Photograph by: Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald
, Calgary Herald Just over 20 years ago, Calgary Opera put its toe in the Wagnerian ocean with a production of The Flying Dutchman, only to pull it out again, and quickly. The production was not a notable success, and it appeared that Wagner and Calgary audiences would never meet again.
But times change. Riding the crest of a recent period in which productions that have been well received and audience support has been strong, the company has decided to give Wagner a try once more. And in celebration of the anniversary of Wagner's birth, Calgary Opera is once again offering The Flying Dutchman.
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This time many things are substantially different. Importantly, the production is almost completely controlled "in house," with Kelly Robinson as stage director in control of not only the staging, but also (with Scott Reid) the set. Harry Frehner, celebrating his 60th production with the company, is the lighting director. These are all people who know each well professionally and who have worked together for some time.
The results show, for this is a production with a clear, un-fussy underlying concept, one that engages the symbolic elements of the score but does not overwhelm them with gratuituous interpretive layers. In brief, Wagner is permitted to speak and to tell his story directly.
Many people who enjoy opera are nevertheless filled with trepidation when Wagner becomes the topic of discussion. Such people have little to fear here, either by way of the opera or the production. For this is early Wagner, composed at the heyday of pictorial "national" opera. It is filled with attractive chorus numbers, lyrical arias for the main characters, and a considerable amount of stage action.
The set, developed for this production and created by Scott Ried, consists of modular units that combine in different ways to suggest a rocky shore, the deck of a ship, the interior of a house, and a wharf. In many ways Wagner's scenic intentions can be more effective realized with today's technology than at the time it was composed. Employing amazingly effective projected backdrops, which can also be animated and interact with the physical set, the production is able to capture the emotion and ambience of the rocky Norwegian setting of the opera, with its storms, bleakness, and sense of an ancient epic landscape. The costumes, rented from The Lyric Opera of Kansas, are Nordic and folk-like and provide a splash of colour to the mise en scene.
In many ways the most difficult aspects of the opera represent visually constitute its strongest element: the sense of the opening storm, and the transfiguration at the end. The techniques recently developed in film to suggest the world of the fantasy epic are drawn upon here and are impressively successful.
More conventional, perhaps, but equally telling, are the three big scenes involving the chorus: the opening scene on the ship, the Spinning Chorus, and, especially, the extended Sailor's Chorus (with the ladies) in the final act. Richly detailed and expertly sung by an expanded Calgary Opera Chorus, these scenes put the grand back into grand opera, the sense of pageantry wonderfully realized.
Vocally, the cast is strong, if in some instances not perfectly ideal. Richard Pual Fink plays the title role of the Dutchman, and it is evident throughout the opera that he knows part inside out and has the right voice for the role. This is an even better performance than his previous appearance in Calgary in Rigoletto, his voice suitably dark, well-projecting, and rightly coloured for Wagner. He is a significant presence throughout the entire production, not the least in his great opening monologue in the first act, "Die Frist is um."
Fink is well paired with Valerian Ruminski as the Norwegian captain Daland, whose voice is slightly contrasted with the Dutchman, as his character is also only somewhat different. These differences nicely counterpoint the Dutchman's inner intensity, as they emerge against the more practical, human Daland, who is (at least occasionally) sentimental and humorous.
Joni Henson as Senta acts the part very well, convincingly conveying her inner obsession with the Dutchman, but not over-doing this aspect. Vocally, she has a well-carrying voice, but not naturally one of Wagnerian steel. I suspect she would be heard to better advantage in Italian and French roles. Much the same might be said of David Pomeroy, who was excellent as Erik, Senta's boy friend, but whose innately beautiful voice also has Italianate qualities. As a couple, and a plausible couple within the story line, both young singers gave the production a more human dimension that it sometimes has, permitting the epic element to emerge as striking contrast. Emila Boteva as Mary completed the cast, singing well and with a substantial, attractive voice.
As on previous occasions, Robert Dean conducted the productng, bringing his customary vigour and sense to the task at hand. The difficult orchestral score was handled with competence by the CPO, if not with quite the polish and refinement of other, more familiar operas. Overall, Dean was successful in creating the necessary orchestral presence without overwhelming the singers, no mean feat in such an opera.
As indicated above, the chorus rose to the demands magnificantly, the Spinning Chorus as charming as could be imagined, and the big scene with the sailors also effective in the staging and the singing.
Hearing and seeing Wagner done as well as this outside the most famous international houses is not often found. This production, imaginative and well performed, can be enjoyed by opera
lovers who enjoy spectacle, fine singing, a clever production, and (not least) Wagner's thrilling music