Der fliegende Holländer is another resounding success for Irish National Opera

This performance of Der fliegende Holländer was Irish National Opera’s first Wagner production (I hope the first of many!). The production was made in collaboration with Garsington Opera, where it is scheduled to be performed at an upcoming season.

Wagner was inspired to write the opera following a stormy sea crossing which he and his wife made from Riga to London. At one point, their ship had to take refuge in the Norwegian fjords. The picturesque landscape clearly made a significant impression on Wagner as it was to become the location for Der fliegende Holländer. Wagner’s libretto is based it on a satirical story by the Jewish writer Heinrich Heine. Tales of the Flying Dutchman and his ghost ship dated back to the eighteenth century. However, Wagner was particularly drawn to the idea in Heine’s version that the Dutchman can only be redeemed by the love of a faithful woman. The opera represents a transition from the established norms of nineteenth-century opera to Wagner’s later music dramas and it is the earliest of his works to be performed so far at Bayreuth.

Rachael Hewer’s production sets the action in a remote fishing village in the middle of the twentieth century. There have been several productions of this opera where the sea does not feature at all, and it was a good idea to go back to basics, given the prominence of the sea in this work. Francis O’Connor’s set was fairly static and consisted of a lookout mast and wheelhouse in the first act. The latter was replaced by a lighthouse in the second half of the opera, and this provided a striking vantage point for Senta to make her leap into the sea at the end. Sails billowed across the stage at various points and the blood red sails of the Dutchman’s galleon provided an arresting visual image signalling his arrival.

During the Overture, a film of a ship making its way through the waves was projected on to the back of the stage. A young girl representing Senta as a child came on to the stage wearing a bright red coat accompanied by women from the village. The youthful Senta was immersed in a book and was no doubt drinking in tales of ghost ships and sea squalls. I liked the idea of planting a seed about the Dutchman in young Senta’s mind. The adult Senta also wore a bright red coat at the end of the opera which helped to reinforce the link between the two incarnations of the character.

The costumes were colourful and varied and helped to convey the location and time period for the production. The men wore oilskins while the women in Act II wore white fishmonger uniforms and aprons. During the Spinning Chorus the women formed a production line and were seen fileting fish. The Dutchman’s costume was clearly from a different time period although it was a little bland and I wondered if there was scope for him to wear something more eye-catching.

The cast were firing on all cylinders for this production and did a terrific job. American baritone, Jordan Shanahan, was dark and imposing as the Dutchman although this was a relatively sympathetic portrayal of the character. He imbued the Dutchman with pathos as he recounted his fate, and he displayed a resigned nobility in the final stages of the opera when he saw Senta and Erik together. Shanahan also displayed a lighter side of the character when he spoke to Daland about his daughter. His voice was powerful and resonant throughout the vocal range and his diction was excellent. He conjured up dark vocal timbres in his Act I aria while in the Act II duet with Senta he captured the ambivalent, conflicted nature of the character.

Northern Irish soprano, Giselle Allen, was equally impressive in the role of Senta. She sang her Act II ballad with power and conviction and was an imposing figure on the stage. She produced some thrilling top notes as the performance progressed and projected above large orchestral forces. The singing was not quite as polished towards the end of the second act and the tone occasionally sounded a little forced. Allen recovered well in the final act and delivered a thrilling denouement to the opera.

The rest of the cast all acquitted themselves well. Toby Spence conveyed brilliantly Erik’s increasing sense of desperation as he tried to prise Senta away from the Dutchman. He sang with great beauty of tone and lyricism, particularly in the third act, although I would have welcomed greater vocal heft. James Cresswell seemed perfectly to embody the worldly, avaricious Daland. His singing was robust and virile, although there were also some lighter touches in his Act I duet with the Dutchman. Gavan Ring’s Steersman and Carolyn Dobbin’s Mary also acquitted themselves well. Ring’s bright, ringing tenor voice was perfect in the Steersman’s Act I aria while Dobbin injected some well-judged humour into the opera.

The chorus has a central role in this opera and the INO Chorus rose to the occasion. The female chorus blended beautifully in the Spinning Chorus and produced a lush, radiant sound while the men brought dynamism and energy to their Act III chorus. They also treated the audience to some nifty and entertaining dance moves choreographed by Stephanie Dufresne. The transformation of the male chorus into the Dutchman’s ghostly crew was a coup de théâtre and one of the highlights of the opera.

Fergus Sheil ensured cast, chorus and orchestra remained on track throughout the production. He coaxed swirling, elemental sonorities from the INO Orchestra in the Overture with some prominent contributions from the horns. The balance between the singers and the orchestra was not always perfect although Wagner sometimes wants the soloists to soar above large orchestral textures. The orchestra really caught fire at the end of the third act when the phantom sailors make their appearance. The way in which Sheil ratcheted up tension from that point onwards was particularly impressive.

This production is another resounding success for Irish National Opera. Can I make a plea that we get opportunities to hear other Wagner operas in the not-too-distant future?

Robert Beattie | 26/03/2025

Charting new waters: The Flying Dutchman brings Wagner back to Ireland

A fully staged Wagner opera in Ireland is as rare as a phoenix’s feather. The Flying Dutchman, which opened last night, marked a thrilling first for the Irish National Opera, the company’s inaugural venture into the Wagnerian repertoire, co-produced with Garsington Opera. Remarkably, the last Wagner opera staged in Ireland was more than 13 years ago. Judging by the palpable excitement shared by both the audience and performers, one can only hope it won’t be another decade before Ireland is graced with Wagner again.

Director Rachael Hewer’s approach is refreshingly straightforward; she allows the opera’s narrative to speak for itself, resisting the urge to impose any heavy-handed meta-narrative. Updating the setting to a 1950s fishing village, where commerce and community are inextricably linked, Hewer’s focus subtly shifts from the Dutchman to the female protagonist, Senta, and her agency in the Dutchman’s ultimate fate.

The prelude opens with a young Senta learning the folklore surrounding the Dutchman, establishing the deep-rooted obsession that drives her actions in Act 2. In the harrowing final moments of the opera, it is the adult Senta who throws herself into the sea, only for the drowned young Senta to be pulled from the waters. This suggests that the entire narrative may exist in the realm of Senta’s imagination, a fantastical reimagining in which she willingly sacrifices herself to save the Dutchman’s tormented soul.

Francis O’Connor’s set design is minimalist but effective. Dominated by a backdrop of billowing sails representing the ghostly ship, the stage is tilted, evoking a sense of instability. A solitary mast, a lookout post with precarious steps and occasional sparse props reinforce the spectral atmosphere. The costumes are equally evocative, with sailors clad in oilskins and sou’westers, while the women are outfitted in fishmongers’ coats and wellies. Senta, however, is dressed demurely in 1950s fashion. The Dutchman, as befits someone who is cursed to sail the seas till judgement day, is attired in apparel from a few centuries ago.

The vocal performances from the principals and chorus were uniformly engaging. Jordan Shanahan imbued the Dutchman with both power and pathos, his voice rich and resonant across all registers. His portrayal was marked by a noble sadness, particularly in Acts 2 and 3, where his recounting of his plight was poignant, yet he also demonstrated a surprising lightness in his playful inquiries about Daland’s daughter in Act 1.

Giselle Allen’s Senta was equally compelling. While her voice took some time to settle, her wide vibrato occasionally overshadowing her passionate declarations in her ballad, she was nonetheless deeply affecting in the final act where her portrayal of Senta’s regret over her former love, Erik, and her single-minded devotion to the Dutchman conveyed a powerful emotional depth.

Toby Spence’s Erik, though a secondary romantic figure, was no less impressive. His tenor voice was striking in its raw power and his dramatic portrayal captured Erik’s desperation with palpable intensity. As Senta’s father, Daland, James Creswell brought a delightful comedic energy to the role, his diction clear and his lower register robust.

The INO Chorus, divided between sailors, ghostly off-stage crew and the fishmonger women, delivered a performance full of vitality. The sailors’ mockery of the Dutchman’s crew and their later surprise, combined with lively choreography, added both texture and verve to the production. Holding it altogether in the pit, conductor Fergus Sheil drew out the full emotional and musical richness of Wagner’s score. While there were occasional intonation issues in the horns, the INO Orchestra’s performance was otherwise a resounding success, capturing the excitement and drama of the work with aplomb.

In the end, this Flying Dutchman proved to be a captivating, triumphant debut for Irish National Opera’s exploration of Wagner. The resounding takeaway is clear: Ireland deserves more Wagner – sooner rather than later.

Andrew Larkin | 23 März 2025

All aboard for a highly-enjoyable production of The Flying Dutchman

Since the inception of the exceptionally productive outfit that is the Irish National Opera, Irish audiences have feasted on Strauss, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Rossini, and all the other big hitters (as well as a host of contemporary talents, of course).

One name, however, has been significant by its absence: that of Richard Wagner, that controversial giant of modern music.

We may go to Wagner expecting everything to be epic: sound, scale, and, notoriously, length. But perhaps mercifully, or with an eye on the uninitiated, the INO has opted for The Flying Dutchman, a melodrama of, by Wagner’s standards, remarkable focus and concision. Even with a fire alarm extending the interval, we’re in and out in about three hours.

The story, said to be inspired by a rough voyage of Wagner’s own, takes up the legend of the titular ghost ship, its mariner doomed to sail forever, unless he can find true love when able to come ashore every seven years. It’s that time now, and it looks like Senta, daughter of ship’s captain Daland, may be that unlucky lady.

The atmospheric overture plays out with some ominous foreshadowing from director Rachael Hewer. Here, we see Senta as a girl being initiated by a storybook into the legend of the Dutchman.

Behind, animated against sails, is the ship itself, rocked by stormy seas in images evoking an early Hollywood swashbuckler.

The design by Francis O’Connor is rich in details like this, a slanted ship’s mast centers the maritime theme, which continues when the action moves ashore, with the addition of a lighthouse, and the swapping of the women’s textile mill for a lively fish factory scene.

In these aspects of design and narrative, Hewer’s production exemplifies the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk that appealed to Wagner (who wrote his own libretti), emphasizing unity of drama, music and visuals.

It’s there, of course, in Wagner’s lyrical and musical motifs, from the opening “Johohoe” or “Heigho” of Daland’s crew, which is repeated in Senta’s ballad and then by the Dutchman himself.

It all has the effect of lacing the unfolding drama with irony, one that attains a terrible resonance in a final, shocking tableau. A fitting reintroduction then, were it needed, to Wagner’s art.

Among the performers, soprano Giselle Allen as Senta gives a vivid characterisation, even climbing that mast to hit some high notes. James Creswell is an equally convincing ship’s captain, his bass clear and commanding.

Baritone Jordan Shanahan is the Dutchman, impressing in his initial exposition of his fate, and his duets later on with Senta.

The show is stolen by the choral contributors, however, who really relish the turned-up-to-11 backing they get from the orchestra under Fergus Sheil for some seriously powerful passages.

It’s heavy metal opera, as Jurgen Klopp might say, as the sailors belt out a drinking song as they try to rouse the Flying Dutchman’s crew.

A descent into something out of a zombie movie is wild, but not unexpected, or unintentionally funny. Not a bit of it. Hewer, unlike perhaps Daland, runs a tight ship here, and assuredly steers course for the tragic denouement of a satisfying production.

Alan O’Riordan | 25 Mar, 2025