Time flies when Voigt is having fun!

After a ten year absence from the Met, Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer has returned just in the nick of time–huh, not quite! There is a dedicated audience for this particular Wagner favorite, a mythical tale of a satanically accursed ship captain condemned to sail the seas forever, allowed one fleeting chance every seven years to dock his vessel and find redemption through the love of a woman. And August Everding’s engrossing 1989 production effectively combines realistic settings with starkly modern imagery and yes, the ever captivating Deborah Voigt as Senta.

For as much a Voigt gave with a splendid performance in her first Senta, the rest of the cast  lacked intensity, focus and Wagnerian vocal splendor. The main problems were the vacant portrayal of the Dutchman by the Finnish bass-baritone Juha Uusitalo and the exasperating conducting of Kazushi Ono. Read on for the lack-luster details from Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/arts/music/26dutchman.html