Breaking news: Rusalka gets booed at the Greek National Opera ! ***Updated***

Just before le scandal?

In tonight's opening of Dvořák's Rusalka at the Greek National Opera, stage director Marion Wassermann got booed by big part of the audience.

The reason was obviously Wassermann's eminence in re-building the story of Rusalka on the basis of the Prince's homosexual lust.

Wassermann's inspiration was Ludwig II of Bavaria and according to her, we see the story through the eyes of the Prince.


The first reactions were heard during Act I when the Prince is seen kissing another man but nothing could be compared to the loud boos that the regista received at her curtain call.

Furthermore, the stage director tried to shhhs the audience and explain her point of view but that was not possible. A couple of incidents were even noticed between members of the audience.

A friend reports:

"As well they should! I was at the final dress rehearsal, and I don't consider myself a conservative theatre-goer, but I pretty much wanted to leave when Act III started (I stayed).

It wasn't the gay-aspect that angried me, it was the fact that this was filtered through a persona unknown to the greek audience. Ludwig II of Bavaria is not exactly a house-hold name over here. It may have worked in Germany and Austria, but not here. It was too much to ask of an audience. Just to give you an example, have Carmen be a gypsy living in the Agia Varvara settlement, singing at some C-class bouzoukia at Ethniki playing in Tokyo. (If you started googling what Agia Varvara, bouzoukia and Ethiniki mean, well you know how the audience felt). All this would have made sense in Greece. But not in Tokyo... "


Was that what really happened?

Just before the performance, members of the Orchestra were giving away fliers where among others was written that the mise-en-scène includes extreme scenes (!!!) for which the Orchestra has protested to the Administration...

****UPDATE****

Day 2 of Rusalka at the Greek National Opera
and this time it was the other way around...

Some members of the Orchestra went on giving away fliers
(I have one at my disposal - poorly written, totally ridiculous)
while gay activists -who were handing to the audience their own fliers-
burst into the Greek National Opera and wouldn't let the performance begin...



Next performances on the 8, 13, 14, 14 March

Rusalka: Natalia Ushakova , Mata Katsuli
Prince: Pavel Černoch, Corey Bix

Conductor: Jaroslav Kyzlink