"Flying Dutchman" "Flying Dutchman" (Flying Holland), from a sad love opera by Wagner. The cursed ship drifts endlessly on the sea, never able to reach the shore of hope... Opera "The Flying Dutchman" The three-act opera "The Flying Dutchman", also known as "The Wandering Dutchman", this opera It is based on the ghost ship story spread in Northern Europe. The poet Heine wrote this legendary story into the novel "Memoirs of Schnabel Vops". Wagner was inspired by this novel. In 1842, he wrote the script and composed the music with reference to Dickey's "The Ghost Ship". The German word "fliegen" means flying, flying, and refers to the legendary "ghost ship". Since the Dutch cannot fly, it seemed inappropriate to translate it as "Flying Dutchman", so based on the plot, it was translated as "Flying Dutchman" or "Wandering Dutchman". As soon as "The Flying Dutchman" was completed, Wagner hoped to perform it in a German opera house as soon as possible. However, Leipzig rejected him because the plot was too gloomy. Munich believed that the play could not cater to the audience's interest and returned the score. When he stayed in Berlin, with the help of Meyerbeer, he finally got approval from the Berlin Theater, but the possibility of actual performance was still very slim. Later, after seeing the success of "Rienzi", Dresden finally premiered "The Flying Dutchman" on January 2, 1843. It was only after it was staged again at the Dresden Theater in 1865 that its value and success were confirmed. This opera with three acts and eight scenes still uses a numbering style in structure, and the numbering and the number of scenes are consistent with each other. There are eight numbers, but each number may contain several songs. Since Wagner did not agree with this traditional subdivision method, he soon abandoned the numbering style and adopted a style that emphasized drama. This play can be said to be centered on "Sanda's Ballade", developed forward and backward respectively, and uses the opposition of the "Relief Motive" expressing cordial love and the gloomy "Dutch Motive" as the musical theme. foundation. Whether in the Ballade, the Overture, or the Final Act, these two motives recur with great effect. Compared with the previous work "Rienzi", it can be seen that the "leading motivation" method has a clearer awareness here. In addition to the two dominant motives mentioned above, there are also more frequent motives in the play, including the "motive of wandering on the sea" and the chromatic "motive of storms and waves". These two psychological motives, together with the two aforementioned The main motive gives the play's music a symphonic character. Among the more important and famous pieces of music in the play, in addition to the "Ballade", there are also the folk-style "Spinning Chorus" in the second act and the "Sailor's Chorus" in the third act. The solo part includes the aria of the young hunter in the second act, the aria sung by the Dutch after the landing in the first act, etc. Overall, Wagner was influenced to some extent by his predecessors, especially Weber, in this play. However, it has broken away from the French and Italian tendencies and superficial pretense in the previous work "Rienzi". The music began to have an inner character and the color changed. It is German-style, and the composer's personality is also more prominent. Coupled with the technique of leading motives and the strong awareness of dramatic style, it can be clearly seen that Wagner has moved towards musical drama. Plot summary: It is said that once upon a time there was a Dutch voyager who braved dangerous winds and waves to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope, and vowed to complete his feat even if he sailed for the rest of his life. The devil listened to his oath and sentenced him to a life of wandering on the sea until the end of the world; he would never be able to escape unless he could find a woman to love him faithfully. He is allowed to land once every seven years to find the woman who is willing to redeem his life with her loyal love. After another seven years, the Dutch ship anchored in a harbor on the coast of Norway. There was a boat sheltering from the wind and waves. The owner was a Norwegian named Daland. Daland's home is not far from there. During the conversation, the Dutch learned that Daland had a daughter who was not yet married, so he asked Daland to allow him to propose to her and said he was willing to give all his property in return. Daland agreed. It turned out that his daughter's name was Senta, and she was a passionate girl. The story of the Flying Dutchman had left a deep impression on her heart very early on. When Daland brought the Dutchman home, Senta was gazing in bewilderment at a portrait of the unfortunate hero of the legendary story. When she saw that the guest's appearance was strikingly similar to the man in the painting, she was immediately fascinated by him. Her loyal love was invisibly focused on the guest, and she felt that she had the means to redeem him. mission. Later, when a young man named Eric (who turned out to be in love with Senta) confessed his love to Senta, the Dutchman heard him. The Dutchman thought that he would be abandoned again this time, so he He left resolutely and returned to his ship. At that time, Senta hurriedly shouted, saying that she loved him loyally, but was stopped by Eric, Daland and other friends. The Dutchman also really loved Senta, and he didn't want to implicate her, so he explained his life experience to her, hoping to scare Senta, and then immediately set off on the boat. But Senta was not moved by his words and vowed to love him loyally until death. Finally, he broke out from the crowd and ran to the edge of a cliff. He opened his arms towards the Dutchman and jumped into the sea. . At this time, the ghostly shadow of the boat sank, and the seawater surged into high waves, spinning and falling again, forming a whirlpool of rapids. In the light of the setting sun, the shadows of Senta and the Dutchman embraced each other and emerged on the sea.