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?
Daphne lives in a world that is foreign to her. She is the embodiment of nature and finds human behaviour and desire alien. Apollo and Leucippus, both of whom desire Daphne, attend the feast of Dionysus. Leucippus puts his plan into action: Daphne abandons herself to the celebrations. Too late, Apollo, under Leucippus’ spell, realises he has acted against his divine destiny and Daphne’s nature.
In a village community that holds firm to archaic customs, the young hunter Max must pass a marksmanship test so he may marry his sweetheart, Agathe. Of all times now when his shooting has been very much below par! Carl Maria von Weber and his librettist Friedrich Kind fluctuate between ghost story, fairy tale, fortune play and interplay between heaven and hell.