Act I

Rusalka is a water nymph who lives in a lake with her father, the Water Goblin (Vodník), and other water spirits. Unlike the others, she wishes to become human after falling in love with a Prince who frequently comes to her lake to bathe. Despite her father’s warnings that the human world will bring her suffering, Rusalka seeks out the witch Ježibaba and asks to become human. Ježibaba agrees, but the transformation comes at a cost: Rusalka will lose her voice, and if the Prince betrays her, Rusalka will be cursed and the Prince condemned. Rusalka accepts the terms and becomes human. Soon after, the Prince discovers Rusalka in the forest, is immediately captivated by her, and takes her back to his castle.

Act II 

At the Prince’s castle, preparations are underway for his wedding to Rusalka, but her strange behavior has become the subject of gossip among the household. The Gamekeeper and Kitchen Boy discuss the Prince’s mysterious bride, who is unnaturally pale and silent, barely eats, and is even rumored not to be human. Rusalka is miserable, unable to speak or fully participate in human life, while the Prince grows increasingly frustrated by her inability to respond to his passion. Visiting the castle, a Foreign Princess openly flirts with him and mocks Rusalka, who can only watch helplessly as the Prince becomes captivated by her. When Vodník appears near the castle, Rusalka runs to her father and, finally able to speak away from the Prince, tells him that the Prince no longer loves her. Vodník mourns his daughter’s suffering and condemns the Prince, who soon appears with the Foreign Princess and, frightened by the supernatural reality surrounding Rusalka, rejects her completely. The Foreign Princess then rejects him as well, leaving him to face the consequences of his betrayal. Vodník declares that the Prince will not escape what he has done, and Rusalka returns with her father to the supernatural world, but she can no longer simply become a water nymph again: the Prince has betrayed her, her bargain with Ježibaba has been broken, and she is now cursed.​

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Act III 

Because of her failed transformation, Rusalka has become a spirit of death. Ježibaba offers her an escape: if Rusalka kills the Prince, she can save herself from damnation. She gives Rusalka a dagger, but Rusalka refuses to harm him and accepts her fate instead. Meanwhile, driven nearly mad by guilt and longing, the Prince searches for Rusalka and eventually returns to the lake. When they reunite, Rusalka warns him that she is no longer the woman he knew and that her kiss is now deadly. The Prince asks her to kiss him anyway. Rusalka does, and he dies in her arms.