by Don Kwikshot

Created on: February 04, 2010   Last Updated: February 05, 2010

While the articles on The Flying Dutchman are interesting, not one of them seems to make mention of the fact that those who saw the ghost ship were invariably in peril on the high seas. Van der Decken (for that is the only name that I have ever heard) was doomed to sail the seven seas for all time; this may have been as a result of a pact he made with the Devil, or it may have been for some other reason; I can't say for sure because I have little knowledge of the actual myth. The story has it that he was trying to round the Cape of Good Hope in a storm and that he swore he would do it, or else he would sail the seven seas for ever.

However, there have been several sightings of the ghost ship on record, and it seems that in most cases the ship was sighted either during a grave disaster at sea, or as an omen that the sighter was soon to die, generally at sea. By far the greater number of sightings have taken place in the South Atlantic, often in the region of the Cape of Good Hope, which in itself is one of the most dangerous areas, although several sightings have been reported in other areas. There are records of these sightings having taken place since the early 1700s - among the people who claimed to have seen the ship are Nicholas Monsarrat (The Cruel Sea), Capt. Frederick Maryatt, Prince George (later to become George V), various U-boat crews during the Second World War, and many other people who have remained anonymous.

One thing is for sure: Wagner did not make up the myth; it already existed long before the opera was written. However, Wagner being the person he was, and being fascinated by mythology in general, he forged the story into the plot for what is perhaps his most accessible opera, and one which contains some of his best music. Unlike The Ring tetralogy with its huge mythological story and vast tracts of recitative where little action takes place on the stage, The Flying Dutchman is a wonderful piece of theatre which is backed with some superlative music.

The story is simple: Van der Decken is cursed to sail the Seven Seas for the rest of time until he finds a mortal woman who will give her life for him. Of course, in the opera, he finds his heroine and, presumably, the ship ceases to sail.

It was the first opera I ever saw, when I was nineteen. It was a production which was put on by Sadler's Wells in London, and had it not been for the fact that other shows were booked out, I would never have seen it. As we made our way to the theatre that summer evening long ago, the clouds were gathering in the sky, and, as the curtain went up on the opera, an enormous thunder storm started outside. The storm was so loud that it could be heard over the music in the theatre and the effect was quite electrifying.

The curtain went up and the ghost ship began to appear out of the theatrical fog, spar by spar, until the whole thing could clearly be seen. As this happened, the thunder rolled outside and the rain thundered on the roof of the theatre. My blood ran cold and I was sold for good and all on opera.

One thing is certain: "20 000 Frenchmen can't be wrong" as they saying goes; there have  been so many reported sightings of this phantom ship and its crew, almost always around the Cape of Good Hope are in the South Atlantic, and the sighting almost invariably led to the original sighter losing his life soon after. Makes you think, doesn't it?

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