Reflecting on the Flying Dutchman Tour

The anchor’s down and the sails are packed away on The Flying Dutchman Tour. And, what a ride it was!

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us on this amazing journey, our wonderful cast and creatives, fantastic community choirs, brilliant venues, fabulous audiences and everyone else who helped make it happen! But we’d also like to take a moment to share some of the highlights, wonderful photography, and reflect on the adventure we’re leaving behind before we embark on our next.

A quick OVERVIEW of The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman was created and produced in partnership with Manchester Camerata. Based on an original concept by Lucy Bradley, poet and novelist Glyn Maxwell’s English libretto and award-winning composer Laura Bowler’s 8-piece chamber orchestration combined to create a fresh and radically rethought version of Wagner's classic.

A haunting political tale exploring the psychology and realities of living on an island with hardening borders, The Flying Dutchman was a bold reimagination of an epic fable. Discussing his take on adapting stories, Glyn Maxwell said:

The joy of adaptation is meeting the old gang again. And if you think of adaptation in a creaturely, biological sense, you are hoping that a story, whether it’s Alice or Cyrano, The Wind in the Willows or The Flying Dutchman, can adapt to the strange new environment known as the Here and Now. They can, they do, they are immortal stories, and it’s just a matter of allowing them to breathe the local air.


Featuring recordings of community singing groups from across the UK alongside a cast of world-renowned opera singers and players, this was an intensely powerful and involved musical storytelling, which brought The Flying Dutchman to life as an urgent, contemporary tale for our times.

REACHING AUDIENCES AT VENUES ACROSS THE UK

We performed The Flying Dutchman in extraordinary and eclectic venues across the UK with many performances sold out. Venues included:

  • Turner Sims, Southampton

  • SS Great Britain, Bristol

  • Pavillion Theatre, Worthing

  • Grand Junction, London

  • Trinity Market, Hull

  • Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool

Speaking in a recent interview on the collaboration with Manchester Camerata, Director Lucy Bradley had this to say:

The Camerata are an exceptional group of musicians and it has been really thrilling to work with them over the last years. They are bold, courageous, collaborative and great fun to be around. I continue to be in total awe of them and their ability to do many things at once.

You can still access the full digital program here and buy Glyn Maxwell's poetic, beautiful, unflinching libretto, published by Live Canon, online here.

Media Response

“It’s The Flying Dutchman — but not as we know it… Philippa Boyle is powerful and poignant as Starlight, while Pauls Putnins balances human warmth with raw desperation as the Mariner.”
Rebecca Franks, The Times

“Music Director Tim Burke and all the Manchester Camerata players were incredibly tight, and their doubling as chorus was effective and impressively effortless.”
Nick Boston, bachtrack.com

“A fearless, ambitious re-telling of Richard Wagner’s epic tale and score… Pauls Putnins' Mariner… a glorious voice as deep and as powerful as one might imagine the ocean on which he suffered.” Simon Bishop, Stage Talk Magazine

“'cannily and colourfully remodelled by Laura Bowler in association with Robin Wallington' - 'Bradley's inventive, tightly wrought production'” Opera Magazine

“Maxwell’s new storyline is the Wagner rewrite of the decade...A thrilling concept” Plays International

PHOTO GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS

We absolutely love the photography from the tour, so here’s a selection! All photography by Alex Brenner.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE WONDERFUL CAST AND CREW

What a team! We’d like to extend a huge thank you to the cast and crew that brought the whole production to life and made the tour an unforgettable experience for the team and audience alike.

CAST:

  • Starlight - Philippa Boyle

  • Captain Dee & Music Director - Timothy Dawkins

  • Helm/Mari - Carolyn Holt

  • Mariner - Pauls Putnins

  • Players/Chorus - Manchester Camerata

  • VIOLIN:

    Caroline Pether

    Katie Stillman (30 June, 1, 12, 22, 23 July)

    Marie Schreer (4, 5, 7, 8 July)

    CELLO:

    Colin Alexander

    Waynne Kwon (7, 8, 22,

    23 July)

    DOUBLE BASS:

    Roberto Carrillo-Garcia

    FLUTE:

    Amina Hussain (30 June,

    1, 4, 5, 18 and 19 July)

    Sarah Whewell

    CLARINET:

    Greg Hearle

    Cathal Killeen (7, 8 July)

    HORN:

    Mark Bennett

    Dave Tollington (12, 13, 14 July)

    PERCUSSION:

    Alex Henshaw

    ACCORDION:

    Djordje Gajic

Associate Artists:

  • Annie George covering Mari/Helm

  • Toki Hamano covering Mariner

  • Catherine Hooper covering Starlight

  • Masimba Ushe covering Captain Dee

  • Community singers from the Wellbeing Choir at Bristol Old Vic, Blackpool Grand Theatre, Hull Freedom Chorus,
    London’s GrandJunction, and MAST Mayflower Studios Southampton

CREW:

  • Director - Lucy Bradley

  • Set & Costume Designer - Ana Inés Jabares-Pita

  • Associate Designer - Anna Kelsey

  • Associate Music Director - Robin Wallington

  • Assistant Director - Jennifer Lane Baker

  • Orchestrator - Laura Bowler with Robin Wallington

  • Words - Glyn Maxwell

  • Lighting Designer - Neill Brinkworth

  • Sound - Matthew Fairclough

  • Associate Designer - Anna Kelsey

  • Assistant Director - Jennifer Lane Baker

  • Costume Supervisor - Nicola Cox

  • Repetiteur - Maria Struckova

  • Production Manager - Lisa Hood

  • Technical Stage Manager - Max Juan-Balch

  • Stage Manager - Esther Malkinson

  • Sound Operator Assistant - Harvey Sillitoe

  • Production Image - Laura Whitehouse

  • Programme Design - Malcolm Reid

  • Press & Marketing - Mobius Industries

We look forward to seeing you for our next national and international adventures in opera - Peace At Last and OperaCocktail.

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