The Guardian

‘John Tomlinson, a favourite in the title role at Bayreuth, is masterful as the Dutchman, exploiting his wide tonal and expressive range. Opposite him as the self-sacrificing heroine, Senta, is Nina Stemme... she is fresh and true, outshining almost any rival on disc... Kim Begley is strongly cast as Erik... Eric Halfvarson as Senta’s father, Daland... a characterful performance. Most striking of all is the richness of the recorded sound, vividly capturing the fine playing of the LPO under David Parry.’
Evening Standard


'... how marvellous it is that Tomlinson’s interpretation has been captured just in time.... With Nina Stemme as an intelligent, commanding Senta, and Eric Halfvarson and Patricia Bardon as Daland and Mary, the cast is uniformly strong. David Parry’s conducting is both dynamic and sharply detailed... Christopher Cowell’s excellent singing translation makes a strong case for having the work in English.’
CHAN 3119

Romantic opera in one act
Libretto by the composer
after Heine's Aus den Memoiren des Herren von Schnabelewopski
English translation by Christopher Cowell

The Cast

Eric Halfvarson, bass - Daland
Nina Stemme, soprano - Senta
Kim Begley, tenor - Erik
Patricia Bardon, mezzo-soprano - Mary
Peter Wedd, tenor (PMF Scholar) - Daland's Steersman
John Tomlinson, bass - The Dutchman
Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
David Parry - conductor

Recorded in Blackheath Halls, London
6-11 January 2004
Producer - Brian Couzens
Sound engineer - Ralph Couzens
Sound assistant Michael Common

The Flying Dutchman
International Record Review

‘Here, from the violent opening string tremolos and the howling winds at the opening onwards, (Parry) conducts in a way that suggests that he has a long passion for Wagner which is at last being requited. He never indulges in eccentricities, gives the singers the space they need, never swamps them, and gets superb playing from the LPO; the all-important choral contributions from the Geoffrey Mitchell Choir are fine too... And the recording is of Chandos’s usual sumptuous kind.’

The Sunday Telegraph

‘Kim Begley’s Erik, a thankless role, is excellent. The Senta is Nina Stemme, Glyndebourne’s unforgettable Isolde and soon to be Bayreuth’s. She sings with radiant intensity and glorious lyrical tone, and her English diction is immaculate. She sings the Ballad magnificently and in the scene in which she pledges to redeem the Dutchman she and Tomlinson make magic.’
21 November 2008