Der fliegende Holländer was one of the operas that allowed Wagner to assert his place as the foremost German operatic composer of the time and to develop the foundations of his visionary mature works. Premiered in Dresden in 1843 its story is of the Flying Dutchman – the ghostly sea captain doomed to wander the seas eternally unless redeemed by love. This new staging was praised by seenandheard-international.com and for being “a triumph in faithfully presenting Wagner’s opera with an innovative production which was both exciting and created special effects”.

“The legendary Kurt Rydl prepared the Bulgarian singers lyrically, but they already knew the German school from the other Wagner productions. Rydl himself sang Daland, and considering that he is no longer the youngest, still impressive – as a bearish old sailor with an all-too-commercial streak.

“Markus Marquardt sang the premiere Dutchman excellently, with a melodious bass-baritone and good diction. …Radostina Nikolaeva was also a first-class Senta, as she had been as Brünnhilde, Isolde and Tosca, and could sing this role at any major house further west. She has a strong charisma, a beautiful timbre and good top notes…

“Rosen Gergov conducted the Sofia Opera Orchestra dynamically and with great attention to detail…”

Cast:
- Der Holländer: Markus Marquardt (bass-baritone)
- Daland: Kurt Rydl (bass)
- Senta: Radostina Nikolaeva (soprano)
- Erik: Kostadin Andreev (tenor)
- Der Steuermann Dalands: Daniel Ostretsov (tenor)
- Mary: Alexandrina Stoyanova-Andreeva (soprano)

Director: Plamen Kartaloff
Set designer: Plamen Kartaloff, inspired by Barbara Hepworth
Costumes designer: Leo Kulaš
Light designer: Andrej Hajdinjak
Choreographer: Tatyana Yaneva
Video director: Zenka Karadzhieva

Recording place: Pancharevo Lake, Bulgaria
Recording date: 16 July 2022

Video format / Aspect ratio: NTSC – 16:9
Audio format: PCM 2.0 / Dolby Digital 5.1
Region code: 0 – All regions
Subtitles: Italian, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Notes: Italian, English
Duration: 146 min. approx.
Filmed in Full HD