Der fliegende Holländer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:45, 10 June 2007

Revision as of 14:01, 10 June 2007

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Wagner's experience of Paris was also disastrous. He was unable to get work as a conductor, and the ''Opéra'' did not want to produce ''Rienzi''. The Wagners were reduced to [[penury]], relying on handouts from friends and from the little income that Wagner could make writing articles on music and copying scores. Wagner hit on the idea of a one-act opera on the theme of The Flying Dutchman, which might be performed before a ballet at the ''Opéra''.

<blockquote>''"The voyage through the Norwegian reefs made a wonderful impression on my imagination; the legend of the Flying Dutchman, which the sailors verified, took on a distinctive, strange colouring that only my sea adventures could have given it."''</blockquote>

Wagner wrote the first prose draft of the story in Paris early in May of [[1840]], basing the story on a chapter from Heinrich Heine's satire "The Memoirs of Mister von Schnabelewopski" (Aus den Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski) published in [[1834]]. In this novel, the hero watches a performance of an opera on the theme of the seacaptain cursed to sail forever for [[blasphemy]]. Heine introduces the character as a [[Wandering Jew]] of the ocean, and also added the device taken up so vigorously by Wagner in this, and many subsequent operas: the Dutchman can only be redeemed by the love of a faithful woman. In Heine's version, this is presented as a means for ironic humour, however Wagner took this theme literally and in his draft, the woman, ''Senta'' is faithful until death.

By the end of May 18401841 Wagner had completed the [[libretto]] or ''poem'' as he preferred to call it. Composition of the music had began during May - July 1840, when Wagner wrote Senta's Ballad, the Norwegian Sailor's song in Act 3 ("Steersman leave the Watch!") and the subsequent Phantom song of the Dutchman's crew in the same scene. These were composed for an audition at the Paris ''Opéra'', along with the sketch of the plot. Wagner actually sold the sketch to the Director of the ''Opéra'', but was unable to convince him that the music was worth anything. The rest of the opera was composed during the summer of 1841, with the [[Overture]] being written last and by November 1841 the orchestration of the score was complete.

== Roles ==