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).
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...
This theme had already been treated in a Czech film under the same title (1962; directed by Václav Kašlík).
Singing Voice Gabriela Beňačková
Rusalka
Singing Voice Peter Dvorský
princ
Singing Voice Ondrej Malachovský
vodník
Singing Voice Libuše Márová
ježibaba
Singing Voice Milada Šubrtová
cizí kněžna
Singing Voice Jaroslav Stříška
myslivec Vaněk
Singing Voice Daniela Šounová
kuchta
Singing Voice Jana Jonášová
lesní žínka
Singing Voice Anna Bortlová
lesní žínka
Singing Voice Blanka Vítková
lesní žínka
lovec
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
lesní žínka
černý průvodce kněžny
černý průvodce kněžny
ohnivý muž/dvořan
ohnivý muž/dvořan
ohnivý muž/dvořan
ohnivý muž
ohnivý muž
ohnivý muž
ohnivý muž/chlapec z lidu
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
gardista
zahradnice
chlapec z lidu
chlapec z lidu
chlapec z lidu
chlapec z lidu
žena z lidu
dívka z lidu
dívka z lidu/víla
dívka z lidu/víla
dívka z lidu/víla
dívka z lidu/víla
dívka z lidu/víla
dívka z lidu/víla
dvořanka/víla
víla
víla
víla
víla
víla
dítě
dítě
dítě
dítě
dvorní dáma
dvorní dáma
dvorní dáma
dvorní dáma
dvorní dáma
dvořanka
dvořan
dvořan
dvořan
dvořan
dvořanka
dvořan
dvořan
dvořanka
dvořan
dvořan
dvořanka
dvořan
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
dvořanka-balet
dvořan-balet
Jaroslav Kvapil (Rusalka – libreto opery), Antonín Dvořák (Rusalka – opera)
Pavel Dvořáček, Vladimír Mácha, Rudolf Příhoda, Milan Šteindler
Josef Lojík, Růžena Plašilová, Milan Novák, M. Petráková
Tomáš Gabriss, Jiří Ulrich, Lev Veltrubský
Olga Kourová (klapka), D. Hladíková (klapka), Jindřich Panáček (fotograf)
Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Komárek (spolupráce)
Orchestr bavorského rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek), Pěvecký sbor Československého rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Libor Pešek)
Rusalka
Rusalka
Water Nymph
Rusalka
film
featuretheatrical distribution
opera
Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany
1977
1977
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
withdrawal from distribution 31 July 1993
premiere 29 September 1978 /suitable for youths/
Dramaturgická skupina Vladimíra Kaliny, Vladimír Kalina (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
feature film
119 min
3 411 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,66
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech, sung
without subtitles
Czech