“Are you human, or are you a fairy tale?” The water nymph Rusalka is in love with a prince. Only if she is transformed into a human can she be united with him. But the witch Ježibaba binds this spell to conditions: Rusalka must remain silent, and if the prince no longer loves her, she must kill him. The two plan to marry, but the prince is already troubled by her eternal silence, and soon he succumbs to the seduction of another woman. Rejected, Rusalka returns to the lake. When the prince shows remorse, the curse demands its price: one final kiss brings him death.

Antonín Dvořák’s lyrical fairy tale, premiered in Prague in 1901, combines the magical sounds of Impressionism and late Romanticism. Under the musical direction of Modestas Pitrenas, Nadja Loschky’s production is presented for the first time at Offenbachplatz.