Komische Oper Berlin 27 November 2022 - The Flying Dutchman | GoComGo.com

The Flying Dutchman

Komische Oper Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Sunday 27 November 2022
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Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Berlin, Germany
Starts at: 18:00
Overview

A monumental ghost story about the search for redemption.

Blood-red sails, an undead crew and a cursed captain. The tale of the Flying Dutchman strikes fear into the heart of every seasoned sailor. Richard Wagner captures the spirit of the fabled Dutchman in a score as mysterious as it is monumental. Wagner's first opera on his life’s theme—redemption in death through love—is staged at the Komische Oper Berlin by Herbert Fritsch.

The Flying Dutchman is cursed to cruise the oceans forever. The terms of his redemption have been brought to him by and angel: Every seven years the waves will cast him upon the shore. If he finds a wife who will be true to him, he will be released from his curse. But his hope is fading, and he wishes for death. He meets Daland and his crew, who have found shelter from the raging storm in a bay. The Dutchman draws new strength, when Daland, deeply impressed by the riches aboard the Dutchman’s ghostly ship, invites the Dutchman to meet his daughter Senta. Herbert Fritsch, the enfant terrible of the directing world, stirs the pot with his highly musical and ultra-physical directing style, not only in the theatre, but also on opera stages (most recently with Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Komische Oper Berlin). With Wagner's early work The Flying Dutchman, in which folkloric choruses, dramatic ballads and the forces of nature roar through the orchestra, Fritsch takes on another classic, showing its close kinship with other ghostly pirate tales à Pirates of the Carribean.

What’s special about it?
The frightening experiences of a stormy sea voyage were in Wagner's bones when he composed this. If you listen very carefully, you can even hear the shouts of the sailors echoing off the rocks!

History
Premiere of this production: 02 January 1843, Königliches Hoftheater, Dresden

The Flying Dutchman (German: Der fliegende Holländer) is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater in Dresden in 1843. Wagner claimed in his 1870 autobiography Mein Leben that he had been inspired to write the opera following a stormy sea crossing he made from Riga to London in July and August 1839. However, in his 1843 Autobiographic Sketch, Wagner acknowledged he had taken the story from Heinrich Heine's retelling of the legend in his 1833 satirical novel The Memoirs of Mister von Schnabelewopski (Aus den Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski).

Venue Info

Komische Oper Berlin - Berlin
Location   Behrenstraße 55-57

The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals.

The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Berlin State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Berlin State Ballet, and the Bühnenservice Berlin (Stage and Costume Design), has been a member of the Berlin Opera Foundation.

The theatre was built between 1891 and 1892 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer for a private society. It first opened on 24 September 1892 as "Theater Unter den Linden" with Adolf Ferron's operetta Daphne and Gaul and Haßreiter's ballet Die Welt in Bild und Tanz.

The theatre was primarily a vehicle for operetta, but was also used for various other events and balls. Around 800 people could be seated in the stalls, and the balconies and various en-suite dinner rooms housed about a further 1,700 seats. Its directors went bankrupt in 1896 and the theatre was forced to close its doors.

On 3 September 1898 the theatre was reopened as Metropol-Theater with Julius Freund's revue Paradies der Frauen. It then grew to become one of Berlin's most famous and successful variety theatres. During the 1920s and early 1930s, it was leased by the brothers Alfred and Fritz Rotter. Under their management, it saw the premieres of two operettas by Franz Lehár - Friederike (opera) in 1928 and Das Land des Lächelns in 1929, both starring Richard Tauber. However, due to a decline of variety and music hall entertainment the theatre was again closed in 1933.

In 1934 the theatre was nationalised and renamed Staatliches Operettentheater. It operated as part of the Nazi Kraft durch Freude entertainment and leisure programmes. During World War II, the auditorium was damaged by Allied bombing on 7 May 1944. The façade, entrance hall, and auditorium ceiling murals were destroyed by bombs on 9 March 1945.

After the war, the theatre was in East Germany, being that the building was in the eastern part of Berlin. Following repair works and provisional rebuilding, the theatre reopened on 23 December 1947, as the Komische Oper with Johann Strauss's operetta Die Fledermaus.

The 1950s saw various further alterations and extensions. The theatre was completely rebuilt in 1965/1966 by Architektenkollektiv Kunz Nierade, adding functional extensions and giving the theatre a completely new exterior. The theatre reopened again on 4 December 1966, with Mozart's Don Giovanni. The auditorium underwent further restoration in 1986, and the stage technology was further modernised by 1989. Today the theatre seats 1,270.

In 1947, Walter Felsenstein founded and led the resident opera company, the Komische Oper, until his death in 1975. Götz Friedrich was an assistant to Felsenstein at the company. Joachim Herz became general director after Felsenstein's death and served until 1981. Subsequently, Harry Kupfer directed the company for 21 seasons, until 2002. The company specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals. In 2007 the company won, jointly with Oper Bremen, the "Opera house of the year" award by the German magazine Opernwelt. From 2002 to 2012, the company's chief director and Intendant was Andreas Homoki. In June 2008, the company announced the appointment of Barrie Kosky to succeed Homoki as its next Intendant, as of the 2012/2013 season. In October 2014, his contract with the company was extended through 2022. Since 2005, the company's managing director has been Susanne Moser.

From 1966 to 2004, the theatre was also home to a resident ballet company – first as the "Tanztheater der Komischen Oper", and then from 1999 as "BerlinBallett – Komische Oper". In 2004, due to budgetary problems, the separate ballet companies of Berlin's three opera houses were merged into a single company called the Staatsballett Berlin.

Past General Music Directors (GMD) of the company have included Kurt Masur, Rolf Reuter, Yakov Kreizberg, Kirill Petrenko, Carl St.Clair, and Patrick Lange. Since 2012, the GMD of the company is Henrik Nánási. Nánási is scheduled to conclude his tenure at the end of the 2017-2018 season. In May 2017, the company announced the appointment of Ainārs Rubiķis as its next GMD, effective with the 2018-2019 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

Important Info
Type: Opera
City: Berlin, Germany
Starts at: 18:00
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