By ASHLEY BAKER
Utah Opera’s performance of “The Flying Dutchman” on Saturday evening was the first performance of a Wagner opera for the 19-year-old opera company.
Why was Wagner so long in coming?
There is the matter of preparing an audience for Wagner. The community needs to be introduced to opera through shorter, lighter pieces. The opera company also had to mature.
“There is a kind of aura, a waiting until an opera company is mature enough to produce a Wagnerian opera,” said Lisa Poppleton, publicist for Utah Opera.
The music is more demanding for the orchestra as well as the performers. There are long, demanding solos, particularly in the brass section. The orchestra size is also larger. The typical performance requires an orchestra of 40 to 50 instruments. Wagner wrote for 65 to 70 instruments.
Because of the length and intensity of the composer’s works, there are relatively few singers with the ability to perform a Wagner opera. These singers have a corner on the market, so they are also more expensive to contract.
The typical Wagnerian set was elaborate, making them expensive to reproduce.
“The Flying Dutchman” is unique because its songs are never completed, but always interrupted. By doing this, Wagner keeps the opera active — more like story-telling than a formal performance.
“The Flying Dutchman” is a story of redemption through sacrifice. According to an old Norse legend, a sailor was said to have cursed the devil, and as penance he was forced to roam the seven seas, searching for the love of a faithful woman. Only in this way can he be redeemed. The sailor is allowed ashore once every seven years to look for a wife, and the opera is set at the end of one the seven year periods.
Greer Grimsley is clear and convincing as the Dutchman. His interpretation is carefully calculated to reveal the Dutchman’s character, helping the audience to quickly gain a sense of the agony the Dutchman feels at his fate.
The Utah Opera is successfully attracting a rather diverse crowd. Ned Wall drives a truck for a living and has been attending Utah Opera for about a year. He was introduced to the opera by his girlfriend, and he immediately loved it.
The first performance they attended together was “The Phantom of the Opera.”
“The music is what I liked best,” Wall said. “It gave me chills and goosebumps.”
Nathan Wright attended several operas while serving a mission in Russia, including a performance in Russia’s most prestigious theater, the Bolshoi. He said that what he has seen at Capitol Theatre is as good as anything he saw in Russia.
“In fact, I like the sets even better here,” Wright said.
Arden Hopkin, BYU professor in music said that opera is appealing because it allows people to be transported to another time and place.
“Opera takes us to a bigger, grander world by combining the visual with vocal,” Hopkin said. “This is the magic of opera.”
Many college age people came without dates, with their families or with a small group of friends.
“The Flying Dutchman” is sung in German, with English supertitles projected on a screen above the stage. The supertitles are not meant to follow the opera word for word, but give a summary of the action and dialogue so that reading the supertitles will not distract from the performance.
“The Flying Dutchman” will run for a total of five performances. Remaining performances are January 22 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and January 26 at 2 p.m.
Utah Opera will conclude it’s 1996-97 season with Britten’s “Turn of the Screw” March 8-16, and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” May 17-25. Tickets range from $12 to $60. Those interested can call 355-ARTS or stop by the Capitol Theatre at 50 W. 200 South. Seventy-five percent of Utah Opera’s seats have already been sold to season ticket holders, so seating is limited.
