Water Nymph

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).