DVD + Blu-Ray:
Dvořák's Rusalka at The Royal Opera House 2023

Directed by Ann Yee and Natalie Abrahami, conducted by Semyon Bychkov and starring Asmik Grigorian.

Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a Prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world – a world that does not love her back.

Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee create a poetic, contemporary staging of Dvořák’s lyric fairy tale, revealing our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity’s attempts to own and tame it. Semyon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast featuring Asmik Grigorian in the title role.

"... a superb cast with no weak links ... On the podium Semyon Bychkov was equally responsive to the folksy lilt and expansive lyricism in this glorious score. Annemarie Woods supplied striking costumes and Paule Constable evocative lighting to complete the five-woman team responsible for this remarkable feminist-orientated and incidentally ecologically sustainable production." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)

"Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian has a voice in a thousand. Then – first heard in the distance – comes the voice of the prince, British tenor David Butt Philip, a sweetly expressive foil to the protagonist." (The Independent ★★★)

"Ann Yee and Natalie Abrahami’s thoughtful and effective new production shapes Dvorák’s opera into a tale of mankind versus nature. A first-rate cast is matched by Semyon Bychkov in the pit.

Asmik Grigorian’s first Rusalka in the UK doesn’t disappoint: her polished-steel soprano glints and flashes" (The Guardian ★★★★)

Genre Opera
Original title Rusalka
Composer Antonin Dvořák
Stage Director Natalie Abrahami & Ann Yee
Conductor Semyon Bychkov
Recording location The Royal Opera House
Orchestra / Band The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Royal Opera Chorus
Production year 2023
TV Director Bridget Caldwell
Sets Chloe Lamford
Costumes Annemarie Woods
Soloist Asmik Grigorian
Soloist David Butt Philip
Soloist Aleksei Isaev
Soloist Emma Bell
Soloist Sarah Connolly
Soloist Ross Ramgobin
Soloist Hongni Wu