Among the many smaller opera companies currently producing in the Bay Area, Livermore Valley Opera is one of the longest-running. The organization, which got its start in a local high school auditorium, is now the resident opera company at the accommodating Bankhead Theater, and it opened its 25th anniversary season there on Saturday night with its first-ever production of Richard Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Hollander” (The Flying Dutchman).
It’s an ambitious undertaking — one that, despite a few missteps, made a bold impression in the production’s opening night performance. The production repeats through Oct. 2.
Myth and legend converge in Wagner’s story of the Dutchman, who is condemned to endlessly sail the seas, putting into port only once every seven years until he can find redemption by marrying a faithful woman. With a libretto by the composer, the opera is widely regarded as the work that marked Wagner as a genius, and its score introduces many of the themes — love, sacrifice, and redemption — that are explored in depth in his later masterpieces.
The opera makes substantial demands on any company, and this production, intelligently directed by Olivia Stapp with cogent music direction by Alexander Katsman, boasts a vibrant cast, with bass-baritone Philip Skinner singing the title role for the first time.
Skinner is well-known on Bay Area opera stages, from San Francisco Opera to smaller companies such as Opera Parallele and West Edge Opera. At Saturday’s opening, he added another impressive role to his roster. With his first entrance, looking appropriately enigmatic and singing “Die Frist ist um,” the lengthy monologue that explains the Dutchman’s quest for salvation, Skinner’s sturdy, resounding voice filled the hall, and he sang with unflagging stamina throughout the evening.
Skinner was in good company. Soprano Marie Plette made a bright-voiced, urgently sung Senta, the young woman who is powerfully attracted to the Dutchman and prompted by her father, the sea captain Daland, to become the mysterious character’s wife.
Baritone Eugene Brancoveanu gave a characterful, handsomely sung performance as the crafty Daland. Tenor David Gustafson was a robust Erik, the local man who is desperately in love with Senta. Mason Gates was an asset as the agile Steersman, and Edith Dowd sounded appealing as the governess, Mary.
Stapp illuminated the action in a clear, straightforward staging on Jean-Francois Revon’s set of curved wooden planks and steps, enhanced by Sean A. Russell’s atmospheric lighting and Loran Watkins’ sea-worthy costumes. Jeremy Knight’s projections introduced chilly, glittering seascapes and otherworldly glimpses of the Dutchman’s red-sailed ship. Less apt was the portrayal of the Dutchman’s ghastly shipmates — surely Wagner didn’t envision them limping forward like extras from “The Walking Dead” — and a final image of the ship that likewise left audience members scratching their heads.
Still, this was an often engrossing first-night performance. Katsman, leading a 32-piece orchestra in the pit, overcame moments of thin ensemble to draw spacious, mostly beautiful sound from his players. Bruce Olstad’s chorus made excellent contributions; the women’s Act II spinning chorus was especially lovely. In all, this is a “Dutchman” that does Wagner and Livermore Valley Opera proud.
‘THE FLYING DUTCHMAN’
Original title ‘Der Fliegende Hollander,’ by Richard Wagner, performed by Livermore Valley Opera
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1; 2 p.m. Oct. 2
Where: Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St., Livermore
Tickets: $42-$89; 925-373-6800; www.livermoreperformingarts.org.
