33 Text: Jasmijn van Wijnen Photo: Marco Sommer He shows us the dark side of this period , quite literally, by turning elements of the set around to reveal abstract black shapes. He himself continues to wander aimlessly, trapped in his nihilism: he has cursed God but has not found a new purpose to guide him.” Artist and muse Senta, Daland’s daughter, is an artistic soul who grew up in a small community where the women spend their time spinning while the men are out at sea. De Beer: “When I listen to Senta’s music, I imagine her as an independent-minded person who is searching for something and has her own opinions. You can see her fascination for the Dutchman as a girl fantasising about a man, but you can also see it as an artist’s obsession with a muse. When I look at Senta and the Dutchman, I wonder who redeems whom. You could equally say it is the Dutchman who redeems Senta.” The Dutchman amongst the Dutch When Ryan Speedo Green fell asleep during a performance of Parsifal at the age of fifteen, he could never have imagined how big a role Wagner’s repertoire would play in his life, both personally and professionally. “I think it’s fantastic for me to make my debut as the Dutchman here, surrounded by Dutch people!” says Green. “There aren’t many title roles for my voice type, the bass-baritone. But a title role like the Holländer is epic from the start. The character’s introduction consists of a twelve-minute aria — Wagner’s most iconic — with two-and-a-half acts still to go after that. You walk out onto the stage and then stay there performing for the next 45 minutes. That makes huge demands on you, both physically and mentally.” Larger than life Green: “Wagner’s imposing characters gave me the feeling for the first time that as a tall Black guy I could simply be myself without scaring people off. The Dutchman is the ultimate larger-than-life character. The audience is supposed to be afraid of the curse imposed upon him and at the same time feel sympathy for him. He needs to have a commanding voice and appearance, but there also needs to be this human side that moves you. Even if he is arrogant and egocentric, I want people to see that he is worthy of being loved. I hope to be the bad guy audiences are secretly rooting for.” “ With Senta and the Dutchman, I wonder who redeems whom” Lotte de Beer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODY1MjQ=