Water Nymph

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany

Copyright

1977

Production year

1977

Premiere

29 September 1978

Runtime

119 min

Director

Petr Weigl

Category

film

Genre

opera

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Rusalka

Czech title

Rusalka

English title

Water Nymph

Parallel title

Rusalka

Summary

Petr Weigel showed his multifarious talents as a theatrical, film and television director, and also story editor, on countless occasions. Among his most celebrated works are his mostly television adaptations of famous operas (Rusalka, Faust a Markéta, Marie Stuart, Lady Macbeth z Mcenského újezdu – Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Evžen Oněgin – Eugene Onegin, etc.). In 1977, Antonín Dvořák’s opera served as a testament to Weigel’s ability to transpose the theatrical stage format to the silver screen. The film tells the tragic story of a water nymph, whose love for an earthly prince leads her to assume a human form. Rusalka is one of Weigel’s most successful visualisations of a classic opera. It was made as a coproduction with West German production company Bavaria München. As with his dramatisation of the fairytale Radúz a Mahulena (Radúz and Mahulena, 1970), Weigel selected Magda Vášáryová for the lead role (however, her singing voice was dubbed by Gabriela Beňačková).

Synopsis

Water Nympf Rusalka tells her father - a water goblin in a moonlight night that she loves a human young prince who uses to come to their lake. Rusalka wants to become a human in order to gain his love. The water-goblin talks her out of it but in vain. In the end he advises her to search out the witch for help. The witch can help her but Rusalka has to pay for her desire by her own voice - she will be mute. Moreover, if she does not win the prince's love she will be damned and she will live poorly in the lake as a will-o'the - wisp. But Rusalka believes in the power of love and she walks away from the witch as a young girl. On the edge of the lake she meets the prince who falls in love with her immediately and he takes her to his castle. There will be a wedding soon. Among the wedding guests is also a beautiful, vivid foreign princess. Soon the prince is more attracted to the passionate princess than to the beautiful but mute and cold bride. The water-goblin can feel his daughter has a bad luck and he visits her in the castle garden. Rusalka tries one more time to disentangle the prince from the princess's arms, but the prince rejects her. She comes unhappy back to the lake. She has only one way out: she can expiate by killing the prince. In the meantime the princess leaves the prince. He is desperate and he sets out to search for Rusalka. He finds her changed into a spirit of death. He knows that Rusalka's arms means a death for him but nevertheless he does not hesitate one single moment...

Note

This theme had already been treated in a Czech film under the same title (Dir: Václav Kašlík, 1962).

Film online

Cast

Milan Kňažko

Singing Voice Peter Dvorský
princ

Jaroslava Adamová

Singing Voice Libuše Márová
ježibaba

Božidara Turzonovová

Singing Voice Milada Šubrtová
cizí kněžna

Josef Karlík

Singing Voice Jaroslav Stříška
myslivec Vaněk

Dagmar Veškrnová

Singing Voice Daniela Šounová
kuchta

Hana Packertová

Singing Voice Jana Jonášová
lesní žínka

Michaela Vítková

Singing Voice Anna Bortlová
lesní žínka

Marta Vančurová

Singing Voice Blanka Vítková
lesní žínka

Eva Asterová

lesní žínka

Monika Bolardová

lesní žínka

Lenka Jarošíková

lesní žínka

Johana Kavková

lesní žínka

Hana Nachtmanová

lesní žínka

Kateřina Slavická

lesní žínka

Monika Vjazovcová

lesní žínka

Marcela Vraná

lesní žínka

Regis Maruta

černý průvodce kněžny

Hasmiou Diah

černý průvodce kněžny

Michal Šebor

ohnivý muž/dvořan

Otto Šanda

ohnivý muž/dvořan

Daniel Wiesner

ohnivý muž/dvořan

Pavel Ždichynec

ohnivý muž

Jan Kadlec

ohnivý muž

Jaroslav Slavický

ohnivý muž

Jiří Němeček ml.

ohnivý muž/chlapec z lidu

Luboš Beneš

gardista

Jaroslav Beneš (3)

gardista

Bohumil Dlouhý

gardista

Zdeněk Haller

gardista

Miroslav Holeček

gardista

Jakub Horáček

gardista

Jiří Hospodář

gardista

Petr Jirků

gardista

Vilém Kloubek

gardista

Jiří Kosek

gardista

Zdeněk Kybal

gardista

Pavel Lehotský

gardista

Jaromír Mydlář

gardista

Vratislav Podruh

gardista

Oldřich Ptáček

gardista

Alfons Solfronk

gardista

Petr Šebestián

gardista

Jiří Vach

gardista

Dana Kubálková

zahradnice

Jiří Hansel

chlapec z lidu

Oldřich Král

chlapec z lidu

Ivan Krob

chlapec z lidu

Jiří Trojan

chlapec z lidu

Lena Birková

žena z lidu

Lenka Králová

dívka z lidu

Olga Nekutová

dívka z lidu/víla

Milada Němečková

dívka z lidu/víla

Magdaléna Pavelková

dívka z lidu/víla

Dagmar Tomsová

dívka z lidu/víla

Jitka Trojanová

dívka z lidu/víla

Hana Ždichyncová

dívka z lidu/víla

Jitka Gauggová

víla

Aranka Hovorková

víla

Iveta Hubičková

víla

Alena Reisnerová

víla

Marie Tomašková

víla

Petra Brumovská

dítě

Pavel Kovácz

dítě

Dagmar Ledecká

dvorní dáma

Kristina Márová

dvorní dáma

Anna Pitašová

dvorní dáma

Jana Pokorná

dvorní dáma

Pavla Michálková

dvorní dáma

Dana Doskočilová-Kršková

dvořanka

Ronald Heller

dvořan

Tomáš Hendrych

dvořan

Martin Chylík

dvořan

Michal Janků

dvořan

Jindra Janoušková

dvořanka

Michal Kolář

dvořan

Jiří Pecháček

dvořan

Pravoslava Petráková

dvořanka

Rudolf Serina

dvořan

Irena Šmídová

dvořanka

Jarmila Burková

dvořanka-balet

Pavel Czikrai

dvořan-balet

Olga Čecháková

dvořanka-balet

Zdeněk Formánek

dvořan-balet

René Gabzdyl

dvořan-balet

Jan Hartmann

dvořan-balet

Ludmila Houdková

dvořanka-balet

Bohumil Klika

dvořan-balet

Jan Kolomazník

dvořan-balet

Eva Landová

dvořanka-balet

Luděk Ludvík

dvořan-balet

Karel Mašek

dvořan-balet

Bohumír Nekut

dvořan-balet

Tomáš Němeček

dvořan-balet

Renáta Sabongui

dvořanka-balet

Hana Smékalová

dvořanka-balet

Astrid Štúrová

dvořanka-balet

Ladislav Tajovský

dvořan-balet

Věra Vašutová

dvořanka-balet

Josef Vrabec

dvořan-balet

Crew and creators

Director

Petr Weigl

Second Unit Director

Miroslav Voštiar

Based on

Jaroslav Kvapil (Rusalka – libreto opery), Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka – opera)

Screenplay

Petr Weigl

Shooting Script

Petr Weigl

Dramaturg

Josef Bouček

Director of Photography

Jiří Kadaňka

Second Unit Photography

Jan Kváča

Camera Operator

Jiří Hošek

Production Designer

Miloš Červinka

Assistent Production Designer

Roman Hladík

Set Designer

Pavel Dvořáček, Vladimír Mácha, Rudolf Příhoda, Milan Šteindler

Costume Designer

Jindřiška Hirschová

Make-Up Artist

Josef Lojík, Růžena Plašilová, Milan Novák, M. Petráková

Film Editor

Karel Kohout

Sound Designer

Miloslav Hůrka

Production Manager

Zdeněk Oves, Henry Sokal

Unit Production Manager

Tomáš Gabriss, Jiří Ulrich, Lev Veltrubský

Cooperation

Olga Kourová (klapka), D. Hladíková (klapka), Jindřich Panáček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Komárek (spolupráce)

Music Performed by

Orchestr bavorského rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek), Pěvecký sbor Československého rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek)

Music Supervisor

Jaroslav Krček

Choreographer

Miroslav Kůra

Production info

Original Title

Rusalka

Czech Title

Rusalka

English Title

Water Nymph

Parallel Title

Rusalka

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

opera

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany

Copyright

1977

Production Year

1977

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 4 May 1976
start of filming 21 February 1977
technical Screenplay approved 11 March 1977
end of filming 8 December 1977
projection approval 22 December 1977

Premiere

premiere 29 September 1978 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Vladimíra Kaliny, Vladimír Kalina (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

119 min

Original length in metres

3 411 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech, sung

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech