Premiered in 1843, Wagner’s first great opera, and his most concise, looks back to the Gothic mysteries of his youth and forward to the penetrating psychological dramas he would later craft. Love, greed, hubris and obsession drive a narrative shaped by the sea and those whose lives depend on it, opening with a violent storm in which echoes of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Weber can be heard, and punctuated by folk-like ballads for the sailors and the women who wait for their return. Cursed to sail for eternity with his ghostly crew, the Dutchman can only be redeemed by the love of a faithful woman. Daland’s daughter Senta, betrothed to Erik, is shocked to recognise the Dutchman from an ancient painting acquired by her grandmother. Their love is instant, but will it be strong enough to lift the Dutchman’s curse?

Wagner: The Flying Dutchman (at Opera Holland Park)

Opera Holland Park

Premiered in Birmingham, a German oratorio with a Christian soul composed by a practicing Lutheran from a famously Jewish family, Elijah is the consummate work of bridge-building, understanding and reconciliation. ‘I was able to sway at will the enormous mass of orchestra, choir and organ’ wrote Mendelssohn from the West Midlands back to Leipzig as he reported on preparations for the oratorio examining the Old Testament figure of Elijah, a ground-shaking and inspiring monument to the nobility of faith. Sir Bryn Terfel is Elijah in this performance at the Sheldonian Theatre uniting soloists, the Crouch End Festival Chorus and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestr

Angharad Lyddon

Events

Past events

May 27 - Jun 14, 2025

Wagner: The Flying Dutchman (at Opera Holland Park) · City of London Sinfonia

Dec 1, 2024

Mendelssohn's Elijah · Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

Future and recently performed repertoire

Mary in The Flying Dutchman by Wagner

City of London Sinfonia

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