IN a word, epic.

But then, operas always are.

It's where love, passion, and deep emotions come to the fore in the most brutal fashion. You won't find any happy endings here.

First performed in 1901, and only the second time it's been performed in Scotland, Dvorak's dark fairy-tale about a water nymph who sacrifices her voice and immortality for true love on dry land is simply outstanding. And so it should be. The Scottish Government pump £9-million into Scottish Opera every year after all.

Divided into three, just-under-an-hour-each acts, Antony McDonald's production creeps up on you like a slow incoming tide around your ankles.

Desperately longing to embrace an unknown lover (a Prince, played by Peter Wedd), Rusalka (Anne Sophie Deprels) leaves her watery world behind for a life among the Victorian aristocracy. With wicked witch Jezibaba (Leah-Marian Jones) doing the fish-gutting duties on Rusalka's behalf (off with her tail), it's not long before our pale, tragic, and totally mute mermaid realises how muddy the waters can be on the other side of the shore.

Making full use of the Festival Theatre's deep stage (the deepest in Britain), the set is pure Hollywood. The singing gets under your skin (in a good way), the costumes look like they came direct from a Helena Bonham Carter period-drama movie, and the music manages to stir every human emotion there is. Ironically, the best scene is when the singing stops, and the music takes over to 'narrate' an ever so slightly surreal dinner-party segment.

Some might feel like a fish out of water attending an opera, but in this case, you'll be glad you made the effort. It's an experience like no other, and you won't find any faults, either - you'll be too busy getting sucked under the water to notice any.

Scottish Opera: Rusalka, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Nicholson Street, until Saturday, 7.15pm, £19-£81.50 (£10 for those under 26), 0131-529 6000.

For more theatre news and reviews click here .