An ambitious production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer) comes to The Bradshaw Hall at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire this July.
In what is believed to be the UK’s first ethnically-led Wagner production, The Flying Dutchman is presented by Persona Arts, with music direction from international baritone Byron Jackson and stage direction by Iqbal Khan (artistic director of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and associate director at Birmingham Rep – cover pic).
A professional cast with heritage from across the Commonwealth is joined by a skilled community chorus, drawn from the West Midlands region, including the Birmingham Choral Union, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and St Mary’s Church, Handsworth. Music comes from the Central England Camerata, under the baton of Jack Ridley.
Main character parts are performed by Anando Mukerjee (pictured), Mari Wyn Williams, Laura Woods, Christian Joel and Gerrit Paul Groen, with Byron Jackson taking the role of The Dutchman.
Wagner’s score is presented alongside a short new commission by Birmingham-based composer, Bobbie-Jane Gardner.