Education Guide The Flying Dutchman by ... - Edmonton Opera

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Activity: Teacher Resource The Setting Background: The traditional setting for The Flying Dutchman is a fishing village in the early 18 th century. This was a time when many European countries’ wealth depended on their maritime trading, and thus the sea was a natural focus for art and literature in that period. This production is not set traditionally, but in a dream-world. Much like Shakespeare’s plays have been set in new places in films like Baz Luhrman’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet and Michael Almereyda's New York Hamlet, operas can be set in periods other than that for which they were originally written. New settings take the focus, themes, and a particular reading from the original and explore those in a different place and time, thus inviting audiences to consider a work in new ways. This production is designed to be a world unto itself, and the sets, costumes, and makeup will create a dream-like world, as did German Expressionist film makers in the early 1920’s. David Stabler’s preview for this production of The Flying Dutchman (last presented in 2007) describes the set: “the curtain will rise on a big, tilted box made of weathered planks, resting on what looks like a rotted wharf … The tilted box – society is askew – summons up a seaside community as a bastion of conformity that ostracizes the sailor, who is doomed to sail the seas forever.” The women’s spinning feels like a factory, taking on a “creepy, fascist, conformist profile” according to Christopher Alden, the director who conceived the production (The Oregonian March 22, 2007). Activity: New setting, New staging, Same Story? Great works by masters like Wagner and Shakespeare (among others!) are frequently “re-set” in new productions. As a class, examine how setting (or “re-setting”) plays, operas, books and movies works. #1 Brainstorm new settings or re-stagings of works that you know (plays, books, movies). Where are they originally set and where are they set in the “re-setting”? #2 Identify some decisions faced in this process: what kinds of references are made to the original? How close does the story stay to the original? What is the difference between a resetting or re-staging and an adaptation? #3 Evaluation: Examine some “re-set” or re-staged works in comparison with their “originals,” (text or production), determine which seem the most successful, and discuss why. #4 Creation: Taking a story already studied or known in class, and brainstorm other settings for it. Why do some settings work more than others? How do they contribute to the experience? Education Guide The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner 20
What is Expressionism? Generally speaking, “Expressionist” refers to art that portrays extreme emotion. Although there is no particular “School of Expressionism,” the term is most frequently used in relation to German artists of the late 19 th and early 20 th century, whose art focuses on an “inner vision” rather than realistic portrayal. Expressionism was a revolt against naturalism and Expressionist artists like Edward Munsch created art that focused not on realistic portrayal, but a visual expression of emotions. What is German Expressionist Cinema? Expressionist Cinema in Germany was a kind of art-film (as opposed to Hollywood films of the same era) that echoed Expressionist art. The Expressionist films “The Scream” by Edward Munsch (1893) is a hallmark work of Expressionism. Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionism created in Germany from 1913 until about 1930 (also sometimes called Weimar Cinema, after the Weimar Republic that governed Germany before the rise of Nationalist Socialism) are distinguished by the extraordinary and skewed dimensions of the sets, the thick, frozen makeup of the performers, and the low lighting. Two of the most well-known films from this period are Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919). While it is debatable if Nosferatu actually qualifies as an Expressionist work, the film certainly encapsulates the feeling of terror (and is known for singlehandedly introducing “vampires can be killed by sunlight” into the vampire oeuvre). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari makes extensive use of extreme angles and altered spatial relationships to portray visually the emotional and psychological extremes experienced by the characters. The angles and lighting of Weimar Cinema were influential in the development of film (especially the horror genre) in America, in part because so many film makers left Germany for Hollywood before the Nazis came to power in 1936. A still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Image from Encyclopedia Britannica Online Education Guide The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner 21
Page 1 and 2: Edmonton Opera Education Guides 200
Page 3 and 4: What is Opera? The word opera is th
Page 5 and 6: Student Handout Activity: “Who’
Page 7 and 8: Male Voice Types • Tenor (“tene
Page 9 and 10: Chorus Most operas include music su
Page 11 and 12: Activity: Teacher Resource Teacher
Page 13 and 14: Section 2: Der fliegende Holländer
Page 15 and 16: Synopsis: The Flying Dutchman Tradi
Page 17 and 18: The Story Behind the Story Like mos
Page 19: Activity: Teacher Resource Activiti
Page 23 and 24: complete the operatic work Die Feen
Page 25 and 26: Activity: Teacher Resource Backgrou
Page 27 and 28: Activity: Teacher Resource What’s
Page 29 and 30: Student Handout Leitmotif Bingo: Th
Page 31 and 32: Sources Websites www.arizonaopera.c

Education Guide The Flying Dutchman by ... - Edmonton Opera

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