'Dutchman' magic sails as a piece for our times

The legend of the Flying Dutchman was well known to Europeans in the 19th century. It recounts the story of a Dutch sea captain who tries to round the Cape of Good Hope in a horrible storm. He curses the elements and swears that he will prevail, even if he has to sail the seas until Judgement Day.

The devil hears him and condemns him to sail for eternity, unless he can find a woman who will love him faithfully unto death. Once every seven years, the Dutchman is allowed to dock and go ashore to search for a woman who will be true to him forever.

The sensational story sparked not only the average person's imagination of the time, but also Richard Wagner's, who realized the potential of the story as an opera libretto. And his interest in the legend was intensified by his own experience at sea: while sailing from Riga, Latvia, to London, the ship found itself in a gale and had to seek refuge in a Norwegian port.

The similarities between the Dutchman of folklore and himself were too great to ignore, and Wagner soon after had the libretto completed. That was in 1840, and within two years the young composer had written the score to "The Flying Dutchman" ("Der fliegende Hollander").

The opera was premiered in Dresden in January 1843, barely three months after his earlier opera "Rienzi" debuted. Both were unqualified successes, and "The Flying Dutchman" became the first of Wagner's operas to find a permanent home in the repertoire of opera houses around the world.

After a decade, Utah Opera will revive "The Flying Dutchman" for a five-performance run in the Capitol Theatre starting Saturday.

Returning to Salt Lake City to conduct the production is Klauspeter Seibel, who was last seen in the Capitol Theatre conducting Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" last January.

During an interview with the Deseret Morning News in the Utah Opera Production Studios, Seibel said that because of the strong presence of magic in "The Flying Dutchman," it's a "good piece for our times. Especially when you think of the popularity of 'Harry Potter."'

But Seibel said that "The Flying Dutchman" shouldn't be considered on a par with J.K. Rowling's story. "It's different, of course. Wagner's opera is much more serious.

"The Dutchman and Senta (the woman who redeems him through her undying love) are heroic characters, and they have to be understood as such. And it is great that we have a stage director who really tries to understand the characters and have them act in a natural and human way."

Harry Silverstein is directing, and although this is his first "Dutchman," he approaches the story in much the same way that Seibel approaches the music: directly and honestly, and by staying true to Wagner's intentions.