Home in Paris with Rusalka

A Personal Love Story of Dvořák’s "Song to the Moon"

Bonjour, all! I’m back in Paris after a truly inspiring residence in Oxford. I had two particularly uplifting tutorials this time—these are one-on-one discussions of work with a faculty member—and left campus eager to write more. If you’re curious about Oxford’s MSt in Creative Writing, do drop me a line.

This week I’d like to discuss one of my favorite opera arias: “Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém” (“Song to the Moon”) from Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka (1900-1901). Here is a performance by Slovak soprano Lucia Popp (1939-1993) and the Munich Radio Orchestra.

I have a sentimental attachment to this particular recording because it’s the first bit of opera I ever heard. In my teens, I found a vocal classics compilation CD in a discount bin at our local Gallery of Sound. I popped it in my Walkman, and the rest was history: someday, I vowed, I would go to the opera. Unsurprisingly, the first opera ticket I purchased in Paris was for Rusalka.

Rusalka is about a water nymph, the title character, who falls in love with a human prince. The tale comes from northern Europe and was famously adapted into The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. In “Song to the Moon,” Rusalka asks the moon to reveal her love to the prince in one of the most gorgeous moments of opera history.

After the aria, Rusalka tells the witch Ježibaba that she wants to become mortal. Ježibaba warns Rusalka that she will lose her voice, and that if she doesn’t find love, both she and the lover will be eternally damned. Rusalka accepts, and the drama begins.

One of the qualities I love about “Song to the Moon” is its instrumentation. Its shimmering lyrical lines evoke the water Rusalka is swimming in. The violins mirror Rusalka’s state of restlessness and passion. I also just generally love the harp and find its place absolutely stunning throughout the whole opera.

As a singer, one of the biggest challenges in this aria is its range. In the last few bars it goes all the way from a D flat (Db4) to a high B flat (Bb5), stretching nearly two octaves. When I’m struggling with this, I remind myself how ingenious Dvořák’s writing is: Rusalka, trapped in the depths of both the water and her feelings, longs to rise up and be human, to love and be loved, a trajectory paralleled in the notes. This incredible range also makes Rusalka’s decision to forfeit her voice all the more dramatic.

To finish, I think another reason why I love this aria is simply because of its language. I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where my grandparents still used some Polish words and phrases from our ancestors. I suppose it’s unsurprising that the aria that stood out most to me on that vocal classics CD was in Czech, another Slavic language.

Salon friends, do you have a favorite recording of “Song to the Moon” to share? If you’re an opera fan, how did you first get into the genre? Does language play a role in your appreciation of vocal music? I’d love to chat about all of this with you.

I’ll leave you all this week with some exciting news:

• My dear friend Janet Skeslien Charles’s novel Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade (US) / The Librarians of Rue de Picardie (UK) is coming out this Tuesday, and I can’t recommend it more! Janet is not only an incredibly talented writer but a loyal and caring member of our writing community. You can preorder the book here.

  

• Paris friends, our Paysages Choisis recital announcement is live on Studio l’Accord Parfait’s website. You can reserve a free ticket here for either our June 7th or 9th performance at 20h. “Song to the Moon” is on the program!

• Finally, thank you all for making Salon Nouveau reach over 100 subscribers! Please do share with others if you think they’d enjoy it. Committing to the writing life isn’t always easy: your kind words and support really mean the world to me!

Have a great week, et à la prochaine !

Rachel