Director Milo Rau's 'Flying Dutchman' Accused of Grotesque, Anti-Israel Portrayal
Translated & summarized from Jüdische Allgemeine by baba
Director Milo Rau's controversial production of Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin uses the opera to stage a distorted interpretation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The staging equates Germany with the "Flying Dutchman" and portrays Israel and Palestine through operatic characters, incorporating films and didactic explanations of Israeli actions. Critics argue the production distorts historical facts, omits key events like the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries, and presents a biased view of the conflict. Despite the controversy, the premiere audience offered little audible protest.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Director Milo Rau's "The Flying Dutchman" production at Deutsche Oper Berlin is criticized for its anti-Israel portrayal of the Middle East conflict.
- The staging equates Germany with the "Flying Dutchman" and uses operatic characters to represent Israel, Palestine, and founding figures.
- Films and projected texts in the production offer a one-sided historical narrative of "Israeli misdeeds" and the Nakba.
- Critics accuse the production of distorting Wagner's work and historical facts, including omitting the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries.
- Despite the controversial content, the audience offered little audible protest at the premiere, which the reviewer called the "real scandal."
Director Milo Rau's production of Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin has sparked controversy for its controversial interpretation of the Middle East conflict. Rau, known for incorporating scandals into his work, uses the opera as a platform to present the conflict as a road movie, aiming to provoke thought but, according to critics, distorting both Wagner's work and historical facts.
In Rau's staging, Germany, driven by guilt over the Holocaust, is depicted as the "Flying Dutchman." Israel is represented by Senta, whose father, Daland, is portrayed as a founding father of Israel who "sells off" his daughter. Erik, Senta's rejected lover, symbolizes Palestine, complete with a Kufiya. A character described as a "right-wing extremist Mary" is positioned ambiguously, likened to a soldier and a "Netanjahu-groupie."
The production incorporates a second layer featuring films of an experiment where a man named Shlomi Wagner travels through Israel in 2026, playing music by his namesake. This journey and encounters are reported on stage. A third layer consists of projected, didactic explanations of "80 years of Israeli misdeeds," including the Nakba and the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians, while omitting the expulsion of 800,000 Jews from Arab countries. The 1972 Munich Olympics massacre is also reinterpreted, claiming Israelis killed innocent people while hunting terrorists, and the October 7th events are noted without explanation, followed by details of "Israeli massacres in Gaza."
The reviewer criticizes the musical performance, noting weak vocals from the singer portraying Senta and issues with the conductor Giedrė Šlekytė's direction, leading to a disjointed performance from the orchestra. Despite the controversial content and perceived musical shortcomings, the premiere audience reportedly offered little protest, which the reviewer deems the real scandal, suggesting they should have been subjected to a "Middle East history crash course."