The Flying Dutchman on tour
The most ambitious staging of Donbass Opera will be presented to the audience in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv in the fall
The Day has already reported that the legendary German classic opera by Richard Wagner was staged for the first time on the Ukrainian stage in the language of the original this season. The premiere in Donetsk became the most high-profile event in the cultural life of our country. Music lovers from different cities came to the capital of Donbas to see the large-scale theatrical performance staged in 3D format on the stage of Solovianenko National Opera and Ballet Theater in Donetsk.
The production of The Flying Dutchman involved 300 artists from four countries. Director Mara Kurotschka (Germany) staged the opera as Senta’s dream, and German stage designers Momme Hinrich and Torge Moeller (who have experience with Wagner’s operas in different theaters of Europe), using modern technology, were able to impress the audience with a very spectacular show. The stage was transformed into the abyss of the sea, the wind tore the sails of the ghost ship, the bed of the protagonist became a float-boat, as the events unfolded on the stage, and white ghosts – the dead from the crew of the Dutchman – crawled from under her bed.
On May 22 – birthday of Richard Wagner, the play was staged for the seventh time and again the performance was sold out. The main roles were performed by the following actors: Dutchman – Vadim Kravets (Mariinsky Theater, Saint Petersburg), Senta – Lesia Aleksieieva (National Opera of Ukraine), and also Donetsk soloists: Daland – Yurii Oleksiichuk, Erik – Vitalii Kozyn, Marie – Anna Maksudova, Steering Man – Volodymyr Khamraiev, the choir and orchestra of the Donbass Opera, conductor – Mikhail Sinkevich (Mariinsky Theater).
Directorate of the Solovianenko National Opera and Ballet Theater seeing the huge public interest in this play, appealed to the leadership of the SKM Company (which is the general partner of the international art project and provides financial support to make The Flying Dutchman appear on theater playbills) asking to assist the theater company in organization of a tour. And here’s the good news – in the fall audience in Odesa (September 6-7), Lviv (September 12-13), and Kyiv (September 27-28) will get a chance to see The Flying Dutchman.
The tour will be held as part of celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
“We believe that the Ukrainian tour of the opera The Flying Dutchman – modern, dynamic show, will be a truly remarkable event in the cultural life of Ukraine,” said Natalia Yemchenko, Director of Public Relations and Communications Department at SKM Company. “We want to see the art of opera develop in Ukraine thanks to such projects. We also want Ukrainian people to be proud of Ukrainian opera and then the world will get to know and respect Ukraine as a country, where people value, support, and develop the arts.”
