Wagner Renewed: London Lyric Opera's Flying Dutchman
On 27 November, London audiences will have the opportunity to hear Wagner's early Romantic opera Der fliegende Holländer in a version that the producers believe is as close to the composer's intentions as possible. London Lyric Opera will present a concert performance at the Barbican with experienced Wagnerian conductor Lionel Friend's firm hand on the rudder.
The company, new this year, is the brain child of Australian baritone James Hancock, who directs the performance as well as playing the shady Dutchman. Talking of original intentions, his were humble enough at the beginning of the year – to present a concert performance of the opera at Cadogan Hall, with a pro-am orchestra and good singers. Since then, with Lionel Friend stepping aboard, the vision has expanded. With a business plan under his arm, visits to the bank manger and now sponsorship from West End design company Wardour, Hancock has found everything falling into place for something on a much grander scale.
"Lionel has gone way beyond what I'd expect from a first conductor for the project", he says, "with him in place, we've attracted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Chorus and a great line-up of singers." Gwyneth Ann-Jeffers will sing her first Senta, Jeffrey-Lloyd Roberts (Opera North's terrific Peter Grimes) is Erik and Anne-Marie Owens will sing the part of Mary. Hancock himself has been studying the Dutchman for years now and this will be his role debut.
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Friend has worked extensively on the score, unearthing all of Wagner's revisions and reverting to original keys, mostly noticeably during Senta's Ballad, from the second act. "This will be the most thoroughly researched version," he told me. "Senta's Ballad was originally transposed down a tone for the first singer and has always been done that way since. Taking it back up has been done before but not usually in the right place. The result will be a brighter sound."
The conductor's relationship with Wagner goes back many decades. He worked with Reginald Goodall on all his London performances in the 70s and has assisted Barenboim in Bayreuth. He describes Goodall's meticulous approach as "wonderfully inspiring and informative." The attention to detail and commitment of this great Wagner interpreter has brushed off on Friend, and Hancock talks of his collaborator in glowing terms. "He is most definitely in charge", he says.
Future plans for London Lyric Opera include a performance of Fidelio at Cadogan Hall in February with a cast including Elizabeth Connell as Leonore and Lloyd-Roberts, again, as Florestan. There's an Ariadne auf Naxos in May and Hancock talks of a Village Romeo and Juliet too. "We're concentrating on the German/English romantic repertoire," says Hancock. "There's Chelsea Opera Group and Opera Rara doing regular concert performances but they are not touching this stuff, so we are filling a gap."
In the meantime, both men are working hard to make Der fliegende Holländer an evening to remember. There'll be semi-staging with some "interesting effects". Some eminent commentators are providing programme notes, which Hancock believes will really add to the experience. "Keith Warner has written a very interesting piece about the work and Germaine Greer has written something from Senta's point of view. She sees her as the girl who married an axe murderer; she simply falls in love with the wrong man."
Lionel Friend and James Hancock give an unusually cohesive view of the collaboration between artists and talking to them whets the appetite for this one-off performance. It will be recorded but, of course, nothing replaces the thrill of the live performance, so for Wagner-lovers or newcomers looking for a stimulating experience, the Barbican on 27 November is an important date for the diary.
Tickets for London Lyric Opera's performance of Der fliegende Holländer can be booked at the Barbican box office on 020 7638 8891 or online at www.barbican.org.uk
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