Opera Tonight – Do mermaids have sex?
OperaA lyrical fairy tale inspired by The Little Mermaid and nourished by Czech ballads, Rusalka is an opera of great depth, brought to you by Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision. Already established for his symphonic music, Dvořák here reveals himself to be an opera composer of great lyrical intensity and beauty. Its highlight is often considered to be the wistful, haunting ‘Song to the Moon’, in which Rusalka asks the moon to reveal her love to the prince. For their new production for Dutch National Opera, directors Philipp Stölzl and Philipp M. Krenn present a young woman on the outskirts of society. At the cinema, she fantasises about living in the golden heyday of Hollywood, by the side of a handsome movie star. Conductor Joana Mallwitz leads the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, soprano Johanni van Oostrum sings the role of Rusalka. Czech tenor Pavel Černoch sings the role of the prince, and American mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis makes her debut as the witch Ježibaba. A timeless tale of dreams, desire and disappointment.
Subtitles in English, Czech and Dutch.
The Plot: more than anything in the world, Rusalka, a mysterious and elusive water nymph, yearns to become human to win the heart of a young prince. But this metamorphosis comes at a price: she will lose her voice and be damned forever should their love story fail. To what lengths would you go to find happiness?
Streamed on 7th July 2023 at 1900 CET/ 1800 London/ 1300 NY
https://youtu.be/wq5qyhLX4uo
Sponsored by an oil company .
To answer your question: Of course merpeople have sex.
Evolution has placed the sex organs of mermaids and mermen in their armpits.
Now enjoy the music!
Correct. However, if the mermaids are German then they are called “Seejungfrauen” (literally translated: virgins of the sea). Thus, if German mermaids have sex they are no more mermaids but merwomen.
«Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it»
-Cole Porter
Well, ostensibly they fall in love, but the subtext is fairly clear
Sex is everywhere, in fairy tales, in 19th Century Opera, even in Dvorak and Rusalka (try the scenes with the Foreign Princess).
One can just as well get used to it.
I mean, just look at all the real animals. Porcupines. Giraffes. Tortoises. Various one-sided unions of spider or mantis. Rest assured that nature finds a way.
Review by Peter Franken for Basia con Fuoco:
https://basiaconfuoco.com/2023/06/03/rusalka-goes-to-hollywood/
I have the Fleming/Heppner/Mackerras recording. Until the day comes when directors get tired of being ‘creative’ I will listen to the opera with my eyes closed allowing my imagination to set the scene.