Tiroler Festspiele - Richard Wagner: DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER

The man wandering in his entanglements, longing for redemption, is a recurring motif in Wagner's operas. In the Flying Dutchman, the composer’s self-image seems particularly clearly mirrored in an operatic figure. A captain condemned to eternal life washes up on the shores of Norway, encountering Senta, who redeems him through her act of self-sacrifice. At that time, the young conductor Wagner was experiencing infidelity from his wife, so he composed the icon of unconditional love in response to the storms in his own life.