The Flying Dutchman at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman is about a ghost doomed to roam the sea forever. The curse can only be broken if a woman gives him her love. Accompanied by the intense, dramatic music, we are shown a choice between safety on the one hand and boundless adventure on the other.

In 1839 Richard Wagner set out on a voyage from Riga to London. The ship encountered a terrible storm and had to take refuge at Borøya, just off Tvedestrand. Wagner's experiences from this journey, along with Heinrich Heine's retelling of the legend of the flying Dutchman, form the basis of the opera.

Director Andreas Homoki and set designer Wolfgang Gussmann have set the action in a Norwegian shipping company at the start of the twentieth century, with exaggerated descriptions of provincialism and the Norwegian merchant class. The production also takes a broader perspective, linking the Dutchman's restless curse with the revenge of nature and the colonies on the gross exploitation by the West.

Swedish baritone John Lundgren stars in the role of the Dutchman, after performing the role to great acclaim on his home stage at the opera in Copenhagen and at the Zürich Opera House. Elisabeth Teige debuts in the role of brave Senta.