At a time when verismo opera was all the rage, Dvorak turned to the world of fairy tales for his penultimate opera, Rusalka. Dvorak was highly influenced by both Smetana and Wagner, who were both former conductors at his provisional theater. Smetana was one of the first composers to include part of the folklore and culture of Czechoslovakia into his music. Dvorak also followed this tradition by incorporating the Slavonic dances into his musical compositions. The opera Rusalka represents this nationalistic movement by combining both the folk customs and dances of Czechoslovakia, as well as the enlightenment's concern with moving towards the mystical wonders of nature. Nature represented the simple and peaceful state of the human consciousness. People began to search for music that displayed these qualities of nature. Dvorak used nature as a theme throughout Rusalka by using Wagnerian techniques such as conservative usage of numbered opera and ornamental melodies.
The musical structure was flexible, more deeply expressive, less laden with coloratura, and more varied in the musical resources. The importance of the orchestration is made apparent in the beginning of the aria of "Song to the Moon" by dramatically evoking the night. The harmonic depth of the accompaniment was beautiful not only in its lyrical mastery, but also in setting the scene of a mystical forest. His bewitching tones depict the moonlit forest which creates absolute silence and stillness over the audience.
The libretto, written by Jaroslav Kvapil, combines elements from three fairy tales, Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid, Friedrich de la Motte Fouque's Undine, and Gerhart Hautpmann's The Sunken Bell. These lyrics also display the nationalistic usage of Bohemian mythological stories and in its unique descriptions of nature which was characterized during the enlightenment. Jaroslav Kvapil, the librettist, kept with the most modern artistic trends in his approach of the finde'siecle style towards impressionism. The immense dramatic conception is reflected in the structure of the work as a whole. The words described not only the musical setting of the opera, but also combine the colorful and musical imagination of Dvorak.
In the beginning of the aria, Dvorak uses large arpeggiated chords to invite the audience into the fairy tale land of Rusalka. The good-natured old Spirit of the Lake, Jezibab, is enjoying the singing of the Wood Nymphs, when his daughter, Rusalka, approaches him sadly. She tells him that she has fallen in love with a handsome young prince and wishes to become human in order to know the bliss of union with him. Deeply saddened, the Spirit of the Lake consents to her request, and leaves. All alone, Rusalka sings this beautiful aria, confiding in the moon the secrets of her longing.
[notes by Martha Kate Lind]
Silver moon upon the deep dark sky,
Through the vast night pierce your rays.
This sleeping world you wander by,
Smiling on men's homes and ways.
Oh moon ere past you glide, tell me,
Tell me, oh where does my loved one bide?
Oh moon ere past you glide, tell me
Tell me, oh where does my loved one bide?
Tell him, oh tell him, my silver moon,
Mine are the arms that shall hold him,
That between waking and sleeping he may
Think of the love that enfolds him,
May between waking and sleeping
Think of the love that enfolds him.
Light his path far away, light his path,
Tell him, oh tell him who does for him stay!
Human soul, should it dream of me, Let my memory wakened be.
Moon, moon, oh do not wane, do not wane,
Moon, oh moon, do not wane....