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In Rusalka, with a libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil and music by Antonín Dvořák, we are confronted with a story that has both the flare of a children's fairy tale and the aroma of ancient Slavic mythology. In this opera we are presented above all with the separation between two worlds: that of humans and that of the water beings, immortal, soulless beings, and invisible to the human gaze. The two worlds live completely separate lives.

What we propose is a reading from the present day. In Rusalka's work we detect a number of themes that act as a common thread, the idea of the difference between the two worlds, the invisibility and yet, Rusalka's desire to be visible, the "other" as a stranger, and the notion of rejection. From our point of view, contemporary society also has invisible corners.

Who are the different, invisible and often rejected within our society? Worlds that most of us pass by without even seeing them. There is, for example, the complex world of people with functional diversity, people with physical disabilities or mental health problems, with realities tremendously different from those of the majority, and who also share with elves, fairies and undines their condition of invisibility. Because what would happen nowadays if a "normal" man - the Prince - and a girl with a disability - Rusalka - fell in love?

• Work process
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