Search - Wagner - Der Fliegende Holländer on DVD

A STRANGE, CREATIVELY STAGED DUTCHMAN

Paco Rivero | Miami, FL | 06/10/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Spectacular sets, an inspired conductor, a ravishing orchestra, a stupendous chorus, and a mostly phenomenal cast add up to what is at times a thrilling 1985 Bayreuth recording of a 1978 staging of Der Fliegende Hollander. It is truly electrifying when the set flies apart and the dark sea comes creeping in between the Overture and Act One. The fickle ocean's spirit ebbs, flows, rolls, climbs, and crashes tumultuously through Wagner's score, occasionally overwhelming the singers, though the playing here is expertly handled by the Bayreuther Festspiele Orchestra with Woldemar Nelsson confidently conducting at the helm at a fast clip.

Lisbeth Balslev's Senta is emotionally involving. Her sweet, innocent voice more than compensates for some minor faults (for instance, her German is accented, and at times her singing is underwhelming). Simon Estes, as the Dutchman, has a tremendous voice that impresses with its power. The Penguin Guide describes him as a "strong, ringing Dutchman, clear and noble of tone." He delivers an exciting performance, but at times he sings way too loudly. He totally drowns out Matti Salminen, which should never be done! The Dutchman should also be more terrifying than what Estes delivers, but never mind: he's pretty darn good here. I especially liked his rich, low tones, which you FEEL. Listening to him got easier in acts two and three because he's way upstage where his colossal voice can't do as much damage. His duet with Senta in Act Two, while their voices didn't fully match, was still wonderful.

Like a "wandering Jew of the ocean" (to quote Heinrich Heine), the Dutchman is condemned to eternally roam the seas on his ghost-ship, touching land every seven years to look for a wife since only the true love of a loyal woman can rescue him from his ceaseless wanderings. On the other hand, if the woman proves unfaithful, she is condemned to eternal damnation, so that the Dutchman's function in Heine's story seems to be largely moralistic. Although Wagner downplays the moralistic aspect relative to Heine (who wrote the story on which Wagner based his libretto), the stark moral element lingers like a ghost throughout the music drama, particularly in the emphasis that Wagner gives to the theme of redemption. Yet how are we to take Senta's suicide? It proves that her love is genuine, but one can't help thinking that she has also given herself over to evil forces.

Although Wagner repeatedly refers to the Dutchman as "pallid" and "pale," this production emphasizes Estes's African heritage by turning his boat into a slave ship. The first time we see it, its hull opens to reveal the Dutchman inside, in chains. The production also veers away from Wagner's instructions in that the libretto itself begins on a "steep rocky shore," but here we open already in Daland's house, with the entire first act appearing as though it were a fantasy or reminiscence of Senta's, who hovers over all that transpires. I had mixed feelings about this. It works for me in so far as it provides an engrossing and psychologically provocative visual accompaniment to the Overture, which is here played ravishingly by the orchestra. I also found it clever that at the end there are two Dutchmen, the real one whom her father wants her to marry (although in keeping with Senta's perspective we never quite see his face) and the vivid yet phantasmagoric one of Senta's wild imagination, played by Estes.

The sound engineering is so-so. At times the recording might sound a little unevenly balanced. While the wait for a perfectly clear Dutchman on DVD continues, this one's definitely worth getting. I found the conducting more manacing and dramatic than the relatively tame Sawallisch Dutchman on DVD, even if the latter boasts of Donald McIntyre's truly demonic dutchman.

Update: I gave this Flying Dutchman only three stars because of Estes' overly loud singing, which annoyed me (I keep thinking of Maria Callas, who called loud singing vulgar) and because the recording, while not bad, isn't as clear as I would have liked it to be. But after watching it again, I'm convinced that I should have given it at least four stars. I highly recommend this production, even if it isn't perfect."