On 14th and 22nd November, two guided tours will be held at the Palace of the Counts of Osorno in Pasarón de la Vera (Cáceres) as a parallel activity to the premiere of Rusalka, by Antonin Dvořák, a new production of the Teatro Real, co-produced with the Säschsische Staatsoper in Dresden, the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, where it will be presented after its premiere in Madrid, between 12nd and 27th January.
Exclusively, and in groups of six, the legend within its walls will be revealed, which, as in Rusalka, tells a story of impossible loves. Those who wish to participate in this activity -subject to registration- or receive more information, can send an email to admin@itineracarolusv.eu; this activity is part of the collaboration agreement between the Cooperation Network of the Routes of Emperor Charles V and the Teatro Real de Madrid. It should also be remembered that Pasaron de la Vera also treasures another legend related to the time of Emperor Charles V, namely The Legend of Magdalena, which relates this girl, daughter of the lord of the town, to the bastard son of Emperor Charles V.
Rusalka, premiered in Prague in 1901, was the penultimate of Antonín's eleven operas Dvořák (1841-1904) and undoubtedly the most famous of all those he composed. The libretto, by the poet and playwright Jaroslav Kvapil, is based on the Central European legend that inspired Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's Undine (1811) and Hans Christian Andersen's short story The Little Mermaid (1837), in which a water nymph decides to leave her water world at any cost to pursue the prince she loves.
The score, which subtly beats with the influence of Wagner and the currents of Central European musical nationalism, interweaves different leitmotifs and themes from Bohemian folklore with a different orchestration to represent the world of nature and spirits -with greater harmonic richness and a diaphanous and delicate timbre palette- and the world of men, with a more conventional and darker instrumentation.
