Wagner the Flying Dutchman. Opera "The Flying Dutchman" R. Wagner

I read the work of Heinrich Heine, “From the memoirs of Mr. Shnabelevopsky”, which is rather little known to our reader. This is an example of brilliant journalism: observations, reflections, notes. His attention was drawn to a chapter in which Heine described a performance he saw in Amsterdam, in the plot of which the legend of the Flying Dutchman was interestingly used. Unknown author play developed this story about a Dutch captain who swore in a storm that he would go around the cape Good Hope, even if it took forever not to go to the ground with the crew. This is what the classic version of the legend sounds like.

The author of the play added a romantic detail. The devil, accepting this challenge of the captain, set the condition that the spell would be lifted if some woman fell in love with this captain and proved her loyalty to him. Well, if such a condition is already proposed, it should be given the opportunity to implement it. And the devil allows the crew to go down to earth once every seven years so that the captain can find this faithful woman of his. And then a mystical story unfolds with love and death.

Apparently, such an interpretation of the legend sunk into the soul of the romantic Wagner. But it did not materialize right away.

Five years later, in 1839, Wagner sailed on a sailboat from Riga to London. The sailboat was caught in a strong storm. It was then that the composer remembered this legend set forth by Heinrich Heine.

The libretto was literally snatched from Wagner by the then-fashionable composer Louis Ditch, and in 1841 the premiere of his opera took place.

Wagner was unfazed by this. He still sat on the text, finalized and supplemented it, and in seven weeks wrote the opera “ Flying Dutchman».

The opera was staged in 1843 in Dresden, but did not cause much enthusiasm among the public. The music was unusual, the arias were far from the generally accepted canons of harmony. Even the mystical plot did not save.

The public "grew up" to Wagner's works only after 50 years. And Wagner himself worked on this opera literally until the end of his life, endlessly polishing, finalizing the instrumentation, changing and expanding the overture, which in our time is often performed as a separate work.

The opera is set in Norway in the seventeenth century. During a storm, the ship of Captain Daland took refuge in the Norwegian bay. Night. Daland's team is resting after the battle with the storm. And at this time, the ship of the Flying Dutchman enters the bay. Today is exactly the day that happens once every seven years, when the Dutchman can go ashore to find his beloved. But he does not believe in this happiness. It is unthinkable to find one that will wait for him for the next seven years. And if she betrays him, she will be cursed just like him. This means that he will forever roam the seas until the Last Judgment.

But on the shore the Flying Dutchman meets with Captain Daland, he seems to be a rich merchant. And the captain has an idea to pass off his daughter Senta for a rich man. Here he is Lucky case for the Flying Dutchman! Having learned about Daland's daughter, he asks for her hand and receives consent.

Meanwhile, Daland's house still does not know anything about the upcoming wedding. The girls are spinning under folk song while Senta looks at the painting on the wall. The picture shows the Flying Dutchman, the legend of which the girl knows well. She loves this unfortunate captain and sings that if he took her as his wife, she would remain faithful to him and love her all her life.

Suddenly joyful cries. Father's ship sails to the shore. Everyone rushes to meet the ship. But at this time, a young hunter Eric enters the house. He loves Senta and dreams of seeing her as his wife. Although she is simply kind to him, he does not lose hope. Only horrible dream he saw that night, as if some black gloomy man came, took Senta with him somewhere in the sea and disappeared there with her. Eric anxiously tells Senta his dream, and she happily sees her fate in this.

Captain Dalland enters the house, he leads the Flying Dutchman with him. He introduces the bride and groom to each other and leaves them alone. The Flying Dutchman tells the girl about how she can save him, and Senta swears allegiance to the groom.

Here is the wedding day. Fun on the beach in the morning. The bride and groom are just about to get married, and the boys and girls are already singing and dancing. They are trying to involve the crew of the ghost ship in their fun. But the sailors remain silent. The youth make them laugh. Then suddenly the wind rose, the sea blew, and the sailors sang their terrible song.

Meanwhile, Senta is being chased by Eric. He persuades her to refuse the wedding, recalls that she has always been supportive of him, Eric, and, as it seems to him, loved him.

This conversation is heard by the Flying Dutchman. Now he is no longer sure that Senta will be able to remain faithful to him. So, if the wedding takes place, then she, having changed her husband, will be cursed. And so, in order to save the girl whom he has already fallen in love with, the Flying Dutchman rushes with the crew onto his ship and sails away from the shore.

Senta, in desperation, climbs a high rock to stop the groom with a cry. Her father and Eric try to stop her. But she, seeing that the ship is disappearing in the distance, throws herself off a cliff into the sea and dies.

But at that very moment, the spell was lifted. The girl proved her loyalty to heaven. The ghost ship finally sinks, and the two loving souls of the Dutchman and his bride unite in love and peace.

The opera begins from the moment when the sea is completely stormy. Daland's ship lands on a rocky shore. The sailor at the helm is tired. Despite the fact that he tried to cheer himself up, he still falls asleep.

Lightning rumbles, and lightning flashes, where a ship with red sails can be seen through its reflections. This is the Flying Dutchman. The captain descends from the deck, upset and tired, as he and his team suffer only failures. He is cursed, and now must constantly roam the sea. He can only set foot on land once every 7 years. And if he marries a girl who will become his faithful wife, then the curse will subside. The Dutchman makes acquaintance with Daland, wanting him to become his friend. For his consent, the leader of the cursed ship is ready to give him all the wealth. During the conversation, it turns out that Daland has a sister, and the Dutchman asks the girl to become his wife.

Meanwhile, Senta, a recalcitrant and eccentric girl, is sitting in anticipation of a young man, supposedly who should sail for her. However, she is courted by another young man who lives nearby, who is ready for anything for the sake of her love for him. Soon the girl's brother arrives with a guest, and she recognizes that betrothed who often came to her in a dream.

Senta, having learned about the stranger's curse, makes a promise to be with him always. But the captain warns that being with him means being in danger. But the girl doesn't want to hear about it. Eric, having heard the confessions of his beloved to another man, convinces her that she will be happy only with him. And Senta, having changed her mind, agrees to marry him. The Dutchman, when he found out about the girl's betrayal, says that he will never confess his love to anyone else and will forever wander the seas. He sets sail with his sailors, and Senta jumps off a cliff, thus proving that she is faithful to him. And at the same moment the ship of the Flying Dutchman goes to the bottom. And in the gap are shown the image of the wanderer and Senta. Opera teaches to be faithful to your chosen one.

Picture or drawing Wagner - Flying Dutchman

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With his wife went from Riga to London on a sailboat. Usually such a voyage took no more than seven days, but then it dragged on for three weeks due to a severe storm, in which the terrified superstitious sailors blamed the passengers. For R. Wagner, this journey became a source of inspiration - he was captured by the romance of the sea. When the ship washed up on the Norwegian coast, in the face of a fishing village, he found a suitable "scene" for the events of his future opera. A suitable plot was also found - a short story by G. Heine "Memoirs of Herr von Schnabelevopsky", more precisely, the plot of the novel retold in it English writer F. Marietta "Ghost Ship". This work, combining the features of a gothic and maritime novel, was based on the legend of the "Flying Dutchman" ... But if G. Heine tells this story with his usual irony, then R. Wagner takes it very seriously.

The legend of the "Flying Dutchman" - a homeless ghost ship doomed to sail the seas forever - is known in various options, and R. Wagner chose the most romantic of them: once every seven years, the ship comes ashore, and if the captain meets a woman who loves him and is faithful to death, he will find peace.

R. Wagner wrote the libretto for the opera The Flying Dutchman in 1840 and offered it to L. Piye, director Parisian theater Grand Opera. He did not want to deal with no one famous composer, but he liked the libretto, and he offered five hundred francs for it - so that someone else would write the music. Desperately in need of money, R. Wagner agreed, and the opera, called The Wandering Sailor, was written by Pierre-Louis Diech, the theater’s chief choirmaster, who had never created operas before (unlike R. Wagner, who by that time was the author of four works in this genre - "Fairies", "Palermo Novice", "Forbidden Love" and "Rienzi"). However, R. Wagner, who was carried away by the plot, was not embarrassed by this - he set to work on the music of his "Flying Dutchman".

If the previous operas by R. Wagner were in many ways an imitation, then in the opera The Flying Dutchman he first declares himself as an established composer with his own "handwriting" - here for the first time, though not in full, features that can be called truly Wagnerian. Arias, duets and choirs are still relatively complete fragments - but one can already feel the desire to overcome this roundness: the numbers are combined into dramatic scenes, and it also happens that the number itself acquires the meaning of a scene - like, for example, the Dutchman's monologue in the first act. inherent in opera and other characteristic Wagnerian musical drama - a system of leitmotifs. There are a few more of them in this opera - the call of the Dutchman, the theme of Senta. They first appear in the overture, which not only paints an impressive picture of a stormy sea, but also expresses in a generalized way the idea of ​​the opera.

Opening new paths, the opera The Flying Dutchman at the same time continues the traditions of the German romantic opera, laid down by K. M. Weber. This consists not only in referring to the legendary plot, but also in the alternation of scenes of folk-everyday and fantastic. In both of them, an important role belongs to the choir, the use of which by the composer is built into a kind of dramatic plan: in the first act - only male choir(sailors), in the second - only female (spinners), in the third act - both, and only in the final appears mixed. Choral scenes are not isolated from solo numbers - for example, the spinning chorus in the second act directly "flows" into Senta's ballad. The most dynamic is the extended choral scene in the third act: the provocative choir of sailors “Helmsman! From the watch down! ”, Reminiscent of German folk songs, and the gloomy choir of the sailors of the ghost ship “answers” ​​the softer female one.

R. Wagner completed the opera The Flying Dutchman in November 1841, but the premiere took place only in January 1843. This happened in Dresden, where the composer's previous opera, Rienzi, was a success, which became the reason for the interest of the Dresden Theater Directorate in the new work by R. Wagner. By a strange coincidence, in the same month, the last - eleventh - performance of "The Wandering Sailor" by Pierre-Louis Diech took place, which appeared thanks to the libretto bought from R. Wagner ... Both operas were very coldly received by the public - however, to "The Wandering Sailor" critically acclaimed. The fate of operas (and composers!) turned out to be the opposite: The Wandering Sailor was no longer staged, and Pierre-Louis Dietsch, disappointed by the failure, did not create another opera. The Flying Dutchman by R. Wagner in subsequent years was staged in Riga, Berlin, Zurich, Prague and other cities - the work came to success that accompanies it to this day, and R. Wagner created many more operas that develop new principles laid down in The Flying Dutchman.

Musical seasons

In 1839, 26-year-old Wagner and his wife Minna secretly leave Riga, hiding from creditors. They are denied passports, so the Prussian border has to be crossed illegally. In a roundabout way, through London, and not without trouble (Minna had a miscarriage on the way), they get to the final goal of their journey - Paris, which Wagner expects to conquer with his " grand opera» Rienzi. The calculation did not materialize: “Rienzi” did not interest anyone, and then the composer, gradually falling into poverty and forced to make his living by journalism and rewriting notes, decided to set himself a more modest bar: to write a small “opera to raise the curtain” (lever de rideau) - such operas are usually anticipated ballet performances; in the language of modern show business, this genre could probably be called "opening opera". This, by the way, explains such a short duration of The Flying Dutchman, especially in comparison with other operas by the same author.

According to legend, Wagner came up with the idea for the Dutchman during a severe storm that he and Minna got into on their way to London. The plot of the opera was borrowed from Heinrich Heine's short story "Memoirs of Herr von Schnabelevopsky". In Paris, Wagner set about composing music, and also composed French a detailed synopsis of the intended work, in order to show it to the all-powerful and omnipresent Eugène Scribe, whose support he hoped. Wagner, whose French was not perfect, is supposed to have been assisted by Heine himself in compiling this synopsis. Alas, failure again: Scribe remained indifferent to the proposed plot and did not want to write a libretto. However, Wagner managed to get an audition from the newly appointed director. Paris Opera Léon Pilet, to whom he presented the German libretto own composition and those musical passages that had already been written: Senta's ballad, the choir of sailors Steuermann, lass die Wacht! and a choir of ghosts following. Incredibly, the music of these fragments, now so beloved by music lovers, seemed to the director of the Opera to be completely devoid of any merit. But he was interested in the plot itself, and he suggested that Wagner sell it. Wagner, being short of funds, was forced to agree: on July 2, 1841, the detailed summary that he had prepared for Scribe was given to Piye for 500 francs. One can only guess how insulting such a deal might have seemed to the composer. Before accusing other geniuses of an excessive tendency to misanthropy, I advise you to recall a couple of such nice facts that can be easily found in the biography of almost any major innovative artist.

However, Wagner was already too engrossed in The Flying Dutchman to stop halfway through. And it wasn't in his nature. The score was completed on November 5 of the same 1841 at Meudon. And for the first time The Flying Dutchman was staged on January 2, 1843 in Dresden. Thus began the long and difficult stage history of this opera, which ended in the conquest of all the best stages in the world.

Little Known Facts

However, in addition to this story, there was another, parallel one. After all, the Wagner script, sold for 500 francs, was by no means left idle. The director of the Opera immediately handed it over to librettists Paul Fouche and Benedict-Henri Revoil. They quickly wrote the libretto, and in the Wagnerian plot, which was generally preserved, they made some (very significant) changes, which will be discussed below. The music was commissioned from the composer Pierre-Louis Ditch. Before Ditch had never written operas, but composed mainly sacred music, but on the other hand he was the chief choirmaster of the theater and a great friend of the director Piye. On November 9, 1842, the opera The Ghost Ship or the Accursed Sailor saw the light of the stage of the Paris Opera. She did not have much success and left the stage after eleven performances (which, however, is not so little). Ironically, the last performance of the "Ghost Ship" took place in January 1843 - just when Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" began his life in Dresden. Judging by the remaining evidence, the reason for this failure was by no means Ditch's music, but the fact that the management of the Opera decided to save money on the production, and the scenery of the performance turned out to be very modest, if not miserable. Most of all, the audience was angered by the fact that the "ship" declared in the title was never shown on stage.

Criticism, on the other hand, was generally favorable. "Mr. Deech's music is marked by craftsmanship and knowledge of the highest standard, has the flavor of sophistication and good taste. The characters are brightly colored. A melancholic and airy cantilena alternates with energetic choral scenes,” one reviewer wrote in fresh wake. Another echoed him: Mr. Ditch skillfully coped with the task, without changing his own musical specifics. Both the rich instrumentation of the opera and its melodies bear a certain stamp of religiosity, ideally corresponding to the harsh vicissitudes of the plot.

After Mark Minkowski performed and recorded the "exhumed" Ghost Ship, French criticism, already in the 21st century, met Deech's creation with no less enthusiasm. “This score would undoubtedly have had a different fate if it had not been eclipsed so early by a similar score by Wagner,” writes Range, France's oldest and most prestigious music magazine.

Be that as it may, disappointed by the cold reception of the public, Ditch did not take up composing operas anymore. Thus, The Ghost Ship remained his only opera. Listening to Minkowski's recording, one really wants to regret this. For if we take a closer look at Ditch, we will see that behind this name lies not the protégé of the director of the Paris Opera who accidentally turned up under the arm, but a great and serious musician, although now almost forgotten.

What is Deek?

Pierre-Louis Dietsch (or Ditsch; Pierre-Louis Dietsch) was born in 1808 in Dijon. His father was engaged in the manufacture of stockings and was a native of the German town of Apolda, located not far from Leipzig, that is ... almost a countryman of Richard Wagner! Basics of musical literacy future composer mastered in children's choir Dijon Cathedral. The outstanding abilities of the boy were noticed by the famous teacher Alexandre-Etienne Choron, who inspired the young Deech to enter the Paris Conservatory, which he graduated in the double bass class. For some time Ditch was the concertmaster of double basses in the orchestra. Italian opera in Paris - in other words, had the opportunity to thoroughly study the entire magnificent repertoire of the Italians. But his soul asked for something else, and he got a job as a bandmaster and organist in the Parisian church of Saints Paul and Louis, and then several times moved in this capacity from one metropolitan church to another. At the same time, he began to compose sacred music. His most famous work is AveMaria– is still included in anthologies from time to time. The Great Easter Mass, first performed in 1838, won Ditch many awards and Berlioz's praise. And in 1856 Deech was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor for his spiritual writings.

When, in 1853, Louis Niedermeer organized in Paris his famous School of Ecclesiastical and classical music, Ditch became one of its co-founders. Until the end of his life, he taught harmony and composition there, and after the death of Niedermeer, he acted as director for some time. Alumni of this school were Camille Saint-Saens, Gabriel Fauré and André Messager.

The failure of the "Ghost Ship" did not end the history of Ditch's relationship with the Opera. It even started a couple of years before. As early as 1840, having barely taken the position of director, Pilet appointed Ditch as the chief choirmaster of the theater instead of Fromental Halévy. Ditsch remained in this post even after Piye's departure, and in 1860 he took the post of chief conductor. Here they are with Wagner life paths crossed for the second time. It was Ditch who conducted the infamous first Parisian production"Tannhäuser"! Wagner wanted to stand at the podium himself, but Deech, being the chief conductor, did not allow this. And that "Tannhäuser" failed miserably, Wagner blamed Dicha, at the same time recalling to him the "stealing" of the plot of the "Flying Dutchman".

For some reason, Paris, in fact, resisted the charm of Wagner's music longer than other European capitals. The Flying Dutchman was staged here for the first time only in 1897, and then not at the Opera, for which it was once intended, but at the Opera Comic.

Wagner was not alone in expressing dissatisfaction with Dichem. In 1863, right in the middle of the rehearsal of the Sicilian Vespers, Ditch got into such a heated argument with Giuseppe Verdi that he was forced to resign. This harsh measure severely crippled the musician and is believed to have brought his death closer. Pierre-Louis Dietsch died in Paris on February 20, 1865.

Opera is amazing...

Before continuing the story of Ditsch's opera, I will say a few words about Minkowski's new recording of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. True to his love for historical research, Minkowski took on the very first edition of the opera - the so-called "Meudon Manuscript". Here The Flying Dutchman is not yet divided into three acts, as later, but is one act. And the action here takes place not in Norway, as in the Dresden edition, but in Scotland, and the names of some characters are also different: instead of the usual Daland - Donald, instead of Eric - George.

Such an approach - digging out and performing early, not final, editions will always generate discussions. On the one hand, pulling out for public viewing what the author himself rejected may seem like disrespect for his will and, accordingly, not entirely ethical. But on the other hand, subsequent changes are often dictated by pragmatic considerations and adaptation to the specific requirements or possibilities of a particular scene. It is for this reason, for example, that Wagner was forced to divide his "Dutchman" into three acts. However, “split” is the wrong word. Rather, cut it alive. So there can be no universal recipes and rules here. The only criterion in each case is only the end result.

And the result of Minkowski turned out to be excellent! True, critics for the most part responded to his recording of "Dutchman" restrainedly negatively. And they can be understood: after all, the discography of this opera is already very extensive, and new recordings are much more pleasant and reliable to criticize than old, time-tested and made legendary performers. But since I have never been a critic, I can say without any hesitation: Minkowski's recording may well compete with textbook performances, being quite comparable to them in terms of level and at the same time unlike anything, unique in its kind. The orchestra "Musicians of the Louvre", armed, as usual, with "historical" instruments, sounds soft and transparent. There is no "Wagnerian" roar at all. In the "airy" sound of the orchestra, all the nuances of Wagner's original orchestration, later somewhat "smoothed" by him, seem quite convincing. In other words, Minkowski here continues the line of "depathosization" and humanization of Wagnerian scores, which can be traced, for example, in the interpretations of Herbert von Karajan or in Carlos Kleiber's Tristan.

Soloists are also happy. And right away, starting with Bernhard Richter, whose sonorous lyrical tenor became a real decoration of this recording. I am ready to listen to the Helmsman's song in his performance endlessly.

Our compatriot Yevgeny Nikitin was noted in the part of the Dutchman. The voice is beautiful, insinuating, imposing. His hero does not suffer so much as revels in his suffering. At first glance, it is controversial and subjective. And, however, in big picture fits in very organically. Suffice it to recall the plot of this opera, which always seemed to me superhuman to the point of inhumanity or, if you like, to the point of idiocy. After all, the Dutchman does not love anyone, including Senta. He demands for himself complete self-sacrifice, unconditional adoration and unconditional obedience on the only good reason that he is the main character of a Wagner opera. Having the opportunity to go on land for only one day every seven years, he, nevertheless, is seriously surprised and indignant that not one of the women he met fell in love with him for the rest of his life. From these failures on the personal front, a far-reaching conclusion is drawn that there is no truth on earth, and all women are you know who. And only a huge sacrifice can break this prejudice. Such a philosophy of a notorious teenager can, if desired, be traced throughout the work of Wagner, but in the operas of the first mature period("The Dutchman", "Tannhäuser", "Lohengrin") she appears in all her undisguised naivety.

In a word, Nikitin is a very, very interesting Dutchman. Probably one of the most prominent to date. It's good that he made this studio recording, and even with worthy partners. And it's a pity that the biological (but hardly spiritual) descendants of Wagner, who were crushed, in a fit of political hypocrisy, did not let Nikitin into Bayreuth. However, so much the worse for them and for Bayreuth.

Can't resist the charm Swedish singer Ingela Bimberg in her signature part of Senta. It is worth listening to the famous ballad, where already in the initial Johohoe! Johohohoe! the whole image is laid down "like an oak in an acorn." Here and doom, and vague languor, and a passionate call.

If bass Mika Kares and tenor Eric Cutler don't discover the Americas in the parts of Donald and George, then they certainly don't spoil the impressions and don't reduce the overall high level. In short, an excellent record. It can equally be recommended to both beginners who first get acquainted with the work, and jaded aesthetes. And Mark Minkowski deserves to be ranked among the galaxy of truly Wagnerian conductors, who inspire not only music, but also drama. The finale of this record splashing with passions is a confirmation of this.

And an opera "well done"

But the main surprise of this edition was still not Wagner.

The Ghost Ship librettists Fouchet and Revoile used the Wagnerian summary to create a "well-done play" in the French style. They somewhat strengthened the romantic surroundings, making the Shetland Islands the scene of action, and the main character was named Troilus, and instead of a Dutchman, for some reason he became a Swede.

Other changes in the plot were more serious. If Wagner’s Dutchman is a kind of marine Ahasuerus, who appeared from the bottomless depths of time (the listener is free to decide how ancient), then Dich’s Troilus was cursed even in the memory of living people (I estimated by indirect signs: somewhere in the years 18 before the events taking place in the opera). In other words, history has lost the multidimensionality of myth - it has become flattened, has become more concrete, more tangible, and main character from a superhuman symbol turned into an almost ordinary and not even an old man.

The main heroine of the opera is called Minna here - just like Wagner's first wife! She also sings a ballad, like Senta, but she agrees to marry Troilus not at all because of a painful obsession, but by fulfilling the will of her father, whom Troilus saved from death during a storm. The line with her unfortunate suitor, Magnus, is much more elaborate in Ditch than in Wagner. As we remember, Wagner cared little about the fate of Georg / Erik. His image was, as it were, a “by-product” of the story being told and remained “overboard”. But the French can't do that to lovers, even unfortunate ones. This would break the general harmony, and the play would no longer be "well done". Therefore, Magnus, reluctantly, himself approves of Minna's choice and retires to the monastery in sadness. Moreover, his plot connection with the main character is much stronger and is not limited to only one rivalry for Minna: Troilus once killed his father.

I will not retell all the nuances of the plot discrepancies. Frankly speaking, the plot of Ditch's opera is stupid. But, if we discard prejudices and authorities, then we have to admit that it is still less stupid than Wagner's opera: more thoughtful, more exciting and less predictable.

As for the music of The Ghost Ship, it immediately wins over not only the author's obvious mastery, but also his ambitions. Without showing the slightest timidity of a beginner, Ditch immediately swung at something serious. Of course, his music is not as innovative as that of Wagner: the structure of the opera is traditional "numbered", and the style is reminiscent of Meyerbeer, then Aubert, then Boildieu, then the great Italians. Nevertheless, Ditch leads his “Ship” with the confident hand of a professional, and in the most successful parts of the score one can feel real, genuine inspiration.

Despite the short duration of The Ghost Ship, each of the two acts of the opera is preceded by an extended orchestral introduction. common feature these entry is the presence lyrical theme, in each case of its own, expounded by cellos. Both of these "cello" themes turn out to be connected with the image of Troilus. In other words, Ditch thus paints in advance for us a gloomy, melancholy, in the highest degree romantic portrait Main character. As an example, you can listen to the overture to the first act.

Of course, it is difficult to judge the opera as a whole by a set of excerpts. However, here are a few more musical examples for familiarization. Here, for example, is the duet of Minna and Magnus. This scene is not in Wagner's opera. Even before the appearance of the mysterious cursed sailor, Magnus proposes to Minna, and she accepts it. As we see, love conflict Ditch's is sharpened to the limit. The outstanding Briton Sally Matthews and Bernard Richter already mentioned here sing superbly. Unless the tenor was not too successful with the first of the two upper "D". But, in my opinion, when it comes to such an "extreme" the singer has the right to count on some indulgence.

One of the highlights of Ditsch's opera is, it seems to me, the scene of the sailors' contest. The Shetlanders offer the Swedish guests a drink, and they pour their hellish wine for them, and then the singing competition begins. At first, the uncomplicated battle song of the Shetlanders, then the rollicking-infernal Swedes, and then both are combined in counterpoint. The competition ends with the flight of ordinary Scottish guys.

In the last few bars of the given track, the voice of the protagonist is heard, calling his violent subordinates to order. His part is performed by Canadian Russell Brown. And in the image of Troilus, he reincarnates with greater dedication than others - in the Wagnerian Dutchman.

The central scene of both operas, and this is their dramatic similarity, is the duet of the main characters. The nature of the stage conflict is different: Troilus comes to Minna to say that there will be no wedding, because he fell in love with her and cannot accept such a sacrifice. (How different from the self-satisfied Wagnerian Sollt "ich Unseliger sie Liebe nennen? Ach nein!- In Russian translation: “That dark heat that burns inside me again, Do I really dare to call it love? Oh no! That thirst is only to find peace - What an angel promises me like this. Minna, however, is ready for sacrifice, and the voices of the lovers unite in a melody filled with desperate determination.

All this, in my opinion, is interesting and convincing. Other indisputable beauties of the "Ghost Ship" include the solemn finale of the first act, the majestic choir of monks, as well as several wonderful arias at once, vividly describing the characters' characters (first of all, I would like to recall Minna's cavatina against the backdrop of a thunderstorm, turning into a dizzying cabaletta).

In addition, in Ditch's opera, such a technique as leitmotifs is already being used with might and main. And it ends with an apotheosis, where the souls of the main characters are carried away to heaven to the sound of a harp, that is, exactly the same as it happens ... in the final version of Wagner's "Flying Dutchman". Here Ditch was ahead of Wagner, because the Meudon manuscript ends abruptly and without any sentimentality - with the suicide of Senta. And there are simply no harps in the orchestration of the first edition.

In general, listening to both of these operas in a row, you come to an unexpected conclusion that, for any formal Dicha's Opera Criteria better Wagner operas! It is more interesting in plot, melodically richer, vocally more diverse ...

But when you listen to Wagner's "Flying Dutchman", you hear a piercing sea wind howling in dilapidated gear, you feel the smell of rotten algae and the taste of salty sea spray. And when you listen to The Ghost Ship, the boxes upholstered in dusty velvet, gilded stucco and huge chandeliers come to mind.

And again there are these eternal questions. What is a genius? In what units is it measured? What algebra to trust? And, most importantly, how to recognize without waiting for the passage of two hundred years?

All this, however, is by no means meant to offend Deech. In my opinion, his opera is not bad at all, and deserves to be not only recorded, but also staged. In the meantime, I warmly recommend this four-disc set to all my readers. It is possible that you, like me, will have great fun. Well, at least it's extremely interesting.

Minkowski's jubilee recording of twin operas involuntarily makes you think about other issues, already from the field of alternative history. What would have happened if Piet had not rejected Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" but opened the way for him to the Parisian scene? What if, without hesitation, this Frenchized "Dutchman" was a success? How would this affect future fate Wagner? And on history French opera? And on the history of world opera?

And what would have happened if the same Piet had not stinted on the scenery for the "Ghost Ship" and the first opera by Dich was received by the public somewhat more favorably? What would happen if the composer, inspired by this success, wrote several more operas? The work of whatever composer you take, the first opera rarely turns out to be his main masterpiece. If we compare only the very first opuses, then Pierre-Louis Diech will give odds to very, very many. So haven't we lost an outstanding opera composer in him?

It is interesting to live in this world, gentlemen!

), staged by Richard Wagner in 1843 in Dresden, marked the acquisition of Wagner's own individual style. The opera did not immediately win recognition. Her productions, following the Dresden one, in Berlin and Kassel (1844) were not successful. Only after Wagner won world fame was the "Dutchman" worthy of appreciation.

In The Flying Dutchman, Wagner first introduced leitmotifs that associated characters or themes. From this opera, Wagner began to define himself also as an established poet. Beautiful music, recitative melodies, chorus, arias, duets tell the story of the Flying Dutchman, the captain of a ship who is condemned to sail the seas forever until he is rescued by a loving and faithful woman. Salvation through love central theme operas, a theme to which Wagner returned in most of his subsequent works. The very idea of ​​an opera about the Flying Dutchman matured in Wagner thanks to his dangerous sea ​​voyage from Riga to London, in which the ship got into a storm near Norway, and is based on folk legends and novels about the wandering sailor.

Characters

Dutch - baritone
Daland, Norwegian sailor - bass
Senta, Daland's daughter - soprano
Eric, the young hunter - tenor
Mary, Senta's tutor - mezzo-soprano
Coxswain Dalanda - tenor
Norwegian sailors, Dutch team, girls.

A beautiful and well-remembered overture conveys the main idea of ​​the work due to the presence of all the leitmotifs of the opera in it. At first, the formidable cry of the Dutchman is heard from the horns and bassoons, the music vividly paints a picture of a stormy sea; then, at the English horn, accompanied by wind instruments, the light, melodious melody of Senta sounds; at the end of the overture, she takes on an enthusiastic, ecstatic character, announcing the redemption, the salvation of the hero.

Act one

Approximately 1650th year. Off the coast of Norway, on the way home, Captain Daland is forced to find shelter in the bay due to stormy weather. He leaves the helmsman on guard, and he goes into the cabin, the sailors go down to the lower deck to rest. The helmsman sings a song about meeting his lover soon and soon falls asleep from exhaustion. A ghostly vessel with blood-red sails and black masts appears in the distance and approaches quickly. Standing in front of Daland's ship, the ghost ship lowers the anchor with a terrible roar; invisible hands lower the sails. A man with a pale face outlined by a thin black beard, in a black Spanish cloak, steps ashore. He laments his fate. Breaking his word, the ghost captain is sentenced to roam the seas until the day of judgment. Once an angel brought him the conditions of salvation: once every seven years the waves throw him ashore, and if he finds a wife who will be faithful to him, he will be saved. The captain's aria is a gloomy monologue, riddled with restrained grief, a passionate dream of peace.

Libretto with interlinear prose translation from