THE FLYING DUTCHMAN to Premiere at Deutsche Oper Berlin Under Milo Rau
Wagner remains boycotted in Israel over his antisemitism, a tension central to Rau's staging.
Milo Rau's production of Richard Wagner's opera THE FLYING DUTCHMAN will premiere at Deutsche Oper Berlin on 24 October.
Rau's approach is radical: he is staging the opera by Wagner — who is boycotted in Israel because of his antisemitism — as a 'road movie' through the history of Germany's relationship with Israel, from the Holocaust to the present day.
Over the past weeks, Rau and his team have been conducting research in Israel, the Westbank and Gaza. Without any local institutional support, Wagner's music was performed in the Holy Land.
At Jerusalem's central railway station, in a kibbutz devastated on 7 October, in a Palestinian village terrorised by settlers, or on a hill overlooking Gaza: a whole series of discussions and performances took place.
An event in Jaffa ultimately led to a 'breaking of a taboo' (FAZ). The chairman of the Wagner Society publically asked to stop the ban against Wagner's music.
Israeli theatre director Einat Weitzman and Palestinian artist Fidaa Zidan addressed the current human rights situation in Gaza. 'Stop the music, so that we can hear the death toll in Gaza,' Weitzman said.
'Controversy over Wagner Project,' read the headlines on SRF and Deutschlandfunk. The FAZ correspondent noted: 'The real taboo is no longer Wagner, but talking about Gaza, the Palestinians and equal rights for all.'
'Performing Wagner anywhere other than in Israel is politically nonsense,' director Milo Rau said to Haaretz, addressing the interconnections of trauma, guilt, and political responsibility.
Before THE FLYING DUTCHMAN premieres on 24 October, Rau's productions are already touring the world. The season 25/26 kicked off with THE PELICOT TRIAL in Copenhagen, Denmark, where all 500 tickets sold out in 45 seconds, according to the theatre.
Next season, THE PELICOT TRIAL will tour over 10 countries, including England, Italy, the Netherlands, Chile, Switzerland, Croatia, Malta and the US. International tours are also planned for LA LETTRE, THE SEER and MEDEA'S CHILDREN, alongside THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.
