Act I
On a sweltering summer evening in a Russian village, the people welcome the Pomors who have returned successfully from their expedition. The celebration coincides with preparations for magical rites on the eve of Ivan Kupala Night. The villagers rejoice. The wise elder Methodius arrives and sternly reminds the young to honour family traditions; the girls promise to cherish and respect their future husbands. The youth eagerly await the night of divination.
At the height of the festivities, the brave Veles appears in the village. He is hopelessly in love with one of the maidens, Mlada, yet he senses no reciprocity. The men rally around their comrade, praising his strength and kindness. The women, however, refuse to surrender the village’s most beautiful bride so easily and propose waiting until Ivan Kupala Night. As sunset approaches, the merrymaking subsides and the crowd disperses.
Later that evening, in conversation with her mother Rosana, Mlada reveals a secret. During fortune-telling she was told she would find love – but at the cost of another’s misfortune. The ominous prophecy weighs heavily upon her. Though she loves Veles, she avoids him for fear of the foretold tragedy.
The long-awaited night of divination begins. On Kupala Night not only do the villagers celebrate – spirits from other worlds emerge from the waters into fields and meadows. Near the lake’s shore the brave youth sits in sorrow. Mlada remains cold and distant, like the smooth surface of the lake that beckons under the night’s spell.
Hearing Veles’ lament, the waters part and the drowned spirit Sord appears, moved by the young man’s anguish. Long ago, he too suffered from unrequited love and gave himself to the lake. The spirit reveals the secret of a plant capable of fulfilling any wish – the mandrake – which can be found only on Ivan Kupala Night. Obsessed with winning his beloved’s heart, Veles sets out in search of it.
Forest birds-sirins, spirits and witches attempt to bar his path through twisted branches and roots, guarding the wondrous plant. But Veles’ determination knows no bounds. At last he reaches a forest clearing and beholds the radiant glow of the mandrake. Overcome with joy, he tears the plant from the earth. The mandrake cries out in a human voice, transforms into a beautiful maiden, thanks her rescuer and vows to serve him faithfully.
Act II
Veles and the miraculous maiden journey back to the village through the dense forest. As he speaks of his love for Mlada and begs her to awaken reciprocal feelings in his bride-to-be, Mandragora herself begins to see in him a noble and kind-hearted youth and irrevocably gives him her own heart.
Along the way she persuades Veles to rest. Exhausted, he falls asleep. Guarding his slumber, Mandragora recounts her story. Once, as punishment for rejecting a young man who loved her deeply, she was transformed into a plant. Unable to endure the pain of unrequited love, he drowned himself in the lake. Mandragora was condemned to solitude in the depths of the forest until true love redeemed her soul – and now that moment has come. Veles is her salvation and her love.
Unable to master her feelings and unwilling to yield him to another, she performs a powerful spell over the sleeping youth and binds his heart to her.
The next morning, Mlada awakens uneasy. She tells her mother of a troubling dream in which she saw Veles leading a bride by the hand. She did not see the bride’s face. Their conversation is interrupted by the sounds and celebration of the morning after Ivan Kupala Night. Sunlight streams through Mlada’s window; festive songs rise outside. Then comes startling news: Veles, absent all night, has returned with a bride of extraordinary beauty. Mlada’s heart sinks – her dream was prophetic. Mandragora and Veles enter the village and approach the elder to request his blessing. Unable to endure her anguish, Mlada confesses her love for Veles, whom she had cruelly rejected. Life without him has no meaning for her.
Mandragora stops her. Realising that she has deprived her rescuer of happiness, she understands that true love demands sacrifice. Refusing to stand in the lovers’ way, she lifts the spell from Veles at the cost of her own life.
Awakening, Veles understands: a beautiful being has perished because of her love for him. Only a great soul could make such a sacrifice.
He gives Mandragora a final vow – to marry Mlada. He carries her body to the lake. The spirit Sord rises once more from the waters, the very youth she once rejected, and takes her lifeless form into the depths.
The villagers praise the god Yarilo and celebrate the young couple as the wedding rite begins. Yet nothing remains the same. In the midst of the ceremony Veles and Mlada struggle to perform the ritual, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the sacrifice made in the name of love. Veles falls to his knees.
The prophecy has come true.
