All Classical’s debut episode of Sound in Print will delve into one of literature’s most fascinating mythical creatures–mermaids. In Antonín Dvořák’s lyric fairytale, Rusalka, the title character falls in love with a human prince; however, as a water nymph, she cannot approach her beloved on land. In the stunning aria, “Song to the Moon,” Rusalka begs the moon to tell the prince her deepest desires. For his dark mermaid tale, Dvořák drew on several literary sources, including the novella Undine by Friedrich de la Motte-Fouqué, and the famous fairytale “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen. We’ll also hear Alexander Zemlinsky’s symphonic fantasy, The Mermaid, based on the same famous tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Zemlinsky tells Anderson’s story through a series of distinct motives, each depicting a scene or character—listen for the lyrical solo violin representing the Little Mermaid.
