12/01/12 – The Flying Dutchman – 1:00pm

Bayreuth Festival

The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner

Sung in German
Approximate running time: 3 hours

The ultimate blend of action, music, scene and dramatic expression was Richard Wagner’s goal in his “total work of art.” Deutsche Welle brings you another performance from the Festspielhaus, which Wagner designed explicitly for his music dramas. This year the festival, still in the hands of Wagner’s descendents – currently led by his great-granddaughters Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner – begins with a new production of Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) as staged by Jan Philipp Gloger and conducted by Christian Thielemann.

Deutsche Welle’s Rick Fulker is there, introducing you to the production team and soloists and looking forward to sharing the Wagner fun with those who can’t make it to the festival. With the demand for tickets exceeding the supply by a factor of ten, they are not lacking in numbers and have responded warmly to the radio transmissions, which convey the sense of event.