Das verfluchte Geisterschiff (frei nach Richard Wagners 'Der Fliegende Holländer')

Libretto by Margot Mezgolich after Richard Wagner (G)

S,T,Bar,B; actress; mimes, small speaking parts;
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In this adaptation of Richard Wagner’s opera The Flying Dutchman for adventurous children and adults, Senta is a teenager who, without realising it, has slipped into depression. She identifies with the supernatural, and, to the amazement of her hippie-clad father Daland, she collects posters of a cursed ghost ship. Its mysterious Dutch captain is Senta’s infatuation. She believes she can save him. The adventure that follows begins with a ship’s rat that has made itself a pirate costume out of scraps of fabric and stands by Senta’s side as narrator and companion. They learn that the ghost captain is only allowed to go ashore once every seven years because he previously stole three magic pearls from the sea goddess and threw them into the sea.

The mighty sailor stands helplessly behind the wheel of his ship, its’ black mast surrounded by fluttering blood-red sails. With Senta, he finally finds hope. But her friend Erik, a shy tank top clad nerd, seems to stand in the way of his plan’s success. In a fit of rage, Erik is also doomed and, like the Dutchman would be lost if Senta and the rat did not travel down into the deep waters. There they encounter a very leisurely sea turtle that loves yoga, an octopus, a mussel that cannot speak but communicates through sounds, and a mermaid. Guided by the water creatures, Senta and the rat find what they are looking for, and so the Dutchman is finally able to return the three pearls to the angry sea goddess and is redeemed.

Comic, Romantic