Richard Wagner: The Flying Dutchman

The Theater an der Wien is one of today’s most vibrant opera houses – and it holds an important place in history. In 1863, for instance, Wagner himself conducted scenes from Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) at the Viennese theatre.

Now the Theater an der Wien has staged a new production of Wagner’s first masterpiece, performed in the earliest existing version. This dates from 1841 and is set in Scotland rather than Norway, where the action was transferred for the opera’s first performance, in Dresden in 1843.

Wagner originally conceived the piece for Paris, so it is fitting that the creative team is led by two Frenchmen – the conductor Marc Minkowski (in charge his authentic-instrument orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble) and the director Olivier Py, known for his visually striking, sometimes radical theatrical concepts.

The title role is taken by the Korean bass-baritone Samuel Youn – now the Bayreuth Festival’s Holländer of choice – while Senta, the woman destined to redeem him through love, is sung by the Swedish soprano Ingela Brimberg.

The programme is a co-production between Theater an der Wien, Francois Roussillon et Associés and Sonostream.tv, with the participation of TF1 and the support of CNC.