All you need to know about Wagner’s first great opera…
What is the story?
The Flying Dutchman‘s plot is based on the centuries-old Dutch legend of a ghost ship.
The title character, the Dutchman himself, has been cursed to wander the seas forever, and is allowed to make landfall only once every seven years to try and find a woman who will be faithful – only she can save his soul. So, when the Dutchman meets a powerful man with influence, Daland, and hears he has a daughter, he offers him money to marry her.
But the daughter, Senta, already knows all about the legend of the Dutchman and is full of empathy for his suffering to the dismay of Erik, who is in love with her. When she and Dutchman finally meet, the mysterious bond between them grows dangerously strong …

Layla Claire as Senta and Edgaras Montvidas as Erik/ Steersman © James Glossop