’, where Rusalka asks the Moon to tell the Prince of her love.

CAST AND ARTISTIC TEAM

See the Rusalka webpage for the full Cast and Artistic Team

SYNOPSIS

See the Rusalka webpage for a synopsis of the opera