- Before Wagner composed his epic 5 hour operas, he wrote The Flying Dutchman, a compact, 2 and a half hour gem.
- Wagner’s musical influences for The Flying Dutchman came from the operas of Verdi, Donizetti, and other popular Italian tunesmiths.
- The Flying Dutchman is a straightforward tale of love, loss, one haunted ship and a bunch of drunken sailors.
- Pop icons such as Jethro Tull and Tori Amos are just a few who have also set the Dutchman story to music. Other references can be found in The Pirates of the Caribbean and SpongeBob SquarePants.
- Madison Opera’s production of The Flying Dutchman opened at New York City Opera on September 15th, 2001, four days after its intended premiere on September 11th. At Mayor Guiliani’s request, it was the first show held at a major New York arts venue after the tragedy.
BONUS: Norwegian soprano Turid Karlsen returns to Madison Opera in the role of Senta after her stunning debut in Turandot (2004). The Los Angeles Times raves, “Her voice is thrilling.” Watch Turid perform excerpts from The Flying Dutchman on YouTube!
TICKETS: Don’t wait to purchase your seats for this Madison premiere on April 9 and 11 in Overture Hall. Buy online or call (608) 258-4141. Tickets start at just $16!
American figure skater Mirai Nagasu skated a beautiful long program last night to a medley from Carmen, which drew both from Bizet’s music directly and Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy” for violin. Friends I was watching with were convinced it was the 1812 Overture, but I was able to pull the opera-employee card and kindly correct them. Much has been made of the music choices of figure skaters lately, both in the local and national press. For what it’s worth, last night seemed to involve the least amount of synthesized voices, choppy cuts, and tacky re-mixes. Plus there were plenty of composers for classical fans to pick out (Bizet! Rachmaninoff! Saint-Saens! Gershwin!).
I think this is it for blog posts connecting the Olympics to opera, I’m frankly surprised I could squeeze out three. But if anyone out there can think of something else before Sunday, let us know in the comments section!
It isn’t exactly what it sounds like (though opera on Lake Monona could be interesting): The Flying Dutchman is also a nickname for superstar Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer. You may remember that Sven won the 5,000m race on the first weekend of the present Olympics. You’ll definitely remember that last night, he made a costly mistake–with the help of a confused coach–in the 10,000m race by incorrectly switching lanes. He was disqualified, losing his second gold medal and an Olympic record. The New York Times reports that the story is front page news in the Netherlands: according to one Dutch correspondent, “It’s a national tragedy. It’s all anybody’s talking about. A few days ago our prime minister stepped down, but it’s off the front pages because it’s all about Sven Kramer.” Something tells me The Flying Dutchman (the opera) on ice would actually sell in the Netherlands.
As many of our readers already know, Madison Opera’s artistic director John DeMain is currently in Vancouver. Rumor was that he would be competing in the Men’s Snowboard Cross, but it turns out he is conducting the John Adams opera Nixon in China for Vancouver Opera. While at Houston Grand Opera, DeMain conducted the world premiere of this important work.
To learn more about the Maestro’s activities in the Olympic city, check out Vancouver Opera’s Nixon in China blog and Jake Stockinger’s preview chat with DeMain. Performances of the opera take place in March, as part of Vancouver’s Cultural Olympiad, and the latest word is that Maestro’s hotel room overlooks the Olympic Village. Not quite Snowboard Cross, but the Nixon score does require athletic ability in its own right!
It’s time to start prepping for The Flying Dutchman, Madison Opera’s first-ever production of an opera by the revolutionary German composer Richard Wagner [pronounced Vahg-ner]. For this edition of Click/Read/Watch/Listen, I’ve decided to ditch the cumbersome PDF and offer all of our Dutchman-related links live on the blog. If you don’t know anything about Wagner or this opera, the following articles and multimedia selections should provide an accessible introduction to the story and music of Dutchman, as well as to the composer’s unique place in history. There’s also plenty in here for the expert and devoted Wagnerite, so enjoy!
Basics
- Title: Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)
- Composer and Librettist: Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
- Premiere: January 2, 1843 in Dresden
Introduction
Delving Deeper
Multimedia
- Video: OperaTalk! (San Diego Opera’s introduction to The Flying Dutchman)
- Video: Overture to The Flying Dutchman (Karl Bohm conducts)
- Video: Senta’s Ballad (featuring Turid Karlsen, Madison Opera’s Senta)
- Video: The Sailors’ Chorus
POPera Connections
- Audio: Jethro Tull, “The Flying Dutchman” (1979)
- TV: “What’s Opera Doc?” (1957 Warner Bros. classic opera spoof with music of The Flying Dutchman and other Wagner operas)
- TV: Twilight Zone, “Death Ship” (1963)
- TV: SpongeBob Squarepants, “Ghost Host” (The Flying Dutchman is a recurring character in ten episodes)
- Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean (2006, Davy Jones captains The Dutchman)
