Semper Not Fidelis: Michael Fuller visits Dresden to find a playful Konwitschny ‘Tannhäuser’ outclassed by a sombre ‘Holländer’

Reviews of Der fliegende Holländer, directed Klepper, conducted Fiore, Dresden, 2019; Tannhäuser, directed Konwitschny, conducted Wellber, Dresden, 2019.

July 2019, Volume 13, Number 2, 66–71.

Two Wagner revivals were staged at the Semperoper early this year, allowing their audiences to savour the juxtaposition not just of two of Wagner’s early ‘Romantic’ operas but also of two very different directorial approaches to his work.