Vysoka - the inspiration for Antonin Dvorak's Rusalka
This week's edition of Spotlight comes from Vysoka, some sixty kilometres south of Prague. Vysoka is now home to a memorial for the famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. A five minute walk away, lays the magical Rusalka Lake, where Dvorak drew inspiration for his famous opera of the same name and for over thirty more works for some two decades of his life. On the opposite end of the village sits Rusalka Villa, Dvorak's country house. At first sight, Vysoka may appear to be just a tiny little village in the Czech countryside but after taking a closer look you soon come to understand why the nineteenth century composer had a special bond with it.
"In 1878, Count Kounic had the mansion built by Czech architect Cenek Gregor as a gift to his wife Josefina, who was a successful actress in a Prague theatre. Thanks to the completion of the railway connection between Prague and nearby Pribram, Count Kounic decided to buy more land and soon entertained renowned personalities such as Janacek, Suk, and Fibich and other great Czech names from the worlds of theatre, music, literature and politics. At times, Dvorak would play the piano while Count Kounic sang arias."
"Because Count Kounic and Josefina played a major role in Dvorak's life, the memorial is also devoted to these two personalities. The first part of the permanent exhibition allows visitors to see what a typical room in the Kounic mansion looked like. It has the piano that Dvorak played on, the original fireplace, a carpet of the Kounic family, and more. Another part of the exhibition gives us an idea of what Josefina's bedroom looked like. Although she was the sister of Dvorak's wife Anna, Dvorak held a special place for Josefina in his heart as he originally courting her but failed because she chose to be with Count Kounic. The third and larger part of the exhibition is devoted to the life and works of Dvorak himself."
"By a moonlit meadow near a lake, three Wood-Sprites sing, dance and tease the Water-Gnome, ruler of the lake's underwater realm. The Water-Gnome becomes aware of his daughter Rusalka, a water-nymph, sitting sadly amid the branches of an overhanging willow tree. When he questions her, Rusalka tells him she has fallen in love with a mortal, a prince who often comes to the forest to swim in the lake. Invisible to all mortals, Rusalka has embraced the Prince as a wave but now longs to take on human form so that he may see her and embrace her in return. Further, she wants to leave the chilly waters of the lake and live in the sunlight as a human..."
Most of the time, Antonin Dvorak stayed in a gamekeeper's lodge on the estate of Count Kounic. Finally, following the triumphant reception of his music in England, Dvorak bought (some say he received it as a gift from the Count) some land on the opposite end of the village in 1884, where he converted a former granary into a comfortable country residence and where he kept his beloved pigeons. The new residence was named Villa Rusalka. Vladimira Splichalova:
But unfortunately, after Dvorak's death in 1904, Villa Rusalka changed through the hands of various inheritors. Many years ago, it was open to the public. Today, it is owned by a number of Dvorak's relatives, who are still debating over what to do with Villa Rusalka.
But a tour of the memorial, a few minutes at Rusalka Lake and a walk around the Vysoka countryside are all that Dvorak fans and admirers need to bring our beloved composer even closer to their hearts...
