Opera North Pre-Show Talk – The Flying Dutchman

Opera is often cited as an artform that can feel quite inaccessible to someone coming across it for the first time. Sometimes being given a bit of context to a show can really help people tap into the thing that makes opera so captivating. It may be in a different language and it may feel like there’s a lot going on, but in its bones opera is an incredible form for expressing human emotions. It grabs people by holding a mirror up to the rawest form of how we feel and invoking empathy. Opera North are opening up this conversation and giving people a wider understanding of their programme with a series of pre-show talks. 

This February we’re looking forward to seeing Wagner’s epic ghostly ship dock into Upper Briggate in The Flying Dutchman. Based on the legend of a galleon doomed to sail endlessly with only the chance to release the souls trapped on board every seven years, this opera examines the politics of human dynamics put under extreme pressure. It’s a tale that wills the truth to emerge amongst alternative human agendas. Something that feels particularly pertinent in the current global political climate. 

In the pre-show talk a panel of industry professionals including a company member from the production will discuss the background of the piece in further detail. You’ll also hear about the creative decisions made by Opera North in their particular staging of the work and why choices that affect how the whole production looks and feels were made. Speakers are confirmed closer to the event but based on previous panels you can be sure it’ll be a fascinating discussion. 

Tickets for the pre-show talks are free but numbers are limited so it’s always worth booking in advance to avoid disappointment.