Product Details

• Actors: Hildegard Behrens, Franz Grundheber, Matti Salminen
• Directors: Ilkka Bäckman
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: German
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: June 29, 2004
• Run Time: 139 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00023BN56
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,749 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Wagner, Richard

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Vocally, it would be hard to find a better Flying Dutchman. Hildegard Behrens, Matti Salminen, and (most important in this 1988 production's title role) Franz Grundheber were among the finest Wagnerian singers of the late 20th century, and all were in top vocal form on this occasion. They have an excellent supporting cast, and a chorus that sings with musical vitality and acts with theatrical vividness under Illka Backman's expert direction. And Leif Segerstam's conducting is superb, keeping the performance unified and propelling it forward with dramatic urgency.

Wagner's drama of a sea captain, cursed to wander the ocean forever until he can be redeemed by the love and self-sacrifice of a good woman, is a relatively early work, still in touch with traditional operatic procedures and accessible to people who are not hard-core Wagnerians. In this production, it comes across with strong impact.

The performance is staged outdoors in the courtyard of a 500-year-old Finnish castle, which contributes to its atmosphere but sometimes makes the lighting less than ideal. Lacking the scenic effects of a staged, indoor production, the video uses rather generic projections quite frequently, including the climactic last scene when the Dutchman's ship goes down. The sound is good but not outstanding by 21st-cenury standards, and (as happens in live recordings) there are a few glitches in the orchestra and lapses in sound-picture synchronization. These are minor considering the disc's positive values, but must be mentioned. In sum, not a perfect Dutchman but, musically and dramatically, a very satisfactory one. --Joe McLellan

Product Description

Ilkka Bäckman's acclaimed production of Wagner's classic opera takes place outdoors in the huge courtyard of Finland's 500-year-old Olavinlinna Castle - a majestic and impressive setting, which gives the production an atmosphere and realism almost impossible to create in a conventional theatre. Hildegard Behrens, at the height of her career, is the tragic Senta, whose destiny is to redeem the Dutchman from his fate. The German bass-baritone, Franz Grundheber, sings the title role, and Finland's own Matti Salminen is the Norwegian sea captain, Daland. From the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A musically thrilling Dutchman - finally on DVD, July 18, 2004

By	MDFinMIA "mdfinmia" (N. Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

On musical terms alone, this 1989 production from Savonlinna is worth acquiring - it's the first available on DVD. Grundheber, Salminen and Behrens are in excellent form (Salminen especially), with excellent work as well by the unknown Raimo Sirkia as Erik. Despite a few gaffs, the orchestra plays quite well for conductor Leif Segerstam, who manages to propel things forward with a great sense of drama and keep a widely dispersed cast together.

Soundstage is actually quite interesting, given that the performance is inside the courtyard of a castle, but stage noise does intrude now and then (how DARE the stage director get by with having Mary continue to spin while Senta sings her aria!). Picture and videography are less than state-of-the-art. Why can't we just enjoy what's happening on stage, rather than having all these fades to stock shots of ships, water, faces, etc. And not to be able to enjoy the curtain calls! Unforgivable.

Still, on musical terms alone, an enjoyable and moving production of Wagner's early work.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vocally enthralling, visually atmospheric Dutchman, December 29, 2004

By	Ivy Lin (NY NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Wagner's Der Flieglande Hollander is probably his single most effective piece of theater. It's relatively short, and the opera moves along at an astonishingly fast clip. At this stage Wagner was not fond of sprinkling his works with long, "profound" monologues (think of Wotan's 40 minute narration in Act 2 of Die Walkure).
This performance took place at an ancient Finnish castle, and the directors obviously love the atmospheric setting as there are many shots of the outside waters and the craggly staircases of the castle. I rather like this -- for a film, it's a wonderful setting. The performance is live though, with a clapping audience, so there's no "lip-synching" that ruins so many operatic films.
Vocally this Dutchman is hard to beat. Franz Grundeheber is a genuine Wagnerian bass baritone, with an extremely dark vibrant tone. The closeups do not flatter him visually -- he's a "side" singer, and he sweats so much during the performance that his eyeshadow and mascara smear all over his face. Strangely the Dutchman is costumed in medieval armor, which doesn't really make sense. I mean, he's a sea captain. He's not Lohengrin. But this is a world-class Dutchman, and his thrilling Narrative is one of the video's highlights. If I have *one* quibble with Grundeheber it's that for a doomed sea captain he seems way too robust and vigorous. He doesn't really have that haunted, desperate quality that perhaps would make his portrayal richer.
Hildegard Behrens as Senta is also caught in her all-too-brief prime. She's lovely to look at, and a sensitive nuanced actress. Her voice already sounds a bit shrill under pressure, but it's not yet intrusive. Matti Salminen is also a vocally wonderful if stolid Daland.
The orchestral playing is disappointing. Brass is way overplayed and shrill. More distracting are the video "enhancements" like closeups of singers superimposed over shots of the ocean waves, often in the MIDDLE of a scene!!! Still, the performance is vocally so valuable these are mere annoyances in one of the best examples of Wagner on video.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Turn Off The TV, June 14, 2005

By	Michael Miano (Middleport, NY USA) - See all my reviews

What is the point of buying a DVD if you can't enjoy what you SEE as well as hear? I liked what I heard well enough, but visually, the production is stupid. The costuming is simply awful! Senta, for example, wears a silk and velvet dress (for spinning?!?) As has been mentioned in other reviews, the constant scenes of a pen and ink drawing of the Dutchman's ship superimposed over waves every time nobody is singing are more than annoying. The scenes of the (Finland's Olavinlinna)castle grounds at other points during the opera obviously have nothing to do with the story. The camera work is especially awful. Extreme close-ups of chorus members are pointless and the close-ups of main cast members are a mistake because of the heavy make-up they wear. Why the director decided to give the Steersman a fancy blanket for his nap is a mystery. Moreover, the Steersman's pawing over the treasure is a new story not invented by Wagner. If you want to film an opera in an outdoor setting, this is an example of how NOT to do it. We see the Dutchman's crew - they wear spandex outfits with nets over their faces - apparently the newest thing in attire for the dead. But, we see them entirely only when the carry the treasure chest for Daland to inspect. The rest of the time, we see only their arms waving through holes in their ship. What a strange thing for ghosts to do! The only thing worse that could happen to Wagner than Finland is Kupfer.