Edo de Waart's Operatic Return

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Edo de Waart

Edo de Waart first brought opera to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra a decade ago with Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, a stunner of a performance. Three Mozart operas followed over the years at MSO, all wonderfully memorable. The De Waart/MSO opera tradition continued in fine form last weekend with Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

The legend of a ghost ship doomed to roam the seas existed since the 18^th century. This is probably the most approachable of Wagner’s operas, not only because of its tunefulness, but also because of its length, coming in at less that two and a half hours. Above the performers in concert dress, two sail-like screens showed evocative video throughout designed by S. Katy Tucker, along with an easy-to-read English translation of the German text.

De Waart’s clout as a veteran opera conductor attracted a top-notch cast of singers . Bass-baritone Ryan McKinny gave the title role appropriate angst and gloom with his richly dark voice and expressive way with a phrase. As Senta, the woman who sacrifices herself to grant the Dutchman’s salvation from his curse, Melody Moore was fascinating, using her full lyric soprano as a vocal actress, with nuance after nuance and singing with a brilliant tone.

As Senta’s father Daland, Peter Rose sang with a booming and clear voice, bringing to the part the engaging freedom of an experienced singing actor. Tenor AJ Glueckert sang with bright and pleasing resonance as Erik (his Metropolitan Opera debut role), doomed to be disappointed by Senta. I’ve heard the unusually dark voice of Nancy Maultsby many times over the years, and as Mary she showed that it’s still one of the most distinctive sounds around. Young tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson sounded fresh and intriguing as the Steuermann (helmsman). This is a career to watch.

De Waart’s strength has always been more a vivid realizer of the composer’s score than as interpreter, and that approach delivered a robust performance. The orchestra rose to the challenge with colorful excellence overall. Milwaukee Symphony Chorus sounded better than ever. Where did that full and luminous tenor section sound come from?