(Credit: Hans Fahrmeyer) Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer” is a work of consummate importance. Premiering on Jan. 2, 1843, it launched the famed composer in a new direction, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, composers of opera. This is an opera that the most beloved of Wagnerians would know inside and out. So here is {…}
(Credits: Patricia Varela) Young Norwegian soprano Elisabeth Teige has established herself as one of the most sought-after dramatic sopranos of her generation. She has appeared in the number of dramatic roles including Senta in “Der Fliegende Holländer,” Leonore in “Fidelio,” Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly,” Irene Wagner’s “Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen,” Elsa in “Lohengrin,” and the title character of Puccini’s {…}
(Credit: Louise Leblanc) Premiering in 1843 prior to Richard Wagner’s 30th birthday, “Der Fliegende Holländer” was the successful outcome of a frustrating period in the life of the young composer. At the bitter end of his tenure as musical director of a theater in Riga, Wagner left for Paris with his wife. After an illegal crossing into Prussia followed by {…}
San Francisco Symphony has announced its 2019-20 season, which marks the 25th and final season of Michael Tilson Thomas’ distinguished tenure as Music Director. For the purposes of this article, we will focus primarily on vocal performances. The season will start off with a concert led by Michael Tilson Thomas featuring tenor Nicholas Phan and cellist Oliver Herbert, along with {…}
The Festival d’Opéra de Québec has announced its slate for 2019. The big story revolved around the company’s new production of Richard Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer,” in a co-production with The Metropolitan Opera and the Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam. The festival assembled an international cast that includes Canadian baritone Gregory Dahl in the title role, German bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas as {…}
The Metropolitan Opera revealed its 2019-20 season on Wednesday afternoon. Among the major announcements were the company’s schedule for its ever-popular Live in HD slate. Here is a look at the list of performances that will be broadcast to audiences around the world. Worthy of note is that of the 10 productions set to screen in cinemas, three will be {…}
Wagner’s “DerFliegende Holländer” was one of the more eagerly awaited new productions of the Maggio Musicale, Fiorentina’s 2018-19 season. Not only is it one of only three Wagner productions scheduled for the season throughout the whole of Italy (the other two being productions of “Die Walküre” in Naples and Bari), but it also marks Fabio Luisi’s Italian Wagner debut. True {…}
Halloween is around the corner and the Dallas Opera has, by chance or choice, opened its season with an opera that offers equal servings of fright and delight. The second performance of the run was jaw-droppingly good, the stuff of crazy dreams and desperate nightmares. The story is relatively simple. Satan has cursed the Dutchman to wander the seas aimlessly {…}
Many directors who dabble in the lyric theatre seem to think that they know better than the librettist or composer what an opera is about. “Improvements” can range from the introduction of a new character into the drama (eg. Mariusz Treliński’s ubiquitous “Mr. O” in “Yevgeny Onegin” for the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw) to scrawling a specific word onto the {…}
After writing three largely unsuccessful operas in which he devoted his talents to imitating the German, Italian, and French styles, Richard Wagner finally found what made him tick with “Der Fliegende Holländer,” his fourth opera. The work debuted on Jan. 2, 1843, and represents a major shift for the composer toward what he would eventually realize in his greatest operas. {…}
Being a general and artistic director for any opera company is quite a massive challenge. Especially a growing one like the Atlanta Opera. Now imagine giving yourself another massive job on top of such, say director of three productions for your upcoming season. Most people would balk at the proposition, but not Tomer Zvulun who is not only running the {…}