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Stranded at sea

The State Opera's Flying Dutchman never quite arrives
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By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 4th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Walking the plank: the Dutchman (Michele Kalmandi) and Senta (Maida Hundeling).
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Der fliegende Holländer


When: June 5, 8 and 11 at 7
Where: State Opera
Tickets: 100-1,200 Kč, available through Bohemia Ticket and at the venue
Performed in German, with Czech and English titles
It’s a bad sign when musicians are shaking their heads in bewilderment after an opera performance. At the reception following the State Opera’s May 29 premiere of Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), a visiting composer wondered, “Why would they leave out the picture and the treasure? Those are important to the plot. I don’t understand it.”
The picture, the treasure and almost everything else is left to the imagination in this bare-bones production, which a local composer succinctly characterized as “not a production, but a concert performance.”
That’s perhaps the kindest description of this tame version of Wagner’s gripping one-act opera, which had its world premiere in Dresden in 1843. Before he embarked on the towering music dramas of Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and the Ring cycle, Wagner tuned up with this romantic rendering of the legendary cursed seaman who can be redeemed only by the selfless love of a woman. It’s a supernatural tale of greed, obsession, betrayal and redemption, with wild storms and crashing waves pounding through the orchestra.
Unfortunately, there’s little of that in this production, which is hampered by leaden direction and uneven music from the pit. And while no one expects elaborate sets on Prague stages these days, there’s not even a hint of the ships, blood-red sails and ghostly crew that are critical to establishing the mood and framework of the opera. The closest anybody gets to water is a rear projection of whitecaps and occasional surging waves, which more than one person complained afterward were breaking in the wrong direction against the seawall.
The treasure is supposed to appear in the first act, when the afflicted Dutchman offers it to Daland, a merchant seaman, in exchange for the hand of his daughter. The Dutchman tempts Daland by revealing that his ship is full of treasure — but without something tangible onstage, it’s hard to imagine why a father would so readily give away his daughter to some creepy stranger.
Wagner’s second act helps answer this question by starting with Senta, the daughter, staring obsessively at a portrait of the Dutchman, then explaining that she’s transfixed by the legend and would gladly offer herself to save him — much to the dismay of Erik, her betrothed. But this is difficult to follow, much less believe, without an actual portrait onstage. Instead, Senta stares out a window, with a disfigured reflection staring back. The portrait of the Dutchman is conspicuous only in its absence, which robs his subsequent arrival of much of its dramatic impact.
All of this could be easily overlooked if the music and staging swept you along. But aside from the chorus numbers, which sparkle when the women are singing, the pace is deadeningly slow and the singers seem nailed to the floor. Wagner always presents a challenge in this respect, with long stretches of just two people onstage singing back and forth. That should work to the advantage of this piece, with its metaphoric meeting between a devil and an angel, but the relationship never catches fire under the guidance of British director Stephen Taylor.
The music picks up steam and intensity over the course of the opera, as Wagner indicated it should, but never achieves the power to match lines like, “When will the pulverizing blow crack the world and bring it to its doom?” The State Opera’s bright young chief conductor, Guillaume Tourniaire, who handled Saint-Saens’ Nuit Persane & Helene so beautifully in February, was perhaps not the best choice to conduct Wagner. The singing was competent but otherwise unimpressive on opening night, with the exception of Maida Hundeling as Senta, whose clear, lustrous soprano dominated the evening, at times even overwhelming Michele Kalmandi’s baritone Dutchman.
More than anything else, this production is a reflection of the sad state of opera in Prague these days. Both the State Opera and the National Theater are doing their best under difficult circumstances, but government arts funding cuts have taken a severe toll. If you’ve never seen Der fliegende Holländer, this will serve as a good introduction and primer for a full-blown production. And the score is excellent. Otherwise, it’s time to fold the tents on this season and hope for better in 2008–09.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (4/06/2008):

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