The Atlanta Opera presents The Flying Dutchman on November 4, 7, 10 and 12 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Tickets start at $35 (before tax) and can be purchased at atlantaopera.org or by calling 404-881-8885. The opera will be performed in German with English supertitles.
Based on a Norwegian ghost story, The Flying Dutchman tells of the famed ghost ship doomed to wander the seas until its captain can find a wife. The ghost captain, the Dutchman, finds his love in a sailor’s daughter, Senta, who is trapped in an arranged marriage, but finds an escape from her mundane life through her obsession with the Dutchman. When the ghost ship makes port in her hometown, Senta is confronted with the consequences of her love.
Tenor Jay Hunter Morris returns to The Atlanta Opera to reprise the role of Erik, which he performed in the 2009 production. Morris cemented his international reputation as one of opera’s finest Wagnerian tenors in October 2011, when he performed Siegfried in Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan Opera as a last-minute substitute for a sick colleague. The production was broadcast to theaters worldwide, and in 2013 earned him a Grammy for Best Opera Recording. Mr. Morris has most recently been seen on PBS in the role of Captain Ahab in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick, from the San Francisco Opera. His 2013 book, Diary of a Redneck Opera Zinger, was published by Opera Lively.
Bass-baritone Wayne Tigges makes his Atlanta Opera debut as The Dutchman. Tigges, who is quickly establishing himself as a star in the opera world, has sung at many of the great opera houses of the world including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Lauded by the Chicago Sun Times for his “rich, dark, and beautiful legato”, Tigges is equally at home singing roles that require vocal acrobatics, as well as roles that require significantly more heft, such as Wagner’s Dutchman.
Soprano Melody Moore, last seen at the Atlanta Opera in 2012, will sing Senta. Moore is one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic soprano repertoire and has performed on many of the leading opera stages in the world, including San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, English National Opera, New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Washington National Opera. She has sung the role of Senta to great acclaim across the country, including The Glimmerglass Festival, Hawaii Opera Theatre and Austin Opera. Earlier this year, she performed “Te Deum” with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Donald Runnicles.
Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson sings the role of Daland, Senta’s father. Iceland’s best known international opera singer, Sigmundsson has performed in many of the leading opera houses and concert halls in Europe and the USA, including Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, L’Opéra de Paris, Staatsoper Vienna, Staatsoper Munich and Semperoper Dresden. Specifically, his performances at the Metropolitan Opera include Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Hundig in Die Walküre, Rocco in Fidelio, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, and Vodnik in Rusalka.
THE PEACH REVIEW® 