The Flying Dutchman

The idea for The Flying Dutchman, now at the Los Angeles Opera until April 12th, apparently came to composer Richard Wagner during a particularly turbulent sea crossing from Prussia to England. The voyage lasted three weeks instead of the usual one, and the superstitious sailors believed it was the presence of the ominous Wagner and his wife that was responsible for the foul weather. The libretto of The Flying Dutchman is Wagner's own reworking of bits of the Odyssey, the Wandering Jew legend (in the German poet Heinrich Heine's version) and historical accounts of plague-ridden ships being barred from ports in Medieval Germany. Wagner added to it his own twist, that the Dutchman is allowed to land once every seven years in order to find the woman who would save him through eternal love. The opera, which is one of Wagner's most hummable, with its stormy overture, sea chanteys and Spinning song, was not a success when first produced in Dresden in 1843, but has since gone on to be a staple of the repertoire. So it should have been clear sailing for this revival of the 1995 Julie Taymor production (she of Lion King and Frida fame).

The Flying Dutchman drifts on at the Music Center until April 12.