[Met Performance] CID:256930



Der Fliegende Holländer
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, March 26, 1979




Der Fliegende Holländer (111)
Richard Wagner | Richard Wagner
Dutchman
Donald McIntyre

Senta
Teresa Kubiak

Erik/Steerman
William Lewis

Daland
William Wilderman

Mary
Isola Jones

Sleeping Steersman
Robert Remington


Conductor
James Levine







Review 1:

Review of Speight Jenkins in the Post

'Dutchman' sails into rough waters at Met

The Flying Dutchman's ship hove into dangerous waters last night at the Metropolitan Opera and narrowly avoided capsizing. The danger surfaced early: in his entrance monologue Donald McIntyre, singing his first Metropolitan Dutchman, sounded completely out of sorts vocally. The pitch was often questionable, and his bass-baritone took on all the unpleasant attributes of the Bayreuth bark, the curse of Wagner singing.

Though William Wilderman offered a fine characterization of Daland and knows exactly what he can do with his mature, but expressive, instrument, he has no plush tone to spare, and the duet which comprised most of the first scene was pretty arid going. When McIntyre began the duet with Senta in the second scene, however, he sang the [first aria] "Wie aus der Ferne" section quietly and attractively; though his singing never had much lyricism, the rest of the opera was intelligently performed. In the Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production his character moves very little but must be intense. McIntyre relied too often on large gestures and, overall, gave no suggestion of the mysticism or tonal beauty brought to the whole role by his predecessor, Jose Van Dam.

In her first Senta Teresa Kubiak had the style and, once past the [first aria] Ballade when she had trouble finding the pitch, was solid musically and steady as she went. She lacked, however, the scale of the role. She was a good lyric soprano but not a mythic Wagner heroine. In another change of cast Isola Jones made a strong Mary. Held over from the first cast was William Lewis, who was a tower of strength in the dual role of the Steersman /Erik, while James Levine and his orchestra and chorus kept the ship afloat.



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