As the wind picked up and the sail-like canopies at Opera Holland Park began to flutter, one couldn’t help but ponder the delay in staging Richard Wagner’s tumultuous opera, The Flying Dutchman. This marks the company’s inaugural production of Wagner, a reflection of the composer’s growing prominence in summer opera festivals. Notably, Glyndebourne is showcasing Parsifal, while Grange Park Opera prepares to present a Ring cycle.

The production features reduced orchestrations, and the theater’s open-air design diminishes the immersive ‘surround sound’ experience typically associated with Wagner’s works. Nevertheless, Julia Burbach’s staging offers a captivating widescreen effect, effectively utilizing the circular stage of Holland Park (with the orchestra nestled within) and employing entrances and exits around the audience to create a feeling of dislocation, as if the ensemble was scattered across the winds. What lurked in the shadows? Mysterious park creatures hooted alongside the spectral sailors of the Dutchman’s eerie ship.

Speaking of the ship, it’s a rare sight in contemporary productions of this opera. Naomi Dawson’s abstract set design featured a precarious structure that vaguely resembled a sinking vessel and incorporated a bedroom where Eleanor Dennis’s Senta remained silent for most of the first act. This directorial choice by Burbach appeared questionable, as the production’s intensity fluctuated, mirroring the erratic shifts in Robert Price’s lighting. Burbach excelled at conveying the theme of possession: Dennis’s ethereal Senta, haunted by the Dutchman, while the men’s chorus danced to a manic jig, embodying his unseen crew. Unfortunately, both the half-time and final climaxes fell short, resulting in a sense of anticlimax.

Does Wagner always require massive vocal talents? Not necessarily. This cast received commendable support from the City of London Sinfonia under the baton of Peter Selwyn, whose well-paced conducting accommodated the unique spatial challenges of the performance. Choosing an English translation could have ignited more passion from the leads, particularly Robert Winslade Anderson as Daland, who, despite his amiable presence, lacked vocal power. Meanwhile, Neal Cooper’s strained Erik didn’t convincingly present Senta with a romantic alternative to the Dutchman, whose wig tempted comparisons to Mick Hucknall.

Nevertheless, the pivotal duo, Dennis’s Senta and Paul Carey Jones’s Dutchman, complemented each other well in their portrayal of solitary dignity, with both delivering performances that balanced elegance and stamina. Carey Jones paced himself effectively, sounding as if he were just warming up at the finale, while Dennis’s soaring soprano suggested she could effortlessly navigate the waters of other Wagnerian operas. ★★★★☆ 180min To Jun 14, operahollandpark.com