THE FLYING DUTCHMAN | RICHARD WAGNER
FERGUS SHEIL, CONDUCTOR | RACHAEL HEWER, DIRECTOR | IRISH NATIONAL OPERA
📅 Streaming from April 25, 2025, at 19:00 IST (GMT+1)
📍 Watch for free on Operavision
🔹 Free streaming
🔹 Available until October 25, 2025, at 12:00 CET
🔹 Sung in German with subtitles in English and German
🔹 Recorded on March 27, 2025
Cast highlights:
– The Dutchman: Jordan Shanahan
– Senta: Giselle Allen
– Daland: James Creswell
– Erik: Toby Spence
– Mary: Carolyn Dobbin
– Steersman: Gavan Ring
– Irish National Opera Orchestra & Chorus
For its first-ever staging of a Wagner opera, Irish National Opera presents a new production of The Flying Dutchman, a tale of fate, obsession, and redemption set against the vast backdrop of the sea. Directed by Rachael Hewer and conducted by INO artistic director Fergus Sheil, the performance features Jordan Shanahan in the title role and Giselle Allen as Senta, the woman drawn to his doomed legend.
Wagner considered Der fliegende Holländer the true beginning of his career, and its tempestuous score—anchored by the famous overture—conveys both stormy drama and inner psychological intensity. This production brings together a cast of seasoned Wagnerians, the Irish National Opera Chorus, and a team of designers and artists shaping the work’s dark, mythic tone.
The performance is available to stream for free on OperaVision.
Overview
In The Flying Dutchman, a cursed seafarer is doomed to sail the oceans until he finds a woman who will love him with unwavering faith. Once every seven years, he is allowed to come ashore.
Captain Daland encounters the Dutchman during a storm and promises him his daughter, Senta. Drawn to the legend since childhood, Senta believes it is her destiny to save the mysterious sailor. But as doubts and past ties resurface, the Dutchman fears betrayal once more.
In the climactic final act, Senta chooses sacrifice and devotion over her own life, leaping into the sea to prove her fidelity. The curse is broken, the ship disintegrates, and the Dutchman is finally set free.
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