Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – François Girard’s grim “new” production of DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER returns to the Met, magnificently performed

• By drediman
• June 5, 2023
• No Comments

The pandemic may have been the best thing that could have happened to François Girard’s production of Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner. The Metropolitan Opera’s staging – co-production with The Abu Dhabi Festival and Opéra de Québec – has the distinction of being the last new production presented by the Met before Covid effectively shuttered all in person performances (in fact, the production’s maiden run was cut short by the lockdown). When I saw it back then, I had deeply mixed feelings about Girard’s excessively grim vision for the opera (stylistically, the work is a precursor to the composer’s mature music dramas), as well as the premiere’s uneven casting.

Coming on the heels of Girard’s superb 2013 production of Parsifal (a keeper, in my book), there were high expectations for the French Canadian director’s new staging of Der fliegende Holländer. Like his production of Wagner singular final work, his staging for the composer’s atmospheric mid-career opera is short on color, instead opting for a starkly lit, monochromatic visual palette to convey the opera’s ghostly setting. But instead of coming across as a stylishly minimalist interpretation of the opera, Girard’s production instead registers as awkwardly blocked and conceptually under-developed. Until you have the right cast and conductor, that is.

Indeed, on my second viewing of the production, the opera came to magnificent, vivid life in the hands of Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny in the restless, spectral title role and South African soprano Elza van den Heever (who gave beloved soprano Joyce DiDonato a run for her money in her memorable 2012 Met debut as an electrifying Queen Elizabeth I in Maria Stuarda) in the central role of Santa. Both sang with effortless power, as well as natural beauty – a rare occurrence in the performance of Wagner operas. Rounding out the cast were tenor Eric Cutler and bass Dmitry Belosselski, who gave distinctive and stylish turns as Erik and Daland, respectively.

In the pit, maestro Thomas Guggeis – in an accomplished house debut – drew a well-balanced, painterly reading of Wagner’s richly symphonic score from the mighty Met Orchestra. Also notable was the imposing contribution of the great Met Chorus, as always a key player under the invaluable guidance of Chorus Master Donald Palumbo.

RECOMMENDED

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER
Opera
The Metropolitan Opera
2 hours, 25 minutes (without an intermission)
In repertory through June 10