Wagner’s epic score for Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) brilliantly captures the vast scale of the story, from the stormy overture to the final scene of tragedy and redemption. Wagner himself considered this opera as marking the real beginning of his career in the 1840s. Is it too simplistic to see a link between Wagner’s existential doubts of this period of his life and the bleak intensity of the best music in Holländer? Working at the time as an exile in Paris, suffering endless setbacks in his fight for recognition, Wagner seems at very least to be sensitive to the subject matter.
Irish National Opera’s first Wagner opera, this production is directed by Rachael Hewer and INO’s artistic director, Fergus Sheil, conducts the Irish National Opera orchestra and chorus. Giselle Allen sings Senta and baritone Jordan Shanahan as the cursed Dutchman fated to continually sail the seas. Bass James Creswell plays Senta’s father Daland, with tenor Toby Spence as Eric, mezzo-soprano Carolyn Dobbin as Senta’s nurse Mary, and tenor Gavan Ring as the steersman. Streamed for Slippedisc’s readers courtesy of OperaVision.
Sung in German and subtitles in English and German.
The Plot: the Dutchman’s mysterious ghost ship is doomed to roam the seas until he finds true love on land. The young Senta dreams of the mythical Dutchman and longs to break his curse. But a chance to do so only occurs every seven years.
Première streamed on Friday 25 April at 1900 CET/ 1800 London / 1300 N Y
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