TEHRAN – Nofel Loshato Theater in Tehran is hosting “Rusalka,” an opera in four acts, six tableaux, by Alexander Dargomyzhsky, composed during 1848-1855, adapted from Aleksandr Pushkin's incomplete dramatic poem of the same name.

Hamed Chabok has directed the 60-minute play, which has Ghorban Najafi, Parmis Hubakhsh, Mohammad Mehdi Mansouri Mehr, Reyhaneh Hatami, Yasaman Khansari, Mobina Keshavarz, Romina Hafezi, Mohammad Matin Bigdelou, and Rosha Sedighian, IRNA reported.

The action takes place by the Dnieper River. The plot tells of a maiden who, after being jilted by a prince, drowns herself (hence the designation "rusalka," or "drowned maiden").

In Slavic folklore, the rusalka is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid.

Nofel Loshato Theater is located at No. 18, Razi St., Nofel Loshato St., Hafez Ave.

SS/SAB