Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)     "Song to the Moon", from Rusalka

First performed in Prague in 1901, "Rusalka" was the eighth of Dvorak's nine operas and has remained his most popular. The story was adapted by Jaroslav Kvapil from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" - relocated to Bohemia, with a Czech water-spirit or Rusalka in the principal role. Rusalka loves a mortal prince; a witch grants her humanity, but the romance doesn't work out and she returns, heartbroken, to the water where she joins her beloved in death. The "Song to the Moon" comes from Act I. From her woodland pool, Rusalka sings of her longing in the shimmering moonlight - "Silver moon upon the deep, dark sky.tell me, tell me, oh where does my loved one bide?"

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