Sitting high up in the nosebleed gallery at the Shubert Theater (aided by great, great Aunt Julia’s opera glasses), we watched the Scottish version of Wagner‘s Flying Dutchman today.
“A sea captain doomed by a curse to an existence of eternal wandering, a yearning heroine desperate to escape her restricting world – set against the uncontrolled violence of the sea.” Thus the Boston Lyric Opera. More.
GiltCity.com had this take: “With her free spirit constrained by the rigid confines of society, one woman yearns for escape. … Taking off on an adventure of a lifetime, with the mercurial sea as violent backdrop, she encounters a captain doomed to wander the endless waters for eternity.”
Enjoyed the production, said to be the first in America using the original version of the opera, which Wagner kept tinkering with over his life. The sets were striking — spare suggestions of ships like bleachers, bathed in blood-red light, and a movie of raging seas across the whole back wall. I liked the psychological take, with Senta [Allison Oakes] responding to yarns about a Flying Dutchman [Alfred Walker] at three different ages (and portrayed by three different performers).
The opera was sung in German, with English on two video monitors.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 