This week the Tiroler Festspiele Erl opens a production of “Der fliegende Holländer” with numerous rising stars including Nian Bezu, who will make her role debut as Senta.

Bezu is a rising star who has performed at the Theater Baden, Finnish National Opera, Auditorio de Zaragoza, and Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, among many others.

In anticipation for her debut Bezu did a short interview with OperaWire:

OperaWire: Tell us about performing at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl?

Nina Bezu: The festival is surrounded by stunning, peaceful nature, which is a wonderful contrast to the intense focus we need in the rehearsal room. Because Erl is a bit set apart from the usual city rush, the cast and the creative team naturally end up spending a lot of time together outside of work. It creates a really warm, close-knit community where everyone is genuinely invested in building something special together.

OW: What are Senta’s specific challenges, and how does it compare to other Wagner roles?

NB: Senta could be mischaracterized as just a loud, unhinged dramatic powerhouse, but she is actually far more nuanced. She is an absolute free spirit – vulnerable, strong, and untamable all at once – and Wagner wrote those exact traits directly into her music.
One of the main challenges is pacing; you have to balance her beautiful, soft moments of lyrical longing with the heavy dramatic peaks that come later. It is the same in the monumental duet with the Dutchman, which is the absolute core of the opera. It begins as a hypnotic, almost frozen moment where time stops, requiring intense concentration and a floating, bel canto line, before it completely sweeps you up into a massive, high-voltage dramatic climax. Compared to other Wagner heroines – like the dreaming Elsa, the saintly, self-sacrificing Elisabeth, or the tragic, victimized Sieglinde – Senta is fiercely independent and obsessive, choosing her own fate from the moment she steps on stage.

Because the opera is shorter altogether, it’s more of an intense sprint rather than a marathon. You don’t have hours to warm up on stage and must be “on” immediately for the Ballad. Balancing all of that is demanding, but it lets you portray a deep, complex, and captivating character.

OW: How do you view the relationship between Senta and the Dutchman?

NB: I think they are both salvation and destruction for each other. The Dutchman is desperate for a true, unconditionally loving connection to save him, but his own doubts and fears keep him from fully accepting it when it’s right in front of him.
Senta, on the other hand, is a fierce, free spirit suffocating in a highly rigid, provincial world where she doesn‘t fit. Her society expects her to conform, and her upcoming marriage is essentially a countdown to her submission. She is looking for liberation and a deep, real connection that allows her to escape that cage. Because they are both searching for a seemingly impossible thing, they are absolute soulmates in my eyes.

OW: What excites you about debuting this role at the Tiroler Festspiele?

NB: Stepping into this role for the first time under these specific conditions is a massive joy. Working with Asher Fisch is wonderful because he has an incredible gift for pacing the dramatic build-up of the music while fully supporting the voice. At the same time, Joseph Köpplinger focuses so deeply on the psychological intensity of the characters; he pushes us for real emotional honesty, which makes rehearsals incredibly rewarding.

On top of that, performing in the historic Passionsspielhaus makes the production even more exciting. Because of how the hall is built, we are performing on a stage that wraps right around and between the orchestra. The entire building is made of wood, and it honestly feels like the perfect space for this specific opera. It feels as though the musicians, the singers, and the audience are all inside the ship together.

OW: What are some of your upcoming roles and projects?

NB: I love working at the intersection of intense drama and beautiful lyricism. After a fulfilling season where I got to explore the psychological extremes of Strauss’s Salome in two completely different productions by Christoph Loy and Bruno Ravella, the noble Elisabetta in Davide Livermore’s “Don Carlo,” and most recently a beautiful production of “Iolanta” by Antony McDonald in Helsinki, I am really looking forward to my next big Wagner debut as Elsa in “Lohengrin” under the baton of Enrico Calesso at the beautiful Teatro di Verdi Trieste, followed by two central roles in the field of the operetta; I will debut as Lisa in “Land des Lächelns,” return to Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus” and I am keeping my roots in the Italian repertoire too, including an upcoming Tosca that I am absolutely thrilled about. This will all be announced soon.

Recordings

Here is a look at Bezu’ recording of the ‘Song of the Moon” and “Iolanta.”