The Flying DutchmanBy Richard Wagner, originally directed by Christopher Alden and conducted by Johannes Debus. The American director’s unsubtle revisionist style, leaning heavily on a modernist visual palette, is something you either embrace or revile. That spectrum of responses was on full display at Friday’s opening night for the remount of Alden’s “The Flying Dutchman,” first staged by the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in 1996 and last mounted in 2010. As the tormented Dutchman, Reuter immediately elicits sympathy, as he staggers around the set, drenched in an oppressive red light (lighting designs by Anne Militello). His burly exterior and richly textured voice give way to a portrait of a man yearning for love and acceptance.

Source: thestar October 11, 2022 02:24 UTC