Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Bayreuth, 1985)

Wagner's Flying Dutchman had never been seen like this before: At the 1978 Bayreuth Festival, director Harry Kupfer presented the story of the title character's restless travels around the world entirely from the perspective of the female protagonist Senta. In Peter Sykora's stage design, which undergoes several magical transformations, the events seem to take place on the threshold between wakefulness and dream, reality and hallucination. Due to the psychological depth of the characterization and the compelling acting performances of Lisbeth Balslev and Simon Estes, the production reaches the intensity of an Ingmar Bergman film. Harry Kupfer continued his work in Bayreuth a few years later with a successful Ring production.

Soloists: 

Matti Salminen (Bass), Robert Schunk (Tenor), Anny Schlemm (Alto), Lisbeth Balslev (Soprano), Simon Estes (Baritone), Graham Clark (Tenor)

Ensembles: 

Bayreuth Festival Chorus, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

Conductor: 

Woldemar Nelsson