13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
The Flying Dutchman, English National Opera, London Coliseum, 2nd May 2012
Katie Barnes
Photography: Robert Workman for English National Opera
In an interview before the first night, conductor Edward Gardner promised his audiences
“a rollercoaster ride.” He and producer Jonathan Kent kept that promise. This thrilling
performance could not have been a greater contrast to the Royal Opera's somnolent
reading last year. Gardner's orchestra and chorus, as disciplined and galvanised as any
earthly or supernatural ship's crew, played and sang like beings possessed by a force
greater than themselves. The music thundered like a tropical storm and swirled about the
theatre like spray from a turbulent ocean. I felt drenched by it. There was an unforgettable
sensation of being immersed, soaked, in the opera.
The central conceit of Kent's powerful production is that the Dutchman is Senta's
fantasy. Of course, this has been done before, notably by Harry Kupfer and Claus Guth
at Bayreuth, but rarely have I seen it presented so persuasively. As in Guth's production,
Senta's relationship with Daland is at the root of her troubles. But where Guth made them
disturbingly close, here, during the Prelude, we are shown a silent prologue in which
Senta is still a little girl in pink pyjamas who longs for her father's affection, while he
clearly has no idea how to relate to her. When she tries to wrap herself in his oilskins and
put on his sea-boots to show her desire to accompany him on his next voyage, he
reprovingly takes the garments from her and instead gives her two gifts which she
cherishes – a model of a ship with crimson sails and a large picture book with the
Dutchman's portrait on the cover – before slipping away. He hesitates before leaving,
knowing that he should say something to her, but gives up and goes. Senta is enraptured
by her new presents, and plays with the boat before settling down to read the book. As
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