The Flying Dutchman...like from Spongebob

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Buongiorno!!

Another day, another blog! We got the opportunity to go to the opera this week to watch The Flying Dutchman…completely in German. I truly was not sure what to expect from the opera. I have seen a few Broadway shows before so that was the only thing that I could base my expectations off of. Needless to say, this was not like the Phantom of the Opera! I still stand by my prediction that this opera was about the same Flying Dutchman as shown in the wonderful cinematic vision that is Spongebob.

Getting to the opera was a true adventure. We luckily smashed five people into a cab meant for four (hello cheap cab fare!). Riding in a cab meant that we traveled through Florence in a way that I imagine being inside of a car in the Fast and Furious movies…I closed my eyes a few times. Walking the streets of Florence, we have been so close to being hit by these taxis but being inside showed us just how close the cab drivers allow themselves to get to pedestrians (SCARY).

Okay, so a quick summary of The Flying Dutchman…basically it is about a sailor who has been cursed by the devil about truly falling in love. He is cursed to sail the seas aimlessly for seven years at a time. Every seven years he is able to come on land and try to find someone who will be faithful to him forever. He has been doing this for a long time and has continually come up empty handed and let down which results in another seven years aimlessly sailing. This time he meets Senta’s father and offers him so much money and jewels…hard to pass up, right? So Senta’s father agrees to essentially sell his daughter’s hand in marriage. There’s another man who also wants to marry Senta, but she agrees to marry the Flying Dutchman. Her other love interest was a “lowly” hunter and tried to beg for her to change her mind. The Flying Dutchman sees this happening and misinterprets it for Senta being unfaithful to him. Long story short, she kills herself to show how faithfully in love she was with him and he is freed from his curse.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that we lucked out in the opera department because we got SUBTITLES…in ENGLISH!!! I was nervous because while I was talking to my mom earlier that day she told me that I desperately needed to take a nap before. Well I did take one! But if we are being completely honest, I also ended up taking a very small nap in the middle of the first act (oops). The first act was good but it was unnecessarily long, in my opinion. The songs seemed to go on and on at times, I would have enjoyed it much more if they had been shorter and more to the point. Honestly if it had been an option I would have pressed the fast forward button!

The beginning of the second act was much better. The constant male singing in the first act was harder to hear because they aren’t as loud as female singers (again, thankful for subtitles). When the second act began with a different set and all female singers, I was excited! The singing was beautiful and the setting was much less dark (not ideal for a second nap), so it was more interesting to watch.

I loved the costumes for this opera! The lead female character, Senta, had on a beautiful dress that actually looked like it was made from 3 completely different dresses. It was the most ornate of all the women’s dresses that she was onstage with, which really made her stand out on the crowded stage. Senta also stood out with her beautiful red hair! All of the men were dressed in things that I would have imagined for a sailor during that time period. Most of them looked very similar to each other with their tall boots and color scheme of black and white.

The end of The Flying Dutchman opera was very surprising. I was not sure what to expect but I can say that it was not for Senta to kill herself. It was crazy to me because she committed suicide in order to free a cursed man that she had known for one day!

If the opera was my only form of entertainment then I would probably have more of a love for it, but I do prefer my English language Netflix shows and movie theaters. I would take the opportunity to go to an opera again but I would definitely look into whether that opera had English subtitles because I would have been lost (and bored) without them.

Xoxo, Jaci

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