Wagner - The Flying Dutchman (Der Fliegende Hollander) / Backman, Behrens, Grundheber, Savonlinna Opera Festival

Starring:Wagner, Behrens, Grundheber, Salminen
Studio: Kultur Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Vocally, it would be hard to find a better Flying Dutchman. Hildegard Behrens, Matti Salminen, and (most important in this 1988 production's title role) Franz Grundheber were among the finest Wagnerian singers of the late 20th century, and all were in top vocal form on this occasion. They have an excellent supporting cast, and a chorus that sings with musical vitality and acts with theatrical vividness under Illka Backman's expert direction. And Leif Segerstam's conducting is superb, keeping the performance unified and propelling it forward with dramatic urgency.

Wagner's drama of a sea captain, cursed to wander the ocean forever until he can be redeemed by the love and self-sacrifice of a good woman, is a relatively early work, still in touch with traditional operatic procedures and accessible to people who are not hard-core Wagnerians. In this production, it comes across with strong impact.

Amazon.com

Vocally, it would be hard to find a better Flying Dutchman. Hildegard Behrens, Matti Salminen, and (most important in this 1988 production's title role) Franz Grundheber were among the finest Wagnerian singers of the late 20th century, and all were in top vocal form on this occasion. They have an excellent supporting cast, and a chorus that sings with musical vitality and acts with theatrical vividness under Illka Backman's expert direction. And Leif Segerstam's conducting is superb, keeping the performance unified and propelling it forward with dramatic urgency.

Description

Ilkka Bäckman's acclaimed production of Wagner's classic opera takes place outdoors in the huge courtyard of Finland's 500-year-old Olavinlinna Castle - a majestic and impressive setting, which gives the production an atmosphere and realism almost impossible to create in a conventional theatre. Hildegard Behrens, at the height of her career, is the tragic Senta, whose destiny is to redeem the Dutchman from his fate. The German bass-baritone, Franz Grundheber, sings the title role, and Finland's own Matti Salminen is the Norwegian sea captain, Daland. From the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Customer Reviews:

Turn Off The TV.......2005-06-15

What is the point of buying a DVD if you can't enjoy what you SEE as well as hear? I liked what I heard well enough, but visually, the production is stupid. The costuming is simply awful! Senta, for example, wears a silk and velvet dress (for spinning?!?) As has been mentioned in other reviews, the constant scenes of a pen and ink drawing of the Dutchman's ship superimposed over waves every time nobody is singing are more than annoying. The scenes of the (Finland's Olavinlinna)castle grounds at other points during the opera obviously have nothing to do with the story. The camera work is especially awful. Extreme close-ups of chorus members are pointless and the close-ups of main cast members are a mistake because of the heavy make-up they wear. Why the director decided to give the Steersman a fancy blanket for his nap is a mystery. Moreover, the Steersman's pawing over the treasure is a new story not invented by Wagner. If you want to film an opera in an outdoor setting, this is an example of how NOT to do it. We see the Dutchman's crew - they wear spandex outfits with nets over their faces - apparently the newest thing in attire for the dead. But, we see them entirely only when the carry the treasure chest for Daland to inspect. The rest of the time, we see only their arms waving through holes in their ship. What a strange thing for ghosts to do! The only thing worse that could happen to Wagner than Finland is Kupfer.

Not Perfect, But Definitely Worth It.......2005-04-29

I first purchased this DVD for two reasons. First, I was about to be in a production of Der Fliegende Hollander (in the chorus) and I wanted to get a feel for the story. Second, I wanted to hear Matti Salminen, the Finish Bass whose deep, sonorous voice is so compelling. Overall, I was not disappointed. This is a good production of one of Wagner's more accessible operas. The staging is different. Filmed inside of a Finish castle, it looks a bit odd at times. I would have preferred a more traditional stage, but I found myself getting used to it as the production went on.

Salminen is first rate as the captain and father, Daland. The hard walls of the castle really show off his resonance and power, and his acting is good (which is not always the case with many big name opera stars). Daland is really more of a supporting character in the opera, and Salminen handles it well without overshadowing the two main roles, Senta and the Dutchman.

Bass-Baritone, Franz Grundheber does a great job in the role of the tortured Dutchman. He has a power and presence that lends itself to the dark music and drama that this role demands. This is a role that can overwhelm lesser voices and actors, but Grundherber makes a believable, even sympathetic Dutchman. This is, to me, the true core of the character. He is more multi-leveled than many portray him. He is not a one-dimensional "baddy" but a sorrowful soul desperately seeking redemption.

I have other recordings with Hildegard Behrens and I must say, I have heard her better. But even with that, she is not bad and does a passable job as Senta. She is by no means a huge disappointment or a distraction, but I would say she is the weaker link in this phenomenal cast.

The chorus is also solid. The fishermen are hearty and lively and sing their chantey section quite well, and the women do an exceptional job with the "spinning chorus". I found the staging for the "ghosts" a bit odd, however. They are never actually seen, only as arms the wave from the hull of their ship. That is part of the production quality that I did find distracting. Since this was originally a television production, some of the quality and the choice of camera shots were questionable, if not down right dumb. There is lots of cutting away to graphic representations of the Dutchman's ship, which I thought looked corny.

Overall, I would recommend this DVD. It is, as I said, a great introduction to Wagner. It is a smaller opera by Wagnerian standards, the story is pretty straightforward (especially for Wagner) and the music is first rate. While not perfect, it is definitely worth it.

A superb cast brings this "Dutchman" to llife!.......2005-03-25

The best sung "Flying Dutchman" available in any format. Every CD set has a serious flaw with at least one singer in the cast and that usually being a squally Senta. The Dorati set on London has a wonderful cast but nothing comes to life. On Myto the same Senta and Dutchman are superb but the sound is poor. Some Reviewers have criticized this Savonlinna production and some rather scathingly but we are in debt to Kultur for making this production available. Behrens, Salminen and Grundheber produce beautiful sound, unstrained power and great interpretation. The Naxos recording is quite good maybe a little overrated but well sung. Gramophone refers to a Sawallisch recording on EMI but I haven't heard or seen that recording. I don't expect to
hear a better sung "Dutchman", certainly in the near future. This belongs in
your collection for its beautiful, exciting and equally inspired singing as well as for the superb playing of the orchestra conducted by the inspired Leif Segerstam. When Behrens was in good voice, she was, as here, thrilling.

Vocally enthralling, visually atmospheric Dutchman.......2004-12-30

Wagner's Der Flieglande Hollander is probably his single most effective piece of theater. It's relatively short, and the opera moves along at an astonishingly fast clip. At this stage Wagner was not fond of sprinkling his works with long, "profound" monologues (think of Wotan's 40 minute narration in Act 2 of Die Walkure).
This performance took place at an ancient Finnish castle, and the directors obviously love the atmospheric setting as there are many shots of the outside waters and the craggly staircases of the castle. I rather like this -- for a film, it's a wonderful setting. The performance is live though, with a clapping audience, so there's no "lip-synching" that ruins so many operatic films.
Vocally this Dutchman is hard to beat. Franz Grundeheber is a genuine Wagnerian bass baritone, with an extremely dark vibrant tone. The closeups do not flatter him visually -- he's a "side" singer, and he sweats so much during the performance that his eyeshadow and mascara smear all over his face. Strangely the Dutchman is costumed in medieval armor, which doesn't really make sense. I mean, he's a sea captain. He's not Lohengrin. But this is a world-class Dutchman, and his thrilling Narrative is one of the video's highlights. If I have *one* quibble with Grundeheber it's that for a doomed sea captain he seems way too robust and vigorous. He doesn't really have that haunted, desperate quality that perhaps would make his portrayal richer.
Hildegard Behrens as Senta is also caught in her all-too-brief prime. She's lovely to look at, and a sensitive nuanced actress. Her voice already sounds a bit shrill under pressure, but it's not yet intrusive. Matti Salminen is also a vocally wonderful if stolid Daland.
The orchestral playing is disappointing. Brass is way overplayed and shrill. More distracting are the video "enhancements" like closeups of singers superimposed over shots of the ocean waves, often in the MIDDLE of a scene!!! Still, the performance is vocally so valuable these are mere annoyances in one of the best examples of Wagner on video.

All the problems of outdoor production plus a TV video.......2004-11-01

From Savonlinna. It's an outdoor performance and re-inforces my prejudice against them. Minimal scenery. Not even an attempt to play out the last scene. Plus the whole thing is lip sinc and although the soloists manage all right the chorus doesn't even make the attempt. Musically, the orchestra is a little raw. They play the first act and pause but then run acts 2 and 3 together. Grundheber, Behrens and Salminen and very good. On the whole I would hold out for Kupfer or some other indoor production.

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