Jaap van Zweden & Der Fliegende Holländer

Jaap van Zweden, who would debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2023 with Der Fliegende Holländer, now conducts Wagner's first success at the Matinee.

Wagner's opera career gains momentum
In 1843, Wagner was at the beginning of his career. Two now forgotten youth operas and a grand-opéra had not brought him the success he expected. With Der fliegende Holländer, that came. The composer was inspired by a satirical novella by Heinrich Heine, set during a stage performance in Amsterdam. In it, a doomed Dutch sea captain figures who can be redeemed by the love of a woman.

Creeping around a ghost ship
To get his opera performed in Paris, Wagner first composed the central aria, Senta's famous ballad. The descending quarter interval, which sounds each time in the opening of her phrases, immediately creates the special atmosphere of this heartfelt cry. The French capital rejected it anyway, but in Dresden they understood this new, through-composed opera better. The orchestra echoes the natural violence of the sea storms. During the scenes in which the ghost ship of the mysterious Holländer approaches, shivers ran down the spine of the audience. For Wagner, the road to musical drama now lay open.