Antonín Dvořák’s opera featuring the water spirit Rusalka and “Song to the Moon” is Rusalka.
Rusalka premiered at Prague’s National Theatre on 31 March 1901. The Czech libretto was written by Jaroslav Kvapil, who drew on Central European water-spirit stories and elements associated with Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué’s Undine. The opera follows Rusalka, a water nymph who wants to become human so she can love a prince.
Rusalka sings “Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém,” usually translated as “Song to the Moon,” in Act 1. The aria asks the moon to reveal Rusalka’s love to the prince and has become one of Dvořák’s most recognizable vocal numbers. The plot, however, differs substantially from Disney’s later version of The Little Mermaid: Rusalka is darker, more tragic, and rooted in Slavic folklore.
Dvořák wrote nine completed operas, but Rusalka is by far his best-known stage work outside the Czech-speaking world. Its orchestral writing combines lyrical melody with atmospheric depictions of water, forest, and moonlight.