A Dutch captain is cursed to sail until he finds a woman faithful unto death.
Director: Aarno Cronvall
Conductor: Leif Segerstam
Watched out of sequence b/c dvd just arrived.
First performance at Dresden, January 2, 1843
This is the 4th of Wagner's 13 completed operas, but the 3rd to be performed. Here's a nice table of those dates.
Time: 18th century
Place: a Norwegian fishing village
This production was filmed at castle Olavinlinna, Savonlinna, Finland.
I bought this because I was disappointed by the music of the Ring Cycle; it didn't have as much of the famous Wagner music as I expected.
This has a lot more of that famous music proportionally, and because the opera is so short (for Wagner), it is very satisfying. Plus, some of the less famous music is also pleasing. This is the sort of thing that I can just let play in the background for musical pleasure.
Amazing that Wagner lived to age 70 given how he linked love and death so closely and so often. Here Senta pledges herself to the Dutchman, and when he doesn't believe she's faithful, she flings herself off a cliff declaring she is faithful unto death. Then she & the Dutchman presumably enjoy the afterlife in their watery grave. Ugh.
This is a stage production with some filmed footage of the castle, the sea and a supposedly sunken ship. (Could be a model with the sea superimposed.) The big stone wall onstage is actually the castle where the opera was staged, with the audience sitting outdoors. That makes this production more impressive to me, because the lighting and camerawork are very good.
Clearly from all the bolding below, I liked the cast. Also good were some of the faces the director picked from the chorus, and the acrobatic dancer entertaining the crew briefly.
Cast:
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN Baritone : Franz Grundheber
DALAND, a Norwegian sea captain Bass : Matti Salminen
SENTA, his daughter Soprano : Hildegard Behrens
MARY, her nurse Contralto : Anita Välkki
ERIC, a huntsman Tenor : Raimo Sirkiä
DALAND’S STEERSMAN Tenor : Jorma Silvasti
NVC Arts, cond. Segerstam; 8+
