Opera blends history and politics
A production of Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman premiered on Saturday, October 24 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, directed by Milo Rau. The staging explores eighty years of German history, from the Holocaust to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Rau's background in political theater
This is Rau's first Wagner production, following previous works such as La Clemenza di Titus in 2021 and Justice by Hèctor Parra in 2024, both in Geneva. The production incorporates reality into the stage, as Rau has done in previous works such as Hate Radio and Familie, and he is currently heading the Wiener Festwochen. Geopolitical roles for characters
Each character in the production receives a geopolitical role: the Dutchman represents a Germany shackled to its guilt, Senta represents Israel, and Erik represents Palestine. The cursed sailor runs aground on a beach in Tel Aviv. The second act takes place against the backdrop of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis, and the final act brings the protagonists back to the Memorial to European Jews murdered. Projections and current events
Projections mix archives and footage shot this summer in Israel and the West Bank, covering events from October 7, 2023, to the war in Gaza. Current events are integrated into the legend, at the risk of overwhelming it. Witnesses and their stories
Two witnesses also speak in the production. The Israeli actress Sarah von Schwarze, granddaughter of a Wehrmacht officer, carries a German heritage that her family had wanted to leave behind by emigrating to Israel and converting to Judaism. Shlomi Moto Wagner, a drag cabaret artist, adopted the composer's name without ignoring his antisemitism. Both recount a journey with Rau, until they hear Wagner's music near the Wall of Lamentations, in a country where his music remains subject to a de facto boycott. Cast and performance details
Tomasz Konieczny portrays the Dutchman, Aušrinė Stundytė makes her debut as Senta, Tareq Nazmi is Daland, and Attilio Glaser is Erik. Konieczny had to stop midway through the grand duet of the second act due to suffering. Derek Welton took over from the edge of the stage, score on stand, to applause. Reactions from the audience
At the bows, the staging team, Stundytė, whose high notes were considered strained, and Giedrė Šlekytė, whose conducting appeared dry and often very sonorous, received mixed boos and applause. Nazmi, Glaser, and the chorus prepared by Marco Medved were better received. German press criticism
The German press has been critical of the production. In the Berliner Zeitung, Peter Uehling denounces a show that sacrifices opera for political debate. For BR-Klassik, history and plot move in parallel without ever converging. Paradox: Nachtkritik finds the provocation dulled, the anticipated scandal giving way to a reconciliation theater that is too forceful. Rau's artistic philosophy
"Art is confrontation," Rau had declared to the Berlin television. In the end, he is criticized less for having shocked than for having wanted to prove too much. In Wagner's original work, a woman's love is enough to save the cursed. Rau does not believe in such a simple resolution.
