DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER Sets Sail for Artscape Opera House

Cape Town Opera is excited to announce the staging of its first Wagner opera in seventeen years since TANNHÄUSER in 2000. Director Matthew Wild's new production of DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER will unleash the ghosts of Dutch colonialism in the Mother City to thrilling effect.

Compelling and succinct, DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER is Richard Wagner's first indisputable masterwork and contains some of his most irresistibly gripping and memorable music, including the iconic overture. With a story grounded in nautical folklore about the Cape of Good Hope, DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER is an opportune opera for Cape Town and was last presented in the Mother City in 2011 by the Richard Wagner Society.

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra will play Wagner's elemental score under the baton of Tim Murray, Cape Town Opera's London-based associate music director. Designer Michael Mitchell has created an atmospheric set that evokes stormy seas and turbulent emotions.

South African baritone Jaco Venter returns from Wagnerian triumphs in Germany, his most recent role being Alberich in SIEGFRIED at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, to make his role debut as the Dutchman. Acclaimed South African born soprano Johanni van Oostrum sings the role of the obsessive Senta. Van Oostrum seized the attention of the international opera scene in 2012 when, at short notice, she successfully took over the role of Marschallin in Strauss's DER ROSENKAVALIER at the Dutch National Opera. Since then, she has earned widespread critical acclaim for singing leading soprano roles, including Eva in Wagner's DIE MEISTERSINGER VAN NÜRNBERG.

The rest of the powerhouse cast includes Australian Samuel Sakker as Erik and American bass Gregory Frank as Senta's father, Daland. Cape Town Opera singer Lukhanyo Moyake performs as Steuermann, his first role after competing alongside nineteen other singers for the prestigious title of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Violina Anguelov and Nonhlanhla Yende share the role of Mary. A 52-stong Cape Town Opera chorus completes the cast.

With a cast of sixty, a choral opera of the scale of DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER is a massive undertaking and is made possible due to the generous support of NASPERS.

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER runs at the Artscape Opera House from 17 - 26 August. The schedule of performance times and booking information is available via Computicket.

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