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The Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Opera Hong Kong will jointly present Opera: Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of German composer Wagner. Opera Hong Kong Artistic Director and tenor Warren Mok is the producer and Volker Böhm is the revival director. Under the baton of conductor Henrik Schaefer, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Opera Hong Kong Chorus will perform with renowned international singers.
The three-act opera is a production of Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg. Baritones Jukka Rasilainen and Thomas Hall will sing the role of the Dutchman and sopranos Manuela Uhl and Jane Dutton will sing the role of Senta. Other singers will include basses Kurt Rydl and Gong Dongjian; tenors Tomislav Mužek, Kor-Jan Dusseljee, Carsten Süss and Karl-Michael Ebner; and mezzo-soprano Ning Liang. Tomislav Mužek, who performed as Erik in "The Flying Dutchman" in Bayreuth, Germany, this July and received great acclaim, will sing the same role in Hong Kong. Such a strong cast is definitely not to be missed.
Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" is a fascinating opera in many ways. A relatively early work of the German composer, it established the course of Wagnerian music drama that was to culminate in the "Ring" cycle 35 years later.
The plot tells the story of the haunted ghostly Dutchman and his crew, condemned to sail the seven seas until he can be redeemed by pure love. This he finds in Senta, the daughter of a Norwegian sea captain, and her devotion, even to death, brings final salvation. In his opera Wagner uses various themes and motifs associated with characters and ideas in the drama, a technique he was to develop further in later works. The Dutchman himself is represented by a famous horn motif, heard first in the Overture, leading to music that conjures up the sea and the ghostly ship with its eerie crew, a contrast to the girl Senta, first seen spinning with her companions. The forthcoming production to be staged in October will bring to Hong Kong an acclaimed production of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg, directed by the revival director Volker Böhm. World-class international singers will take up the highly demanding major roles while the Hong Kong Philharmonic will be in the pit, under the baton of Henrik Schaefer and with the participation of the Opera Hong Kong Chorus.
Opera: Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" will be staged at 7.30pm from October 10 to 13 (Thursday to Sunday) at the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at $900, $660, $450, $300 and $150 are now available at all URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by telephone credit card booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first-come, first-served basis). For the "Verdi & Wagner Year" package discount and the group discount, please refer to the programme leaflet or webpage for details.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 (LCSD) or 2234 0303 (Opera Hong Kong); for ticketing enquiries, call 2734 9009. For telephone credit card bookings, call 2111 5999. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For more information, visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/program_307.html .
An opera talk, "From Damnation to Immortality - Wagner's Dutchman", to be conducted in Cantonese, will be hosted by Professor Rupert Chan at 7.30pm on September 27 (Friday) at the Activity Room 2, Hong Kong Central Library. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ends/Friday, August 9, 2013
Issued at HKT 10:00
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