Rusalka, Not the Opera

by JANOS GEREBEN

The nine-woman vocal group Kitka is about to compete with Dvořák, launching its own Rusalka Cycle, subtitled “Songs Between the World.” The volcanic-Balkanic group will present three performances of the program — about powerful, enticing female nature spirits (Rusalki in Slavic folklore) — at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Jan. 4-6. A CD of the program was released this month.

Ellen Sebastian Chang directs the concerts, with original music by Ukrainian composer Mariana Sadovska. “We wanted to make a piece that really stretched us as performers, something theatrical and risk-taking, something that took our audiences on a total sensory and emotional journey,” says Kitka veteran Shira Cion. “These entities were more than just characters in fairy tales, but real forces in the collective consciousness of many rural Slavic villages. There was such rich folklore and imagery surrounding the Rusalki, and powerful songs.”

The group actually visited Ukraine to experience Rusalka Week rituals in the few villages where they are still practiced. The composer arranged performances, gatherings, and song exchanges with many of Ukraine’s greatest folk singers and ethnomusicologists as part of the Rusalka-seeking journey.