Artists
Douglas Boyd – conductor
Natalya Romaniw – Rusalka
Gerard Schneider – Prince
Musa Ngqungwana – Vodník
Sky Ingram – Foreign Princess
Christine Rice – Ježibaba
John Findon – Gamekeeper
Grace Durham – Kitchen Boy
Marlena Devoe – First Nymph
Heather Lowe – Second Nymph
Stephanie Wake-Edwards – Third Nymph
Garsington Opera Chorus
Programme
Dvořák Rusalka
A new production of Dvořák’s best-loved opera, the dark fairy tale Rusalka, features Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw in the title role, and is conducted by Douglas Boyd, Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Garsington Opera.
Rusalka is the haunting fable of a water sprite who sacrifices everything when she falls in love with a human prince.
She enlists the help of a witch, entering the mortal world and giving up her voice to be with him – only to discover the true cost of love is greater still. Inspired by sources including Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, Dvořák’s sensual opera shimmers with glinting orchestral colours. Sound and silence reverberate against each other as soaring romantic melodies sweep through the eerie quiet. Reality and the supernatural collide in luscious evocations of the natural world.
Natalya Romaniw is a sensational talent, awarded both Young Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2020 and Singer of the Year at the Royal Philharmonic Society 2020 Awards. Glasgow-born conductor and former oboe virtuoso Douglas Boyd collaborates with director Jack Furness, Artistic Director of Shadwell Opera, who brings a rich theatrical flair to the narrative. Designer Tom Piper is most famous for his Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation of poppies at the Tower of London. Together, they craft a transporting fantasy with grave human intensity at its core.
Performed in Czech with English supertitles
The Philharmonia is Orchestra in Residence at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. Catch us in different performances from chamber music to opera: Philharmonia at EIF 2022.
Need to know
Prices & Discounts
£32 – £102
Concessions available
Running time:
3h 30 minutes
Booking information:
Ticketing through Edinburgh International Festival.
Priority booking from 1 April, public on sale from 8 April.