Santa Fe Opera 2: Captains of Industry

On a good night at the Santa Fe Opera the elements will conspire to add a little something extra to the performance, some well-timed lightning flashes, or a roll of thunder to underscore an ominous pause in the score. On this particular evening the vigorous breezes from a distant storm lent a certain authenticity to the chorus of buffeted sailors that opens Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer; such elemental intrusions, however, were decidedly less impressive than the taut dramatic sweep of Thomas Guggeis’ musical direction or the sustained intensity of the central vocal performances, either of which, on their own, would have been enough to guarantee a memorable evening.

Der Fliegende Holländer may be one of the world’s great sea-faring operas, but the staging of David Alden dispensed quietly with the maritime setting, situating the action…