Der fliegende Holländer, Royal Opera House, London

For a fairly popular opera, Der fliegende Holländer does not come round often. Like Wagner’s anti-hero, cursed to wander the seas and only put in to land every seven years, the work itself seems fated to be an infrequent visitor, forever in search
of the elusive production that might be worthy of it.

The Royal Opera’s new staging by Tim Albery is serviceable rather than inspiring. The action is updated to the postwar years, set it in a drab world of dilapidated interiors that looks like eastern Europe. No wonder Senta wants to escape the dreary sweatshop where she works, with its rows of sewing machines and utilitarian strip lighting. For reasons made only half clear she seems to have set her heart on a model of the Dutchman’s ship and ends the opera cradling it in her arms instead of throwing herself into the sea after him – one of a handful of doubtful ideas, though much else
is strongly handled.

But in the end none of this really matters. The performances of the two central characters – Bryn Terfel as the Dutchman (pictured) and Anja Kampe as Senta – are so compelling that there is hardly time to focus on anything else. Terfel’s Dutchman, first seen in Cardiff in 2006, is a major portrayal that seems to have been waiting in the wings for years. It is not just that the vocal range suits him perfectly, or the deep resonance of his voice, but how his quiet singing plumbs the Dutchman’s agony fathoms-deep where other singers do not reach. Kampe is the Senta every Dutchman would love to find – warm-hearted, sympathetic, and giving every ounce of her body and soul to the cause.

Marc Albrecht, the conductor, complements the bleak staging with a stark dynamic drive, galvanising a supporting cast that includes Hans-Peter König’s sturdy Daland, Torsten Kerl’s vocally constricted Erik and nice cameos from Claire Shearer and John Tessier. But it is when Terfel and Kampe are alone that the humanity of Wagner’s music suddenly floods the theatre like a tidal wave. The Dutchman’s ship will have to put into port quite a few times before we encounter a leading couple like this again.

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